Skip to content

Introducing Subbable

2013-07-26 · Hank · watch on YouTube · Projects · announcement promotion

Hank, answering John's request to fix online video's dependence on advertising, introduces Subbable, a pay-what-you-want subscription system launching with Crash Course, and argues that advertisers value views rather than viewers, so Nerdfighteria could drive a cultural shift to voluntary payment.

What is said

00:00:00 — John's request to fix advertising during his paternity leave; Hank's fake announcement of 'Super Cardio Brothers'

  • ★★ Hank recalls John saying months ago that nearly everything online depends on advertising, which undervalues the creator-viewer relationship, and asking Hank to fix this during his paternity leave. (playful) — 00:00:00 · John Green, online advertising
  • ★★ The description says advertising does not care how viewers feel; the brothers fear distracting content will become the norm and loved content rare, and Subbable is their attempt to slow or stop that. (hedged) — 00:00:00 · online advertising

00:00:33 — The problem: advertisers value views, not viewers; no technological fix, but a cultural one, with Nerdfighteria as activation energy and Subbable as catalyst

  • ★★★ Hank says the problem, as someone on Twitter put it, is that advertisers value views, not viewers: they only care that you are watching, not how much you care. — 00:00:37 · online advertising, Twitter > «advertisers value views, not viewers.»
  • ★★★ Hank says he cannot solve this alone; the advertising system is too ingrained for a technological solution, but 'we' might find a cultural one. (hedged) — 00:00:47 · online advertising
  • ★★★ Cultural changes need activation energy and catalysts; Hank feels Nerdfighteria, now a powerful force, could be the activation energy and Subbable the catalyst. (hedged) — 00:01:00 · Nerdfighteria

00:01:12 — How Subbable works (choose your price, perks); launch with Crash Course, whose Google grant is ending; Crash Course stays free on YouTube

  • ★★★ Subbable lets you subscribe to content and choose what to pay: $0, $1, $5 or $100 a month, or a one-time amount. — 00:01:12
  • ★★ Subscribers get videos and other content in their feed, possibly some exclusive content, without having to pay. (hedged) — 00:01:26
  • ★★ Money spent is banked in Subbable and traded for perks for that project, such as a signed poster, a mention in an episode, or a message to a loved one in the description. — 00:01:33
  • ★★★ Subbable launches with only Crash Course, the brothers' educational show, which is very expensive to make. — 00:01:45 · Crash Course
  • ★★★ The Google grant that paid for Crash Course for the last two years is ending; without Subbable and its fans' support they cannot keep making it. — 00:01:50 · Google, Crash Course
  • ★★★ Hank says educational content cannot get the 'bajillion' views needed to pay for itself through advertising. (playful) — 00:01:58 · online advertising, Crash Course
  • ★★★ Crash Course will stay free on YouTube; the hope is that enough people who can pay will, so that everyone can have access. (hedged) — 00:02:03 · Crash Course, YouTube

00:02:13 — The ask: pay for content because you want to; a cultural shift toward engaging rather than distracting content

  • ★★★ Hank asks viewers, which he calls weird, to pay for content because they want to, not because they are forced to: a cultural shift. — 00:02:13
  • ★★ Educating the world for free takes money; Hank thinks the cultural change will lead to much more engaging content that people love rather than merely distracting content. (hedged) — 00:02:22 · online advertising

00:02:38 — Credits to the developer and designer and to Nerdfighteria; John returns Tuesday; subbable.com and 'defy capitalism'

  • ★★ Hank credits developer Peter Jaros, designer Andrew Willis and the support of Nerdfighteria for making Subbable possible. — 00:02:38 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ Hank says sharing the channel with many people during John's paternity leave over the last few weeks has been wonderful, but he is relieved John returns on Tuesday. — 00:02:48 · John Green
  • ★★ Hank spells out subbable.com and asks viewers to go there, help fund Crash Course, and 'defy capitalism'. (playful) — 00:02:59 · Crash Course

Threads in this video

BR2_3434318df7