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Things I Can Do

2012-02-14 · list · John · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Personal life, Books & writing, Sports) · mode: Personal essay · tags: self promotion, community lore

On Valentine's Day John lists things he knows how to do and loves, from book recommendations, Swindon Town and CGP Grey to a spoiler blog for TFIOS readers, and argues that Kickstarter and Gumroad, by directly connecting makers and fans, might make the internet an artistic utopia.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Valentine's Day; a Swamp People line prompts a list of six things John knows how to do; 1: disc golf with Willy

  • ★ John says a character on Swamp People said 'I like knowing how to do things', prompting him to list six things he knows how to do, is proud of and loves. — 00:00:00
  • ★ John says he knows how to play disc golf with Willy, who is very good at it. (playful) — 00:00:00 · Willy

00:00:29 — 2: reading 50 books in 2012; recommends The Art of Fielding and Jennifer Smith's The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

  • ★★ John says he is trying to read 50 books in 2012 and has so far read two great ones. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John recommends Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding: a book for so-called grown-ups, but he can't remember enjoying a story more; it is beautiful and made him feel all the things. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John recommends The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by longtime Nerdfighter Jennifer Smith: beautifully written, super romantic and extremely thoughtful. — 00:00:29 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:58 — 3: watching soccer: the FIFA Swoodilypoopers' FA Cup and the real Swindon Town's season (League 2, Wembley final)

  • ★★ John reminds Hank that the FIFA Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers won the 2011 FA Cup. (playful) — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John says the real Swindon Town FC is having an amazing season: a good chance of winning League 2, the fourth league of English soccer, and a place in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final at Wembley. — 00:00:58

00:01:27 — Fitz Hall's real team adopts the brothers' 'One Size Fitz Hall' chant; 4: watching YouTube: John's obsession with CGP Grey

  • ★★ John says Fitz Hall, one of the brothers' Swoodilypoopers players, is a real player, and his actual team (not Swindon Town) has apparently adopted the 'One Size Fitz Hall' cheer the brothers made up for him. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:27
  • ★★ John says he has become obsessed with the brilliant YouTuber CGP Grey, who hates pennies and loves Britain, 'just like me except smarter', and tells viewers to watch him. — 00:01:27 · YouTube, United Kingdom

00:01:57 — 5: answering questions: a password-protected blog for readers who have finished The Fault in Our Stars

  • ★★★ For readers who have finished The Fault in Our Stars, and only for them, John has created a password-protected blog with his answers to questions, where they can comment and discuss the book. — 00:01:57 · The Fault in Our Stars

00:02:26 — 6: disrupting content delivery: piracy is not cool, but Kickstarter (Thought Bubble documentary), the FTDWS and Gumroad connect makers and fans directly; the internet as artistic utopia; preposition joke; sign-off

  • ★★★ John says he is not a fan of illegal disruptions of content delivery systems: stealing has been around a long time and there is nothing revolutionary or cool about it. (hedged) — 00:02:26
  • ★★★ John is a huge fan of ways to connect people directly with the stuff they like, like Kickstarter: Julia Nunes no longer needs venture capitalists or record companies to fund an album, a very big revolution. — 00:02:26 · Kickstarter
  • ★★ John says Thought Bubble, who animate Crash Course, are kickstarting a documentary; if enough Nerdfighters help fund it, Nerdfighteria will be its executive producers. Link in the description. — 00:02:55 · Crash Course, Kickstarter, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John says what he loves about Kickstarter, as about the Foundation to Decrease World Suck, is that it is 'about us': the money is raised and spent together. — 00:02:55 · Kickstarter, Foundation to Decrease World Suck, world suck
  • ★★ John says both brothers are obsessed with the new website Gumroad, which connects makers directly to fans without PayPal, Amazon or iTunes, taking a smaller cut than PayPal; he invites viewers to upload and sell their stuff. — 00:02:55 · Amazon
  • ★ John says Gumroad was created by an amazing 19-year-old. — 00:03:24
  • ★★★ John says projects like Gumroad and Kickstarter make him think the internet might someday become the artistic utopia: a place to make a living making things you care about with and for people you care about. (hedged) — 00:03:24 · Kickstarter

In the description and comments

  • ★★ As an example of what Gumroad can do, John points to Nerdfighter Rosianna Halse's "Abstract and Brief Chronicles of the Time", beautiful meditations on grief and longing, for $3. — video description · Rosianna Halse Rojas
  • ★★ John gives the blog for readers who have finished The Fault in Our Stars as a Tumblr whose password is the last word of the book's acknowledgements, case sensitive. — video description · The Fault in Our Stars

Humor (significant)

  • Having recalled his FIFA team's FA Cup win, John says he doesn't want to take credit for the real club's form. — 00:00:58

    “the actual Swindon Town Football Club, perhaps inspired by my success, is having an amazing season.”

  • John gushes that Jennifer Smith's novel left him 'very blown away', repeating the phrase. — 00:00:58

    “Very blown away. I'm a novelist.”

  • John urges viewers to watch the YouTuber CGP Grey. — 00:01:57

    “So watch CGP Grey, which is not my nickname for my pants.”

  • After describing the internet as a place to make things with and for people you care about, John turns to grammar. — 00:03:24

    “Unfortunately, due to overeager grammarians, the internet will never be a place where it is okay to end a sentence with a preposition”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: crowdfunding · Gumroad · Kickstarter

Also: People: CGP Grey · Fitz Hall · Julia Nunes

Projects: Crash Course · Foundation to Decrease World Suck

Works: documentary (Thought Bubble Kickstarter) · Swamp People · The Art of Fielding · The Fault in Our Stars · The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Organizations: Amazon · EFL League Two · PayPal · Swindon Town FC · Thought Bubble · YouTube

Terms: doobly-doo

Concepts: copyright

Places: United Kingdom · Wembley Stadium

Events: EFL Trophy · FA Cup · Valentine's Day

Characters: Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers

Products: iTunes

Policies: Abolish the US penny

animal: Willy

Only in the description or credits: Abstract and Brief Chronicles of the Time · Chad Harbach · Jennifer E. Smith · Rosianna Halse Rojas

Also centred on crowdfunding: Introducing Subbable

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