Boston Woman One Of YouTube's Most Popular

BOSTON -- A local Boston woman is turning her passion for making home movies into a profitable business venture with the Web juggernaut YouTube.

Jodie Rivera, 23, known to YouTube users as Venetian Princess, has been tapped by YouTube to take part in the company’s new revenue sharing program.

In January, YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley announced that the Web site, which had recently been purchased by Google for $1.65 billion, was working on a program to allow users to be paid for posting their videos.

The program that launched Thursday targets YouTube’s most popular posters, allowing them to put advertisements above their videos and receive payment from the company.

Rivera has 22 videos on her personal page and more than 2 million views since she joined the video sharing site last August.

"It's awesome having people like my video and being able to build fan bases. I’ve always been interested in making home movies," she said.

For all the praise and encouragement viewers have posted on her page, she has had a few odd requests from fans.

"One person actually asked if they could buy my trash," she said.

Rivera is prevented from disclosing how much she will be paid by a confidentiality contract.