#simon tay

Q: How did you start Simonvideo?

Simon: In the beginning, I was just trying to show people the tips & tricks or games or mobile applications that I like. Bit by bit,  the idea of creating  a blog to showcase my app reviews  grew on me, and so Simonvideo was born.

I started filming random videos and uploading them to YouTube on 13 April 2008.  The first video on my channel was a DIY Fish Trap that helps you catch small fish.

Initially, it was just a part time hobby that was rewarding in of itself to share something interesting, but as time passed it became more than just a hobby, but increasingly an alternative revenue source and soon became a lifestyle of self-employment and independence.

Now, I am striving to make better quality videos, that educate and entertain my viewers.

Q: Why games?

Simon: I do review mobile applications as well, but games are more popular and doing the review is usually a lot more fun. I have been a gamer since I chanced upon my first Nintendo way back when I was pretty young. I didn’t have money to buy one, so I always went to local “mama shops” to rent and play by the hour. 

My favourite games are, Contra, Super Mario Bros., Shadowrun, Space Quest, the Wing Commander series, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms, Freelancer, Red Alert, Counterstrike, Warcraft, OZ World, and Starcraft. I eventually started mobile gaming with Bejeweled, Cut the Rope, Fruit Ninja, Plants vs Zombies, all types of tower defence games,  and now Clash of Clans.

Q: What’s your secret to getting 64,000 subscribers?

Simon: It took quite some time to get that number of subscribers. I was below 1,000 for at least two years before I earned enough to upgrade my rig in order to  improve the quality of my videos. 

My first rig was really ghetto, I was filming with the lowest budget possible on terrible hardware. It was a mishmash of Mac mini, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, with the vanilla Apple earphones as a recording mic, and filming was done with a cardboard box. 

Then one fine day, Supercell invited me to their HQ, and the rest is history.

My subscriber base started growing when I first made this Clash of Clans Attack Strategy video.  With my trip, Supercell drove a huge spike in viewers when they shared my videos of their latest updates. These sneak peek videos were shared on Supercell’s Facebook page, and this really created spikes in viewership and subscribers every time they did so.

I eventually made enough to upgrade my hardware. I am currently using the Snowball microphone (no money for Yeti), iPhone 6, iPad air & iPad 3, a more powerful Mac mini and a greenscreen for Chroma key and compositing in post-production. The total cost was about 4-5K SGD (US$2,857 - $3,571), which is really achievable as I spread out my purchases over time.

Q: What was the most memorable Simonvideo event to date?

Simon: I'm torn between going to the Supercell HQ in Finland or my first fan meet up at the McDonald’s at the Singapore Science Centre.

The Supercell HQ visit to Finland was my first ever European trip and my first contact with real snow, and it's amazing to see so many fans at the meet up for both visits to the Supercell HQ. I was pleasantly puzzled as by the invitation. 

According to their Community Manager Marika Appel, I was one of the first Clash of Clans YouTubers at the time, and they needed a diversity of YouTuber opinions from from all over the world. I guess it’s really important to own the mindspace early as an influencer. 

The local meet up was my first fan meet up and it was a bit uncomfortable as I wasn’t really sure what to do with my sudden fame. I did get to give away a ton of free gifts from the  Supercell HQ visit, so that was lots of fun! :D

Q: Okay, Clash of Clans’s Barbarian King vs Advance Dino’s Steelback - who wins?

Simon: Hmm, that’s a tough question. When upgraded with Dark Elixir to Level 5 and beyond, The Barbarian King gets the ability Iron Fist, summoning up to 20 additional Barbarians and gains an additional damage and attack speed buff.

I’d say the Steelback pounds a Level 1-4 Barbarian King into submission, but the Level 5 and above Barbarian King would probably have roast Dino for dinner!