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Keeping it EVEN REALER

2014-09-30 · letter vlog · John · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Personal life) · mode: Personal essay · tags: civic or action cta, community lore

Replying to Hank's 'keeping it real' video, John admits he is stressed and unsure what to focus on after Ethiopia and meningitis, finds in Hank's survey that Nerdfighteria's values still match the brothers' (viral views ranked last), and asks what they should do less of.

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; keeping it real in reply to Hank; John's cold and husky movie-trailer voice

  • ★ John says he has 'a little bit of the tiny chicken disease' and a husky voice, joking that his two children are tiny carriers of viruses. (playful) — 00:00:13 · tiny chickens

00:00:27 — Ethiopia, meningitis and an existential crisis: what to do with his life and which projects to focus on

  • ★★ John recalls his amazing trip to Ethiopia in the last couple of months, for which he is grateful, and then getting meningitis. — 00:00:27
  • ★★★ John says that at some point in the last six months he started to have a kind of existential crisis. (hedged) — 00:00:36
  • ★★★ John says his usual answer to young people asking what to do with their lives (you don't do just one thing) is a cop-out: honestly he doesn't know what to do with his own. (hedged) — 00:00:40
  • ★★ John says we are on Earth for a very brief time and have to use that time wisely. — 00:00:55

  • ★★★ John says what he does know is that he likes writing books and making stuff for and with Nerdfighters. — 00:01:09 · Nerdfighteria

    “I like writing books, and I like making stuff for, and with, Nerdfighters.”

  • ★★ John says the TFIOS movie was awesome mostly because it felt like Hollywood making a $15 million present for Nerdfighteria, and thinks the Paper Towns movie will be the same or more so. (hedged) — 00:01:14 · The Fault in Our Stars (film), Paper Towns (film), Nerdfighteria

  • ★★ John says he is not that into 'Hollywood-y stuff' and just doesn't know what he should be doing. — 00:01:25
  • ★★★ John says he is trying to write a new book. — 00:01:29
  • ★★ John admits he spends time ruminating about the terrible things people say about him and his work on the internet, though he probably shouldn't. — 00:01:31
  • ★★★ John asks whether he should focus on Mental Floss, Crash Course, The Art Assignment, Vlogbrothers or the Wimbly Womblys, and whether doing all of them means doing none well. (unsure) — 00:01:38 · Crash Course, The Art Assignment, Vlogbrothers

00:01:48 — Problems of privilege; wanting a strong Nerdfighter community; $300,000 raised for Water.org; stressed out

  • ★★★ Agreeing with Hank, John calls these problems of extreme privilege he is grateful to have, but wants to learn how to be a good Nerdfighter in a strong community. — 00:01:48 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★★ John says the community just raised $300,000 for Water.org in Ethiopia, more than the first six Projects for Awesome raised combined. — 00:02:02 · Project for Awesome, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★★ John says, honestly, he is stressed out right now and doesn't know what to do. — 00:02:14

00:02:21 — Hank's survey results: friends and family, current events, charity, Crash Course; viral videos dead last; values line up

  • ★★★ John says the survey's top choice was that the brothers spend more time with friends and family, which made him weep, knowing he should spend more time with his children. — 00:02:21 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John says viewers next wanted help understanding current events, which the brothers haven't done enough of lately because it is a lot of work. — 00:02:40
  • ★★ John says raising money and attention for charities, the next survey choice, is a hugely and increasingly important part of their work, so maybe they're good there. (hedged) — 00:02:52
  • ★★ John says that in the coming months viewers might see less of his face on Crash Course, but he will still be working a lot on it. (hedged) — 00:03:02 · Crash Course
  • ★★★ John's favourite survey result: making viral videos that get views came dead last; what metrics and business strategy advise interests Nerdfighteria least, and him too. — 00:03:08 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John says viewers also wanted more Vlogbrothers videos and science education, showing the community's values and the brothers' still line up. — 00:03:24 · Vlogbrothers

00:03:31 — Ask: what should the brothers do less of; thanks for the Water.org money; sign-off

  • ★★★ Without making a survey, John asks viewers what the brothers should do less of, so he can write a book and have more time to be a Nerdfighter. (hedged) — 00:03:31 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John thanks Nerdfighteria for raising more than $300,000 for Water.org, which he says will permanently transform the lives of more than 10,000 people in Ethiopia. — 00:03:44 · Nerdfighteria

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: existential crisis

Also: Projects: Crash Course · Project for Awesome · The Art Assignment

Works: Paper Towns (film) · The Fault in Our Stars (film)

Organizations: Mental Floss · Water.org

Terms: tiny chickens

Concepts: meningitis · scientific literacy · social privilege · viral video

Places: Ethiopia · Hollywood

Characters: AFC Wimbledon Wimbly Womblys

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