The Goat of Content: Khaby Lame

In March 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, Khabane Lame, a young factory worker in the northern Italian industrial town of Chivasso, lost his job. He went back to his family’s modest apartment and began spending hours each day posting videos to TikTok under the name Khaby Lame.

Using the social media app’s duet and stitch features, Mr Lame, 21, created a personal profile, capitalized on the momentum of viral and often absurdly complicated life hack videos, for example slicing open a banana with a knife, using odd contraptions to put on socks — by responding to them with wordless, easy-to-understand reaction clips in which he would do the same task in a much more straightforward manner.

How did the Cinderella story start on social media?

Mr Lame’s content is funny and relatable, and his low-key sensationalism has won him millions of followers and likes. In a sense, he is the antithesis of the social media influencer: Rather than trying to sell products or promote brands, he seems authentic and genuine, just a regular guy who stumbled upon a winning formula for entertaining people online.

Generally speaking, he removes the banana peel. He puts on a pair of socks. And, as with most gags, he generally ends his routines with the video equivalent of a "duh" punchline, extending his hands as if to show and giving an emotional shake of the head or roll of the eyes.

His early material was primarily in Italian, with Italian subtitles; he occasionally conversed his own content in his native northern-accented language. However, it was the wordless, expressive reaction videos - poking fun at forks turned into spoons with tape or defending the sanctity of Italian pizza from a video that suggests Sour Patch Kids on top.

Lame beat Charli D'Amelio in late June to become the most popular creator on the app. "I feel it's time for someone else to take over, and I'm happy for him," D'Amelio said at VidCon last month, a conference held in Los Angeles honouring digital creators on platforms such as TikTok.

Lame has over 150 million followers on the app at the present moment, where his profile says: "If you want to laugh, you've come to the right place." The exposure has bolstered his finances; he just signed a sponsorship agreement with cryptocurrency firm Binance to promote brands. He's previously worked for Hugo Boss, appearing in advertisements with Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber.

“It's my face and my expressions that make people laugh,” Mr Lame stated in an interview on Wednesday, the national holiday of Italy's founding. His neutral expressions that play the key part, he said, are a "worldwide language."

“It’s incredible to see Khaby's rise to TikTok superstardom,” comments Rich Waterworth, the Europe manager for TikTok. “He went from filming comedy sketches in his bedroom to becoming the first creator in Europe and the second in the world to reach 100 million followers in just two years.”

Mr Lame's remarkable success as a digital creator is particularly inspiring because his material lacks the polished production aspect that is associated with many of today's most famous TikTok celebrities, several of whom have been embraced by Hollywood and contains mood swings. He didn't achieve fame by collaborating in a collaborative house with other 20-somethings or by relying on artificial boosts, instead, he focused on using social media posts from daily life issues.

The key to the success of the man of the internet in social media platforms

TikTok's Lame is the 20th century's "great stone face" for his downcast demeanour, allowing elaborate viral videos on everything from double-jointed contortionists to getting keys out of your locked car to play out and then cruelly undercutting them with a roll of the eyes.

Khaby's popularity stems from his everyman persona, and the shtick he's perfected as his and just one. “Khaby's videos on popular social media platforms are short, silent, and amusing,” comments Dr D Bondy Valdovinos Kaye of the University of Leeds, a co-author of an academic book on TikTok.

“His stuff practically debunks or mocks the overproduced trends that spread across social media, whether it's life hacks or other things like that," according to Samir Chaudry, editor of The Publish Press, a newsletter covering the creator economy. “He almost personifies this authenticity in production. I think that's appealing.''

Lame was in the perfect place at the ideal moment, thanks to his talents for poking fun at strange wrinkles in daily life. When he first started gaining followers in late 2020 and early 2021, TikTok was primarily known as an app that teenagers used to dance along to their favourite songs and share their positive and negative feedback. “Khaby's creative deadpan humour showed another facet of TikTok that might offer a gateway for those unfamiliar with it to explore what else the platform has to offer," adds Kaye.

“The fact that he doesn't utter a single word allows you to connect with him more,” claims Timothy Armoo, the creator and former CEO of Fanbytes, a generation Z marketing agency. “You don't say anything, but you're certain what the other person is thinking," he adds.

Lessons Learn from Lame's social media posts

This is also very clear evidence of what TikTok strives to be: a platform that can help anyone reach superstardom without the traditional media's barriers. While Cristiano Ronaldo's abs are admired by fans on Instagram, and while President Barack Obama, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry make up Twitter's top three most followed celebrities, TikTok's idea to be a prosaic social network.

According to TikTok data, he has a following of 9% in the United States, 9% in Brazil and 5% in Mexico. He attracts nearly equal numbers of male and female viewers, which is rather unusual for an influencer.

“His success demonstrates that creativity expressed simply and genuinely may be a catalyst for exciting and connecting millions of people worldwide,” Waterworth adds. “Khaby's tale also underscores why TikTok has become such a popular platform for discovering the brightest celebrities and faces in entertainment.”

As TikTok continues to grow in popularity, we'll likely see more people like Khaby Lame emerge as social media stars. His success story is a reminder that anyone can achieve fame and fortune through creativity and hard work. So if you're looking to make a name for yourself on TikTok, don't be afraid to be yourself and experiment with different content. You never know what might just take off and make you TikTok's next big star.

From Italy to Globe through social media sites

Mr Lame's fans have websites in English, German, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and other languages. King Bach has requested collaborations from him, and he is earning money through TikTok's Creator Fund and working with businesses including Italian pasta maker Barilla.

Despite being known internationally as the Italian TikToker, Mr Lame is not considered Italian in Italy because he does not possess citizenship. Despite living in Italy since he was one year old, attending Italian school, and enthusiastically supporting the Juventus soccer team, he claims his lack of citizenship is "definitely" incorrect. “Sincerely, I don't need a piece of paper to identify myself as Italian,” he continued. His lack of an Italian passport has never caused him any problems, he said.

Italian citizenship is acquired only through blood and can be achieved by those who have spent at least nine years in the country since birth. Those who were not born in Italy may face significant difficulties. Despite their significant power in the government, mainstream liberal politicians have avoided previous efforts to modify the law and extend citizenship to immigrants and their descendants who have resided in Italy for a long time.

“I believe that one of the issues that individuals are starting to notice with major influencers is that they prescribe particular standards of appearance, what's cool and what isn't," said Adam Mouskouri, a 17-year-old student in Birmingham, Mich. "Then comes along Khaby, who's just a normal guy.

When it comes to the top three creators who still have more followers than Mr Lame, according to Mr Chaudry of The Publish Press, “the production value has gone through the roof.”

"This chance to connect with someone who isn't connected, underutilized, and seems completely genuine is a contrast to what we're seeing in the social media world," he added.

Mr Lame's content is also excellent "meme page bait," which means that many meme sites grab his TikTok videos and post them on social media platforms for easy engagement, or they utilize his face for reaction images. His films are frequently reposted on Twitter, where they can be seen by a larger audience.

He entered it, he claims, to make people laugh like his idols Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, and Checco Zalone, the Italian comedian known for his broad comedic movies. Mr Lame said he aspires to be a member of theirs in the future.

He has gotten some money but hasn't yet reached his mother's housing goal for his entire life. He suggested, "Maybe in the future."

Khabane Lame, social media's latest big star, is a 22-year-old factory worker from Chivasso, Italy who posts videos of himself doing everyday tasks in a much more straightforward manner. Lame has amassed a large following on social media sites due to the contrast of his content with that of other top social media sites creators. While the top social networking site creators often have highly produced videos with high production value, Lame's content is more relatable and genuine. Social media users have given Lame the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and learn about their cultures. He is grateful for what social media users have done for him and his family, and he hopes to continue making videos that make people laugh and feel good.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Please feel free to share it with your friends and family. Social media has given Lame the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and learn about their cultures. He is grateful to social media users that have done for him and his family, and he hopes to continue making videos that make people laugh and feel good.