Philip DeFranco
Encyclopedia
Philip "Phil" DeFranco also known as PhillyD or by one of his YouTube
usernames "sxephil", is an American video blogger, YouTube celebrity and motivational speaker. His videos are centered on current events, politics and celebrity gossip in which he gives his opinion, usually presented in an ironic manner and with frequent jump cut
s to create a fast-paced feel. He has over 700 million views ,and 1.9 million subscribers, and is the 14th most subscribed YouTuber
as of November 2011. His second YouTube
channel is called "PhilipDeFranco" and he also makes a series of daily vlogs which he calls "The Vloggity".
DeFranco started his YouTube channel in 2006, and his videos regularly surpass one million views today. His large audience led to his winning of a Spore Creature Creator
contest and Wired
's Sexiest Geek of 2008 award, both open access online polls.
and later a junior at East Carolina University
. DeFranco said in an interview he had inherited polycystic kidney disease
from his father and grandfather. He currently lives with his girlfriend Lindsay Jordan Doty (LinzLoves) and their 2 Yorkshire Terriers Rookie and Ace.
, he created his sxephil YouTube channel. Since his first video, he has amassed over a million fans that watch his videos 3-5 times a week.
Before the YouTube partner program was available, he has asked for donations from his viewers after claiming to have run out of money, and selling everything except his Mac
, camera and clothes and overdrawing his bank account so he could spend a night in a hotel as he found it too scary sleeping in a car in Brooklyn
. The video was eventually deleted.
On November 3, 2008, DeFranco announced that his work on YouTube would come to an end November 3, 2009. "I don't want to overrun my time because it'll mean a lot less to me," explained DeFranco in an interview. "I plan on ending The Philip DeFranco Show, but I definitely want to move on to something else non-Philip DeFranco Show-like." However, on his October 6, 2009, video, DeFranco announced he would continue the show beyond November 3, 2009, until he posted a video on April 22nd, 2010 saying that the show has ended. DeFranco stated he would be continuing with his YouTube channel but that he felt the show had become "stagnant" and that it needed to "evolve." As of April 26 DeFranco said he "needed to cancel the show", due to a contract he signed with a company "way back in the day" that allowed them to advertise his show which he would have to agree to. However DeFranco started a new show called "NSFW" or 'Not Safe For Work'. This new show is basically the same as the PDS, but it instead concentrated on what he liked the most about the Philip DeFranco Show. The show returned to its original format and name shortly after this due to an agreement he came to with the company he signed the contract with.
DeFranco used his large audience to win the Spore Creature Creator
, a game promotion competition, and in doing so beat the Sprouse twins
. The winner's prize was to choose which charity would receive a donation of $15,000. He chose the PKD Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting polycystic kidney disease
(PKD), which he attributed to his family's history with the condition. Defranco's large online audience also enabled him to win Wired
's Sexiest Geek of 2008 competition, a reader voted contest. "Someone sent it to me, and I was like, really?" says DeFranco. "I kind of just promoted it because I thought it'd be funny for a normal guy to be at the top of the list."
On February 4, 2009, DeFranco commented on YouTube's new 'Most Popular' tab, saying "It is a mixture of views, audience attention (how long the viewer watches) and ratings. Why promote content that people aren't enjoying even after they watch it?" David Sarno of the Los Angeles Times
said "it's one way to minimize the effect of gaming, in which users employ racy thumbnails or video titles to trick viewers into watching less than racy videos."
DeFranco announced one of his videos was censored by YouTube after they removed it from the front page. As a YouTube partner, however, his account was not suspended. In 2008, he used footage of the 2008 Toronto propane explosion captured by 24-year-old Saejin Oh without permission, a violation of YouTube's community guidelines. DeFranco declined a request from Wired.com for an interview on this subject. Saejin Oh filed a copyright claim with YouTube, and the video was eventually taken down.
DeFranco has over 700 videos posted on YouTube. In an interview he claimed to have a salary of over $250,000 from a number of sources on the Internet, not just YouTube, but has denied it in several videos. He has been paid by companies to create videos to promote Carl's Jr.
's burgers, and the US television series Lie to Me
and Fringe
.
On April 22, 2010, DeFranco released an episode saying that it would be the last episode of the Philip DeFranco Show, later explaining that this was due in part to various legal complications, some being the name of the show and distribution rights to any "PDS" episodes. DeFranco later announced his new show, NSFW (Not Safe For Work). However, on the May 10th show, he announced he would be able to return to original name of the show and would be doing so.
On September 29, 2011, DeFranco uploaded a video (simply titled "We're Moving!!!") announcing that his company's work space is temporarily moving to the house he is currently living in, while he travels around Europe. He also stated that is leasing the 5 bedroom house because he wanted the pool; according to him a reason backing that statement is, "I've always wanted a pool."
and Kevin Wu in Hooking Up, written and acted by Woody Tondorf as a promo from HBOLabs (the online arm of HBO). Hooking Up is a scripted 10-episode Web-based series set at a fictional university where the students spend most of their time emailing and using Facebook
, but still manage to miscommunicate.
Guest appearances on Hooking Up have been made by Kevin Nalty
, Michael Buckley
, and other popular Internet celebrities.
By the show's second day on YouTube, it had received more than 450,000 views, which the NewTeeVee blog considers a success. Bobbie Johnson of The Guardian said that many Web surfers had "scoffed at what they see as a cynical attempt to cash in."
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
usernames "sxephil", is an American video blogger, YouTube celebrity and motivational speaker. His videos are centered on current events, politics and celebrity gossip in which he gives his opinion, usually presented in an ironic manner and with frequent jump cut
Jump cut
A jump cut is a cut in film editing and vloging in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly. This type of edit causes the subject of the shots to appear to "jump" position in a discontinuous way...
s to create a fast-paced feel. He has over 700 million views ,and 1.9 million subscribers, and is the 14th most subscribed YouTuber
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
as of November 2011. His second YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel is called "PhilipDeFranco" and he also makes a series of daily vlogs which he calls "The Vloggity".
DeFranco started his YouTube channel in 2006, and his videos regularly surpass one million views today. His large audience led to his winning of a Spore Creature Creator
Spore Creature Creator
The Spore Creature Creator is software that allows players to create their own creatures with a standalone version of the Creature Editor from Spore; the software was one of the first aspects of the game to receive focused development, and underwent ten rewrites since the start of development...
contest and Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
's Sexiest Geek of 2008 award, both open access online polls.
Personal life
DeFranco was born December 1, 1985, in The Bronx, New York, United States. He was a student at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community CollegeAsheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College is a public two-year community college established in 1959 in Asheville, North Carolina. The college is one of the oldest in the North Carolina Community College System and serves primarily Buncombe and Madison counties. As of the 2004-2005 school...
and later a junior at East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
. DeFranco said in an interview he had inherited polycystic kidney disease
Polycystic kidney disease
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is an inherited systemic disorder that predominantly affects the kidneys, but may affect other organs including the liver, pancreas, brain, and arterial blood vessels...
from his father and grandfather. He currently lives with his girlfriend Lindsay Jordan Doty (LinzLoves) and their 2 Yorkshire Terriers Rookie and Ace.
YouTube
On September 15, 2006, during his finals at East Carolina UniversityEast Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
, he created his sxephil YouTube channel. Since his first video, he has amassed over a million fans that watch his videos 3-5 times a week.
Before the YouTube partner program was available, he has asked for donations from his viewers after claiming to have run out of money, and selling everything except his Mac
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, camera and clothes and overdrawing his bank account so he could spend a night in a hotel as he found it too scary sleeping in a car in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. The video was eventually deleted.
On November 3, 2008, DeFranco announced that his work on YouTube would come to an end November 3, 2009. "I don't want to overrun my time because it'll mean a lot less to me," explained DeFranco in an interview. "I plan on ending The Philip DeFranco Show, but I definitely want to move on to something else non-Philip DeFranco Show-like." However, on his October 6, 2009, video, DeFranco announced he would continue the show beyond November 3, 2009, until he posted a video on April 22nd, 2010 saying that the show has ended. DeFranco stated he would be continuing with his YouTube channel but that he felt the show had become "stagnant" and that it needed to "evolve." As of April 26 DeFranco said he "needed to cancel the show", due to a contract he signed with a company "way back in the day" that allowed them to advertise his show which he would have to agree to. However DeFranco started a new show called "NSFW" or 'Not Safe For Work'. This new show is basically the same as the PDS, but it instead concentrated on what he liked the most about the Philip DeFranco Show. The show returned to its original format and name shortly after this due to an agreement he came to with the company he signed the contract with.
DeFranco used his large audience to win the Spore Creature Creator
Spore Creature Creator
The Spore Creature Creator is software that allows players to create their own creatures with a standalone version of the Creature Editor from Spore; the software was one of the first aspects of the game to receive focused development, and underwent ten rewrites since the start of development...
, a game promotion competition, and in doing so beat the Sprouse twins
Dylan and Cole Sprouse
Dylan Thomas Sprouse and Cole Mitchell Sprouse are American actors. They are twins and are collectively referred to as Dylan and Cole Sprouse or the Sprouse Bros. Their first prominent major theatrical film role was in Big Daddy, where they starred alongside Adam Sandler...
. The winner's prize was to choose which charity would receive a donation of $15,000. He chose the PKD Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting polycystic kidney disease
Polycystic kidney disease
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is an inherited systemic disorder that predominantly affects the kidneys, but may affect other organs including the liver, pancreas, brain, and arterial blood vessels...
(PKD), which he attributed to his family's history with the condition. Defranco's large online audience also enabled him to win Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
's Sexiest Geek of 2008 competition, a reader voted contest. "Someone sent it to me, and I was like, really?" says DeFranco. "I kind of just promoted it because I thought it'd be funny for a normal guy to be at the top of the list."
On February 4, 2009, DeFranco commented on YouTube's new 'Most Popular' tab, saying "It is a mixture of views, audience attention (how long the viewer watches) and ratings. Why promote content that people aren't enjoying even after they watch it?" David Sarno of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
said "it's one way to minimize the effect of gaming, in which users employ racy thumbnails or video titles to trick viewers into watching less than racy videos."
DeFranco announced one of his videos was censored by YouTube after they removed it from the front page. As a YouTube partner, however, his account was not suspended. In 2008, he used footage of the 2008 Toronto propane explosion captured by 24-year-old Saejin Oh without permission, a violation of YouTube's community guidelines. DeFranco declined a request from Wired.com for an interview on this subject. Saejin Oh filed a copyright claim with YouTube, and the video was eventually taken down.
DeFranco has over 700 videos posted on YouTube. In an interview he claimed to have a salary of over $250,000 from a number of sources on the Internet, not just YouTube, but has denied it in several videos. He has been paid by companies to create videos to promote Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. is an American fast-food restaurant chain located mostly in the Western and Southwestern United States. The first store has opened in Canada in Kelowna, BC. They are in the process of expanding to Mexico, Malaysia, Denmark, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Vietnam,...
's burgers, and the US television series Lie to Me
Lie to Me
Lie to Me is a 2009-2011 American television series.Lie to Me may also refer to:* Lie to Me , a South Korean drama series* "Lie to Me" , an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
and Fringe
Fringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
.
On April 22, 2010, DeFranco released an episode saying that it would be the last episode of the Philip DeFranco Show, later explaining that this was due in part to various legal complications, some being the name of the show and distribution rights to any "PDS" episodes. DeFranco later announced his new show, NSFW (Not Safe For Work). However, on the May 10th show, he announced he would be able to return to original name of the show and would be doing so.
On September 29, 2011, DeFranco uploaded a video (simply titled "We're Moving!!!") announcing that his company's work space is temporarily moving to the house he is currently living in, while he travels around Europe. He also stated that is leasing the 5 bedroom house because he wanted the pool; according to him a reason backing that statement is, "I've always wanted a pool."
Hooking Up
In October 2008, DeFranco co-starred with Jessica RoseJessica Lee Rose
Jessica Lee Rose is an American-New Zealand actress who first gained popularity after playing the role of lonelygirl15....
and Kevin Wu in Hooking Up, written and acted by Woody Tondorf as a promo from HBOLabs (the online arm of HBO). Hooking Up is a scripted 10-episode Web-based series set at a fictional university where the students spend most of their time emailing and using Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, but still manage to miscommunicate.
Guest appearances on Hooking Up have been made by Kevin Nalty
Kevin Nalty
Kevin Nalty is a YouTube comedian and partner based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania better known under his YouTube username Nalts. His YouTube Channel is one of the top-20 most-viewed comedy channels. He has more than 1,000 videos which, as of September 18, 2011, have been viewed more than 236 million...
, Michael Buckley
Michael Buckley (Internet celebrity)
Michael Buckley is an American Internet celebrity, comedian and vlogger. Noted for his vlog What the Buck?!, Buckley comments on popular culture events and celebrities. He also maintains one of YouTube's most popular channels with several million viewers each month...
, and other popular Internet celebrities.
By the show's second day on YouTube, it had received more than 450,000 views, which the NewTeeVee blog considers a success. Bobbie Johnson of The Guardian said that many Web surfers had "scoffed at what they see as a cynical attempt to cash in."