Hawkes Bay teen finds internet fame

Jamie Curry
Jamie Curry
Jamie Curry's videos about anything and everything have attracted millions of fans from around the world. She is regularly stopped in the street by fans and has had media requests from as far afield as Belgium and Hungary.

But the Hawkes Bay teenager insists she is just an ordinary kid who still has to do chores and study.

"I literally just go on the computer and post a video and then I do my homework.

"This is the only different thing that I do. Otherwise I'm pretty much really boring. I still have to do the dishes, unfortunately."

The 17-year-old is among a growing number of Kiwis who are gaining fame through the internet.

The Jamie's World Facebook page - which the teenager uses to upload quirky and funny videos of herself - was launched just over a year ago and now has almost 3.5 million "likes".

Her YouTube version of the site has just over 365,000 subscribers and her Twitter account has about 125,000 followers.

The teen says most of her videos are based on random events that happen in her life either at home or at school.

"I did one when my mum walked in naked and that happened to me that morning - it's one of my real classic situations, unfortunately. Then I just exaggerated it [in a video]."

The whole experience had been "really cool", and she has become better at editing videos and coming up with new concepts.

"It kind of all happened at once. I hadn't really had a chance to sort of process it and be like, 'wow, this is actually really happening'. It was all go, go, go."

Jamie has fans from New Zealand, Europe, the United States and Asia.

Her videos are between 30 seconds to just over a minute long and gain hundreds of "likes" within seconds of being posted.

Her newfound success has resulted in her being interviewed by various radio stations and television shows. Last week she and her mum travelled to Auckland after Jamie was asked to appear in an upcoming music videoclip for Kiwi singer Massad.

"I tweeted him a while back. Well actually, he tweeted me first - let's be clear, here - and he was like: 'Hey, we should hang out.'

"A few weeks later I got a phone call. He says: 'Hey, it's Massad. Do you want to be in my video clip?' I've got two friends who are his biggest fans and they just cried."

Jamie's family, particularly her parents Bronwyn and Lance, can't understand how the teenager's videos about everyday topics have become a hit with so many people.

Mrs Curry, who is the inspiration for many of her daughter's videos, said it was hard to believe how successful Jamie has become.

"I think that's why a lot of teenagers enjoy it - because it's just normal stuff, but she's out there about it. Instead of hushing it up or being embarrassed, she's just turned it into something funny.

"It does my head in because I can't believe it, but I'm actually really proud of her. I think she's done amazing and I'm really proud of what she's done and that she's still managed to be the same at home."

Mr Curry said they had talked very early on with Jamie about the need to be careful about the kinds of things posted online.

Jamie's friends find her fame amusing.

"They think it's funny when we go downtown and people want photos and things. They just think it's hilarious. Some of them are like, 'I can't even hang out with you anymore'," Jamie laughs.

Social media commentator Simon Young said as technology improved and the generation of people fluent in that technology grew up, there was an increasing chance of making it big.

"It used to be that you'd have to go on something like American Idol to get this kind of exposure. But you don't have to now. The tools have been there for a few years now and they're getting easier and easier to work with.

"They say that overnight success takes 10 years. Maybe that's gotten a bit faster, looking at the ages of some of these people."

Mr Young, the chief executive for consulting firm SyEngage - which helps Kiwi businesses better use social media - said the most important ingredient to internet success was uniqueness.

"Ultimately, it comes down to how you express yourself. It's about putting something out there that other people resonate with. There's not a complete science to that - you've either got it or you haven't."

Mr Young said more and more people around the world and in New Zealand were tapping in on the idea of becoming an internet craze.

As for Jamie, she will be concentrating on passing exams and then thinking about her future. She says that will involve a camera - but whether she is in front or behind it is still to be determined.

"I really like filming and directing and acting. I think that's me. But I don't really have any plans. I'm just going with the flow at the moment. Whatever happens, happens, I guess.

"If an opportunity comes along, then I'll definitely [leave school]. But it has to be 100 per cent. I don't want to drop out and then fail and then become a failure at life."

She plans to start putting out more videos with a message to get youngsters thinking.

"You're going to see me doing more things that are more serious.

"There's a big thing about bullying at the moment and I really want to do something about it.

"Otherwise it's just a cool place where you can just come and watch my videos."

 

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