Skip to content

YouTube's New Thing (and a New Thing of Our Own)

2016-09-13 · announcement · John · 3:53 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Projects) · mode: Announcements · tags: timely hook, self promotion

John announces YouTube's new Community tab, arguing that the best YouTube channels are communities rather than lean-back shows, says Vlogbrothers takes no corporate sponsorship, and announces 100 Days, his health show with his best friend Chris starting January 1.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — John admits he dislikes change but is excited about a YouTube change debuting today

  • ★ John says he generally dislikes change and thinks YouTube peaked in July 2007, when the site went down for maintenance almost every Wednesday. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:05 · YouTube
  • ★★ John says he was a little dubious, but is genuinely excited about a YouTube change that debuts today. — 00:00:21 · YouTube

00:00:28 — The idea for 100 Days, a health and fitness show, and its two problems

  • ★★★ For a couple of years John has wanted to make 100 Days, a YouTube health show in which two ordinary people spend 100 days eating well, exercising and doing what trials show improves health. — 00:00:28 · 100 Days, YouTube
  • ★ John says the first problem was that he didn't want to exercise and eat well for 100 days, since sitting and pizza are his way of life. (playful) — 00:00:58 · 100 Days
  • ★★ John says the second problem was that the show's infographics, recipes and live shows would have meant maintaining countless new social media profiles. (playful) — 00:01:05

00:01:19 — Community stuff has needed homes off YouTube; YouTube as community, not lean-back video

  • ★★ John says they have always had to build homes off YouTube for non-video community stuff: Art Assignment submissions go via other sites, Crash Course lacks worksheets, and P4A needs social media. — 00:01:19 · YouTube, The Art Assignment, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Crash Course, Project for Awesome
  • ★★★ John argues YouTube has seen itself as about video, but for many it is mostly about community: the best channels are communities you are part of, long seen as YouTube's weakness. — 00:01:37 · YouTube
  • ★★ John says early YouTube released a product called Lean Back for watching videos without engaging with them. — 00:01:51 · YouTube
  • ★★ John says advertisers, especially back then, saw engaged viewers as bad news: they watch fewer ads, and media shaped directly by the masses was terrifying. (hedged) — 00:01:56 · online advertising

00:02:11 — The Community tab's features, three reasons John likes it, and no corporate sponsorship

  • ★★★ John says YouTube has stayed a community platform and today embraces that with the Community tab, letting channels post text, images, live videos and GIFs. — 00:02:11 · YouTube
  • ★★ John says viewers can get notifications of community posts such as book reviews, live shows or Census results; the tab is still in beta with more features to come. — 00:02:26
  • ★★★ John is excited because the tab lets him and Hank finally make their YouTube channels the community hubs they always wanted. — 00:02:34 · Hank Green, YouTube
  • ★★ John says live shows are now easier and better, as viewers can see when he does a live Question Tuesday today. — 00:02:41 · Question Tuesday
  • ★★ John says that in beta testing the discourse in the tab's comments has been great: upvotes work and moderation is much easier. — 00:02:46

  • ★★★ John says he is not paid to say this: Vlogbrothers has never accepted and never will accept corporate sponsorship, though they worked closely with YouTube on the tab. — 00:02:54 · Vlogbrothers, YouTube

    “we have never and will never accept any kind of corporate sponsorship on Vlogbrothers”

00:03:04 — 100 Days starts January 1 with Chris; subscribe; live show later today; sign-off

  • ★★★ From January 1 viewers can watch John and his best friend Chris attempt the healthiest midlife crisis, with videos, routines, recipes, live shows and text posts, all on YouTube. — 00:03:04 · 100 Days, YouTube
  • ★ John says Nerdfighteria knows Chris mainly from once appearing in a Vlogbrothers video in a Speedo, but promises viewers will like him. (playful) — 00:03:24 · Nerdfighteria, Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ John invites viewers to subscribe at youtube.com/100days to see him attempt aerial acrobatics and eventually touch at least his mid-shins. — 00:03:31 · 100 Days
  • ★★ John will answer questions about 100 Days in a live show later today (13 September 2016) and looks forward to viewers' ideas for making it awesome. — 00:03:42 · 100 Days

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: 100 Days · online community · YouTube · YouTube Community tab

Also: People: Chris Waters

Projects: Crash Course · Nerdfighteria Census · Project for Awesome · The Art Assignment

Organizations: Facebook · Tumblr · Twitter

Rituals: Question Tuesday

Concepts: online advertising · randomized controlled trial · sponsorship

Products: YouTube Leanback

Also centred on online community: Happy Birthday John Green! · Ending the Age of Outrage (at least in ourselves, if not in the world) · The Most Interesting Thing I've Ever Done · It's Like Shark Tank, but for Charity

← Previous: Sleep Paralysis, Double-Pregnancy, and The 2016 Census · Next → Let's Talk about Failure