Natalie Tran
Tran at the 2010 Entertainment Gathering (EG) convention in Monterey, California
Born	Natalie Tyler Tran (1986-07-24) 24 July 1986 (age 25)[1] Sydney, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Years active	2006-present
Known for	Sketch comedy, vlogging
Internet information
Web alias(es)	communitychannel
Web hosting service(s)	YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter
Website
natalietran.me

Natalie Tyler Tran (born 24 July 1986) is a video blogger on YouTube from Sydney, Australia, using the nickname communitychannel.^[2] Tran's videos of humorous monologues and skits acted out by herself have made her the most subscribed Australian YouTuber.^[3]

Biography[link]

Tran's mother and father, both refugees who left Vietnam to go to Australia in 1981, were originally a lawyer and literature professor respectively, but became a postal worker and a public school teacher in Australia. Tran grew up in Sydney and, after high school, she studied teaching for two years before switching to a digital media program at the University of New South Wales.^[4][5]

Popularity[link]

As of January 2012^[update], Tran has 287 videos available on her YouTube channel and is the most-subscribed user of all time in Australia,^[3] the 26th most subscribed of all time on YouTube,^[6] and the 7th-most subscribed director worldwide.^[7] She also manages the 58th most viewed channel on YouTube of all time.^[8] Tran was the first runner up in Michael Buckley's Miss YouTube contest.^[9] She created her first video on 12 September 2006.^[10]

Tran has more than 1 million subscribers and more than 406 million views.^[11] This popularity has led to media coverage and appearances in The Sydney Morning Herald,^[5] Western Australia Today,^[12] B&T Magazine,^[13] Venus Zine.^[14] Der Spiegel,^[15] Báo Viêt Luận Online,^[16] Việt Tribune,^[17] VnExpress,^[18] Triple J,^[19] and the Hot30 Countdown.^[20] Her defence of Vegemite^[21] in response to a YouTube video by Ben Going^[22] was featured on the Australian television programme A Current Affair on February 2007, as part of the Vegemite wars segment. Tran's most viewed video^[23] had over 34 million views in April 2012^[24] and the number of views has grown significantly since then.

Tran has been recognised for her creative work and popularity on the Internet in various ways. She was one of the Australian YouTube celebrities invited to talk about the site at the launch of YouTube Australia in 2007.^[25] She is presently enlisted by The Sydney Morning Herald as a contributor and Real World Correspondent to their technology vlog Digital Life,^[26] complementing main presenter and journalist Séamus Byrne. Although her original skits are specifically written and created for Digital Life, they are produced almost entirely in the same manner and style as her YouTube material. Tran was a presenter at "Creative Sydney" in May 2009 at the Museum of Contemporary Art.^[27][28] Tran was nominated for "Best YouTube Channel or Personality" and "Funniest YouTube Channel" by Mashable in their 2009 Open Web Awards.^[29] Tran was one of the presenters at the 2010 Entertainment Gathering (EG) convention in Monterey, California.^[30] In 2010, Tran was a presenter at ideaCity in Toronto, Canada.^[31][32] In 2010, the analytics firm TubeMogul placed Tran at #10 on their list of top ten earners from YouTube advertising. According to TubeMogul, Tran earned $101,000 and had 138,871,829 views.^[2] Based on data released by YouTube, Tran's YouTube channel had more views in one week in March 2011 than many of the most popular television shows on Australian television.^[33] In November 2010, Tran embarked on a global odyssey sponsored by Lonely Planet.^[34] Tran is also a Sydney correspondent for The Project's Metro Whip Around segment. In 2011, she appeared as a guest on an episode of the third series of Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation.

Videos[link]

Tran's videos typically involve her making monologues in front of a camera, interrupted by skits acted out by herself. Common themes include observational and self-deprecating humour, as well as stream-of-consciousness commentary on social dilemmas, such as how much money to spend on gifts for friends^[35] and appropriate telephone etiquette.^[36] Examples of themes for skits include mocking the strange and cliched practices of advertisers^[36] and a practical joke by an ultrasound technician.^[37] Occasionally, Tran will also make parodies of other popular YouTube videos, such as her parody of "How to Fake a Six-pack", incidentally her most-viewed video.^[38] More serious topics have included Tran's responses to the February 2009 Victorian bushfires.^[39]

Tran usually ends her videos with a segment referred to as "Porno Music/Comment Time", where she posts and responds to comments on her previous videos, over a melody stereotypically used in pornographic films.

In early 2009,Tran released a video under the title "There's no time!!! Last words" in which she promised to make a tutorial on how to make Lamingtons, an Australian treat. Since then there has been no video, disappointing many fans, though they often show it through humorous comments on her videos.

In addition to her regular videos, Tran also made travel videos for Lonely Planet. These videos are based on her experiences at travel destinations around the world and were made in Tran's characteristic humorous style.^[34] She also helped launch a travel website for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.^[40]

In a July 2011 interview with Forbes, Tran stated that, while uncertain about her future, she has contemplated the possibility of no longer making videos and pursuing writing instead.^[41]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Communitychannel at YouTube.com
• Natalie Tran at Myspace.com
• Natalie Tran at Twitter.com
• Natalie's Lonely Planet blog
• Natalie Tran at IMDb.com