Vidcon: Thoughts from Places

2011-08-05 · letter vlog · John, Hank · 3:51 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Projects (also: Internet & YouTube, Science & nature, Nerdfighteria) · mode: Personal essay · tags: recurring series, on location, song or performance, self promotion

In a love letter to VidCon 2011, John recalls its highlights (Meghan Tonjes, 3,000 people singing a quark song, Driftless Pony Club, Watsky's crowd dive) and argues that Hank has built a career making places where people can fall and get caught: he builds communities for a living.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Greeting 'record'; standing on stage before VidCon 2011 opened; thanks to Hank; quick list of VidCon moments

• ★★ John recalls standing on stage with Hank before the doors opened for VidCon 2011, unable to imagine the chairs full of people, and then they were. — 00:00:03 · VidCon
• ★★ John thanks Hank for organizing another amazing VidCon. — 00:00:03 · VidCon
• ★ John lists VidCon moments: resting on beanbags, Charlie McDonnell playing Rock Band, meeting 'the actual Yosemite Bear', Philip DeFranco playing a game (name unclear) with him, and the Gregory Brothers. — 00:00:03 · VidCon

00:00:32 — Meghan Tonjes on the main stage; Hank and Alan brought her to DFTBA Records before she was famous; her first album

• ★★ John says Meghan Tonjes performed on the VidCon main stage and he almost cried listening to her play on the couch. — 00:00:32 · VidCon
• ★★ John says Hank and Alan brought Meghan Tonjes to DFTBA Records before she was on Ellen and famous, and her first album is now coming out. — 00:00:32 · Alan Lastufka, DFTBA Records

00:01:13 — Hank's concert: 3,000 people singing a song about quarks, a reason for hope

• ★★★ John says that whenever anyone whines about teenagers' intellectually disengaged tastes he will play them 3,000 people singing a song about quarks, which makes him hopeful about the world. — 00:01:13 · hope

00:01:51 — Driftless Pony Club's set; George Watsky's crowd dive; 'the YouTube community always catches you'

• ★★ John says Driftless Pony Club, another band Hank and Alan signed to DFTBA Records, played; after ten years as a band, thousands sang their lyrics back to them for the first time. — 00:01:51 · Alan Lastufka, DFTBA Records
• ★★ John says that at the end of one of his poems George Watsky dove headfirst into the VidCon crowd, which caught him. — 00:01:51 · VidCon
• ★★ John says the crowd catching Watsky shows the thing about the YouTube community: they always catch you. — 00:01:51 · YouTube
• ★ John jokes that he made George Watsky sign a waiver before his headfirst dive into the crowd. (playful) — 00:01:51

00:02:20 — Hank builds places where people can fall and get caught: he builds communities for a living; I love you; belated Esther Day; sign-off

• ★ John says Watsky later called Hank his guardian angel in an interview, because Hank helped him a lot when he was first growing on YouTube. — 00:02:20 · YouTube
• ★★★ John says that through nerdfighting, DFTBA Records, helping YouTubers and planning conferences, Hank has built a career making places where people can fall and get caught: he builds communities for a living. — 00:02:20 · nerdfighter, DFTBA Records, VidCon, YouTube
• ★★ John tells Hank 'I love that. I love you,' and wishes him a happy belated Esther Day. — 00:02:20 · Esther Day

00:02:50 — Closing clip: concert performance of Hank's anglerfish song

In the description and comments

• ★ The description invites viewers to pre-order John's new book, The Fault in Our Stars. — video description · The Fault in Our Stars

Threads in this video

• outcome · VidCon 2011 edition — John looks back on VidCon 2011, which Hank organized: the full hall, Meghan Tonjes, the quark sing-along, Driftless Pony Club and Watsky's crowd dive. (00:00:03)
• restate · Is it reasonable to be hopeful about the future? — John says 3,000 people singing a song about quarks answers complaints about teenagers and asks how anyone could not feel hopeful about the world. (00:01:13)
• callback · The brothers' agreement never to use the L-word about each other (2010) — On a belated Esther Day, John uses the L-word about Hank: 'I love you'. (00:02:20)
• reminder · John points viewers to pre-order The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — The description invites viewers to pre-order John's new book, The Fault in Our Stars. (video description)
• milestone · DFTBA Records: founding of Hank and Alan's label for YouTube musicians (2008) — John says Hank and Alan brought Meghan Tonjes to DFTBA Records before she was on Ellen and famous, and her first album is now coming out. (00:00:32)
• restate · What is the community for? — John says that through nerdfighting, DFTBA Records, helping YouTubers and planning conferences, Hank has built a career making places where people can fall and get caught: he builds communities for a living. (00:02:20)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• DFTBA Records: founding of Hank and Alan's label for YouTube musicians (2008) — running; last: milestone, 2023-12-01

Mentioned

Central: Meghan Tonjes · VidCon

Also: People: Charlie McDonnell · Ellen DeGeneres · George Watsky · Paul Vasquez · Philip DeFranco

Projects: DFTBA Records

Works: A Song About an Anglerfish · Rock Band · Strange Charm

Organizations: YouTube

Groups: Driftless Pony Club · The Gregory Brothers

Rituals: Esther Day

Terms: nerdfighter

Concepts: hope

Only in the description or credits: Alan Lastufka · The Fault in Our Stars · Thoughts from Places

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