I'm on Cameo Now For Some Reason!?!
A few years back I applied to be one of many, many folks who sell personalized videos on Cameo. Why? Why not? I’ve enjoyed and used Cameo fairly extensively. It’s my gift of choice whenever my illustrator Felipe Sobreiro finishes work on one of our projects and I got Cameos from Reggie Watts and John Kassir, the exceedingly game voice of The Crypt-Keeper, for “Weird Al” Yankovic’s birthdays.
I suppose I was also applying to be part of the other side of Cameo because I wanted to determine the exact nature and extent of my cult semi-fame.
Whenever I ask the universe how famous I am the answer is almost invariably, “Not famous at all.” Many years back a fan held an “Evening with Nathan Rabin” event in Chicago and, if I remember correctly the only two people there were my wife and my former boss.
I did a little better when I was the star attraction at “An Afternoon with Nathan Rabin” at the super hip and happening Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles very early in 2020, shortly before the whole pandemic thing.
I promoted the hell out of that event and it still failed to crack double digits in terms of attendance.
The world never stops humbling me, and honestly, it’s getting a little old. I get it, universe! I’m not doing so great! I do not need daily, even hourly reminders.
So when I did not hear back from Cameo I was not terribly surprised. I am a cult writer with a very small but loyal following.
I’m the kind of cult writer whose name and work mean nothing to 98 percent of the world but mean a great deal to a very small but wonderful and super-appreciated cultists.
Two days ago something weird and kind of awesome happened. A good four years after letting Cameo know that I would totally be up for selling as well as buying videos they finally got back to me.
I was pleasantly surprised that despite the four year gap between applying as a lark and them making a final determination, they gave me the green light to be one of the site’s personalities.
I’d applied as a goof. So I was amused and surprised to learn that their answer as to whether or not they want me on their site was “yes.”
Now I had to figure out how much to charge the handful of people who might conceivably be interested in buying a video from me, a non-famous person. People who sell videos for five dollars always strike me as kinda sad. At that price they might as well be giving it away.
But I did not want to be one of those deluded narcissists who greatly overestimate their popularity and the public’s interest in them. You can always tell when someone famous does NOT want to be on Cameo but were coerced into doing it by their manager or agent because they tend to charge ridiculous amounts of money.
I decided on twenty dollars because that’s not a lot of money and let’s face it. The demand for Nathan Rabin videos is not high. It may not even exist although I have had at least one person request me since I put up my shingle a few days ago.
It went well! The process is shockingly easy. It’s really just a matter of pointing my phone in my direction, talking for a few minutes and then hitting “Send.” I was asked to answer a question rather than wish someone a Happy Birthday or Fresh-Ass time at the Gathering of the Juggalos so it was like a mini virtual Q&A. 10/10 would definitely do again.
Because I am not famous I try to go above and beyond to deliver a satisfying experience.
I’m on Cameo for some reason! If, for some inexplicable reason you want to buy my services I would very much appreciate it. I’ll do my best! I’ll try to be entertaining!
A Cameo from me would certainly be obscure! I don’t think anyone expects that so you would definitely have the element of surprise.
The lucky beneficiary of a Nathan Rabin Cameo will undoubtedly think, “Holy shit! I did not think anyone knew who that guy was! But the person who gave me this wonderful gift apparently does!”
You can find me over at https://www.cameo.com/nathanrabin
I’m open for very silly business! Get in now to avoid the inevitable rush!
Check out The Joy of Trash: Flaming Garbage Fire Extended Edition at https://www.nathanrabin.com/shop and get a free, signed "Weird Al” Yankovic-themed coloring book for free! Just 18.75, shipping and taxes included! Or, for just 25 dollars, you can get a hardcover “Joy of Positivity 2: The New Batch” edition signed (by Felipe and myself) and numbered (to 50) copy with a hand-written recommendation from me within its pages. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind collectible!
I’ve also written multiple versions of my many books about “Weird Al” Yankovic that you can buy here: https://www.nathanrabin.com/shop
Or you can buy The Joy of Trash from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Trash-Nathan-Definitive-Everything/dp/B09NR9NTB4/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= but why would you want to do that?
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