[via Agency Spy]

The reasons Revver failed are obvious. Its one advantage was that YouTube didn't pay creators. Then, well, YouTube started paying creators and sucked up all the low-level talent, and meanwhile sites like Superdeluxe topped Revver's "we'll pay you eventually" model with a "we'll actually give you a budget" model, luring away the pros.

But the reason Revver failed so spectacularly was that it tried so hard to go Hollywood. The LA-based, venture-capital-funded company acted fancy, unlike the lovably dorky people running competing sites like Blip.tv. They chased talent like Lonelygirl15, who later returned to YouTube. They offered vlogger Ze Frank cocaine at his first meeting (Ze doesn't do coke, he just looks like he does). It's like the whole company was imitating something they saw on TV.

And now they're worthless. Well, now they admit they're worthless. Which could seem bad for independent artists, except that Revver never came through anyway (they couldn't even tell Ze what they owed him), and YouTube really isn't that bad, and now there's one less awful company souring people to the idea of new media.

Repeat after me: REVENUE IS NOT PROFIT. And Revver is competing in a sea of also-rans. VuMe and Metacafe also have producer reward programs, and DailyMotion and YouTube are about to launch their own programs. Lots of sites are about to start competing for the few uploads that will have money-making potential.

And it turns out that $1 million, impressive as it sounds, is not so great if you're a video producer, either. Since 25,000 producers have received some form of payout — making the average payout $40 total, as onlinevideoinsider points out in the comments — you are not talking about a living wage... more like a thank you for the traffic. Thousands more have not qualified for the minimum $20 payout yet. Success stories like Eepybird, the wacky "scientists" behind the Diet-Pepsi/Mentos videos, and Tim Street, producer of the salacious French maid TV, who are making a living wage from revenue-sharing are few and far between.

Until more producers can make more money from residuals, ad revenue sharing is just a gimmick. And until YouTube enters the game, Revver is just an experiment trying to reverse a year of bad news with a seemingly positive press release.

Also, somewhat unrelated: if the Lonelygirl15 videos are going to continue, can she please stop overplucking the middle of her eyebrows? So much room for improvement there.

U.N. Enlists Internet Star for Anti-Poverty Pitch [WSJ]

Matt Foremski, the 18-year-old son of Tom Foremski, a reporter for the blog Silicon Valley Watcher, was the first to disinter a trove of photographs of the familiar-looking actress, who portrayed the character named Bree in the videos.

Way to go, Foremski boys! We knew Tom (a well-known Valley dude and a former Financial Times reporter) was due for a scoop, but this was a shocker. (And since we assume the discovery involved poring over photos of cute teenage actresses, we're relieved Tom's 18-year-old-son did the legwork.)

Well, It Turns Out That Lonelygirl Really Wasn't [NY Times]
SVW Exclusive: The identity of LonelyGirl15 [Silicon Valley Watcher]

Well, It Turns Out That Lonelygirl Really Wasn't [NY Times]

Congrats, Heff — you did it! You blogged your way into a bona fide Times story! Live the dream, lady!

Well, It Turns Out That Lonelygirl Really Wasn't [NYT]
Lonelygirl15 [Screens]

Today, three sources turned up info about LonelyGirl15 — now known as 19-year-old L.A. actress Jessica Rose. First, YouTube user mgpapas posted the following photo montage of Rose as herself and as LG15. (Mute it; the soundtrack is "You Are So Beautiful to Me.")

A blog called "Top of the Tube" spread the video and added Rose's resume. Meanwhile, tech blogger Tom Foremski wrote that he found Rose too.

lonelygirl15 revealed : jessica rose aspiring actress [Top of the Tube]

• An unscrupulous LiveJournaler posted a fake Craigslist sex ad and published nearly 200 responses, including that of Microsoft employee Jerry Cummings (Warning: Dongs), pictured here. While this was a real asshat stunt to pull, that won't stop us from tittering at Jerry for sending dick pics using his work address. [Waxy.org]
• The LA Times can't figure out who's behind the amateur-but-not-amateur videos by YouTube star lonelygirl15, and they're too pussy to admit that all the evidence points to a progressive media company represented by the Creative Artists Agency. It's obviously not a real teen running a one-woman show; the cuts are too crisp, the monologues too scripted, the source too untrackable. [L.A. Times and apophenia]
• Hewlett-Packard didn't just spy on its board members. The company sniffed out the personal phone records of journalists including writers at CNET and the Wall Street Journal, and New York Times writer John Markoff. The firm that did this told HP its investigation was legal. How scary is it if they're right? [NY Times]