Who would have thought sharing your knowledge of Rubik’s Cubes could be so profitable.

Dan Brown certainly didn’t.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln freshman estimates he made between $10,000 and $12,000 last year from advertising on his YouTube videos. And, he says, the income keeps growing.

“To be honest it hasn’t really hit me I’m making so much money,” Brown said. “It’s a lot to comprehend.”

And to think it all started when he  made a YouTube video last year about how to solve a Rubik’s Cube.

He did it for a friend.

It went viral.

For uneducated Web users, that means it took off, went nuts. People loved it. Part One of Brown’s video got nine million views on YouTube; Part Two got five million.

And it caught the attention of the YouTube folks, who gave Brown a video award.

That was amazing enough: The spoils of that victory took him to New York City for a two-day media tour with other winners.

But the story doesn’t end there.

Back at home, Brown graduated from East High School and went on to study political science at UNL, and he kept posting.

YouTube officials sent him an invitation to become a partner. That meant he had to fill out an application and sign an agreement for YouTube to post ads alongside his videos and him to share in the profits.

Initially, his Rubik’s Cube videos made money, along with some other how-to videos and social commentary.

Then this past summer, he really got serious, starting to vlog (think blog+video) regularly.

He started with ideas of his own, and now gets many of his ideas from viewers who e-mail him.

He’s vlogged on everything from legalizing marijuana and Obama to Pirates vs. Ninjas, subliminal messages and whether there are aliens on earth. 

The number of subscribers to his site has increased from around 20,000 to 47,500, and, he said, he’s gaining 100 to 250 subscribers a day. He’s also getting about 40,000 video views a day, he said.

“So I’m growing.”

He figures since he’s really started concentrating on posting, he makes about $2,500 a month.

Brown isn’t alone.

YouTube created the partners program in December 2007, and there are now thousands of users participating, said Aaron Zamost, YouTube spokesman.

The program is an effort to both compensate users and build the site, he said. There are individual users like Brown and media giants like CBS.

The program means individual users are putting more time into their videos, Zamost said.

“It’s exciting for us,” he said. “Without these people we don’t have as vibrant a community and as vibrant a site.”

YouTube officials select applicants based on how prolific they are and on the popularity of their videos.

Zamost declined to say how many users participate in the program or their average income. But a New York Times article said some users are bringing in six figures.

Brown said he’s going to use some of the money he earns to pay for college but also to pay for a university-sponsored exchange trip to China this summer. He’s also going to save for the time when he is ready to buy a house — or some other major purchase.

Brown is living at home, he said, because he uses his room as an office where he produces videos.

Brown figures he spends about five hours writing, editing and filing vlogs, which he does a couple of times a week. He also spends about an hour a day responding to e-mails.

He’s invested some equipment in his venture: a $1,600 Mac he bought for school, but also for its video capabilities, and a new camera that cost about $500. There are other incidental costs, and he’s thinking about investing in some equipment, such as lighting.

“I look at YouTube now really as a career,” he said. “Not something I’ll be doing forever but for right now, it really is a career because there’s lots and lots of room to grow. I have not maxed out my potential at all.”

Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com.