We have direct involvement with our audience

You've seen her around town, but couldn't quite place her. Was she your server at Tim Hortons this morning? Or maybe you bumped into her in the Cambridge Centre as she aimlessly wandered through the shops like a typical 20-something.

"I get recognized almost every time I go out. It's just strange that it happens here because it's Cambridge," says Shawna Howson.

Howson is most notably known by her alter ego, Nanalew, and YouTube channel by the same name. With more than 92 videos, over 90 million views, and a dedicated fan-base three times the size of Cambridge, Howson etched out her place in the digital landscape.

"I started because I wanted to build an audience and have an effect on people. As YouTube has changed from a community site to a platform for sharing content, I've changed because I've found this passion for film," explains Howson.

Howson's channel is an eclectic smattering of internet gold with everything from parody music videos to web series to vlogs (video blogs) and more.

She started her channel in 2007, teaching herself how to act, film, edit, and produce. Howson quickly gained traction and developed a following of just over 394,000 subscribers. Since then she signed with Maker Studios, a company that provides support for up-and-coming artists, and started her own company called Parallax Studios Ltd. However, 2011 marked the pivotal moment that turned her hobby from a part-time passion into a full-time career.

After entering an online contest by Magnum Ice Cream Canada, Howson sent a message to her fans asking for support.

"It was vote-based," says Howson. "I didn't even have to make a video (on YouTube). My audience made it all happen through Facebook and Twitter."

Her Magnum winnings totalled $250,000 — $100,000 in cash and $150,000 in prizes.

"She didn't just enter a contest and hope she'd win. She entered on the last day of submissions so none of her YouTube friends could join and give her competition," says her mom Sharon.

Howson says the money gave her the freedom to work on content creation full time and she used a portion of the cash to buy camera equipment and a crane.

"As you get more and more established, there's a higher level of expectation. If we're going to shoot something, we've got to shoot it well," she says.

The collective "we" includes Howson's best friend and business partner Tessa Violet, who also goes by the online alias meekakitty.

Facebook and Twitter dominate the social media sphere with the former boasting approximately 1.11 billion users and the latter having just over 500 million accounts. Howson uses these spaces to connect with her fans and drive users back to her YouTube channel, where she earns money for every video view through YouTube's Partner Program.

The duo's most successful project to date is a parody music video where Howson satirically lip-synchs while standing in the rain. Filming took place over two days at her parent's Hespeler home.

"The girls were filming it here in the backyard," says Howson's mom Sharon. "They were laughing about it right after they produced it. Shawna's comment was 'This could either be really big, or nothing at all.' "

In less than two years Nanalew's Sail has been watched more than 59 million times or four times as many views than the band's official video. Cheap Dedicated Server It has also worked to significantly increase Howson's online fan base and support system.

"We have direct involvement with our audience and complete autonomy over our projects. That's really all you can ask for as an artist and as a businessperson."

Howson has a short film and podcast in the works. She's also working on other projects and recently began working on an iPhone app with a web developer out of England and early next month she'll be speaking at VidCon — a conference that can only be described as the Comic-Con of online videos.

"It's this quasi-universe," she says. "If I stop for two seconds to talk to someone there's a line of 40 people there waiting to talk to me. It's very surreal."
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