There is place called 'Kasegeran' in Indonesia, which is a remote village in Java which most Indonesians still struggle to find on a map. However, this small village is very unique and has a great name online!
Yes, you heard that right! This small village is actually the very famous 'YouTube Village' that is home to several viral stars and online celebrities. Many villagers from this area are well known YouTube celebs and have a great following online. Some villagers even have millions of followers, which earns them a decent living for their family. But how did it all start?
Well.. the story goes back to some years when a small mechanic from the village named Siswanto had tried to follow a YouTube video to learn how to repair a fancy bike and had failed to follow through the tutorials. This was the moment when the cash-crunched Siswanto had a million dollar idea and started making simple, easy-to-follow online tutorials for people. Apart from technical videos, Siswanto also started uploading videos depicting his life in the village - mostly fishing and farming in and around the area.
Then within a few years, Siswanto steadily grew his audience and managed to add more than a million subscribers online. After receiving a steady income from YouTube, Siswanto also introduced his fellow villagers to the world of YouTube. Slowly but surely, the poverty stricken village soon began to flourish with villagers gradually turning into content creators.
The villagers started documenting simple activities like their lifestyle and their day-to-day chores which soon vaulted this farming community into the limelight as Indonesia's "YouTube Village". Meanwhile, Kasegeran's home grown heroes say that there is no magic to their success and credit their flourishing channels to hard work and consistent effort.