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Loving Loving Things in Los Angeles

2016-04-01 · letter vlog · Hank · 2:46 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube · mode: Personal essay · tags: on location, guest or collab

Hank recaps two weeks of hanging out and making videos with internet creators in Los Angeles and argues that liking people's work is not the same as wanting to be like them; staying an observational fan, away from LA, keeps it inspiring.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Diary montage of two weeks in LA with internet creators: collabs, dinners, parties, studio visits

  • ★★ Hank says he spent the past two weeks (from 18 March 2016) in LA trying to pack in as much hangout time with internet creators as possible, and shows a diary of it. — 00:00:00 · Los Angeles
  • ★★ Hank lists collab shoots: Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig, a Good Mythical Morning with Rhett and Link, stuff at SourceFed, two Just Between Us with Gaby and Allison. — 00:00:18 · Grace Helbig
  • ★ Hank went to the launch party for Dysh, an app like Yelp but for individual restaurant dishes, which Ingrid, Grace, Mamrie and Hannah have been working on. — 00:00:29 · Grace Helbig
  • ★ Hank spent a day at a collab camp, a new idea to him, where he met many YouTubers; later he visited 3 Black Dot to talk shop and try the HTC Vive. — 00:00:59
  • ★ Hank says he still has more to do: shooting YouTubers React and recording with the Gilmore Guys and Travis McElroy. — 00:01:25

00:01:31 — Being a fan: liking someone vs wanting to be like them; why he won't live in LA; the luckiest fan

  • ★★★ Hank calls himself a careful fan, but once he is a fan, an unabashed one. — 00:01:31

    “I'm a careful fan, but once I am a fan, I am an unabashed fan.”

  • ★★ Hank says part of his appreciation of others' work is wanting to be like them and make things as good, and thinks that is where some of his ambition comes from. (hedged) — 00:01:35

  • ★★★ Hank says he also simply enjoys liking people and their work; 'I like you' gets tangled with 'I want to be like you', but realizing they differ has been a big deal for him. — 00:01:47
  • ★★★ Hank enjoyed the trip but doesn't want to live in LA, so this fortnight never becomes normal; being an observational fan a step away is in many ways better than being inside. — 00:02:06 · Los Angeles
  • ★★ Hank never wants to lose being a fan; otherwise these weeks would not have been so invigorating and inspiring. — 00:02:19
  • ★★ Hank is a fan of what these people create and that the internet let them do it; he feels lucky to be friends with people he's a fan of, and brother to one. (hedged) — 00:02:24 · John Green

00:02:43 — Sign-off

In the description and comments

  • ★★ In the description Hank says one reason he lives in Montana is to stay a little disconnected from this culture, or he stops being a fan and gets competitive. — video description · Montana
  • ★★ In the description Hank says he wants to be driven mainly by liking what gets created, not by comparison; a little of both is healthy, but competitiveness must not outweigh enthusiasm. (hedged) — video description
  • ★★ Hank says that even as the community struggles with its growth and some creators have disappointed him, he keeps being surprised by how many internet creators are enthusiastic, driven, good people. — video description
  • ★★ Hank credits audiences for much of that and thanks viewers for deliberately choosing to support and watch creators who don't suck. (hedged) — video description

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Los Angeles

Also: People: Allison Raskin · Derek Muller · Gaby Dunn · Grace Helbig · Hannah Hart · Jake Roper · Jon Cozart · Lee Newton · Markiplier · MatPat · Mayim Bialik · Meghan Camarena · Meghan Tonjes · Michael Stevens · Mitchell Davis · Steve Zaragoza · Travis McElroy · Tyler Oakley

Works: Gilmore Guys · Good Mythical Morning · Just Between Us · Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig · YouTubers React

Organizations: 3BlackDot · BuzzFeed · Dysh · Google · SourceFed · Yelp

Groups: Rhett and Link · They Might Be Giants

Places: Santa Monica, California · The Grove at Farmers Market

Products: HTC Vive

Only in the description or credits: Ingrid Nilsen · Mamrie Hart · Montana

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