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YouTube History Lesson: Vlogbrothers Through the Ages

2017-07-14 · letter vlog · Hank · 4:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Internet & YouTube) · mode: Personal update · tags: community lore, self promotion

Marking the channel's 1,500th video and three millionth subscriber, Hank uses the Wayback Machine to page back through youtube.com/vlogbrothers to 2007, recalling YouTube's designs, old subscriber counts, Truth or Fail, the brothers' decision to keep going after 2007, and the early community at brotherhood2.com.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Milestones: 1,500th video, three millionth subscriber, 100th Dear Hank and John coming

  • ★★★ Hank says the Vlogbrothers channel recently reached milestones: its 1,500th video and its three millionth subscriber. — 00:00:03 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ The brothers are about to upload the 100th episode of Dear Hank and John, once John gets back from vacation. — 00:00:08 · Dear Hank and John, John Green

00:00:14 — The Wayback Machine and an early YouTube.com that looked like a dating site

00:00:38 — YouTube's channel designs back to the Cosmic Panda era and earlier; old designs allowed more fun

  • ★★ YouTube has looked pretty much the same for about the last three years, and Hank doesn't much love the current design. (hedged) — 00:00:40 · YouTube
  • ★ Hank thinks YouTube's long-running earlier channel design was launched under the codename Cosmic Panda. (hedged) — 00:00:57 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank liked an older, fixed channel layout: you could design around it and knew how it would display; it is sad channels can't have as much fun now. — 00:01:16 · YouTube

00:01:30 — The channel in 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007: subscriber counts, Truth or Fail, SharkeyeJones's design, YouTube drama, deciding to keep going

  • ★★ In 2010, around VidCon's launch, the channel had 344,000 subscribers, the 82nd most subscribed of all time. — 00:01:37 · Vlogbrothers, VidCon
  • ★★ Hank says Truth or Fail, still promoted on the 2010 channel page, never worked, though it was a good show he worked hard on. (playful) — 00:01:45
  • ★ Hank finds the 2009 channel design by SharkeyeJones gorgeous, better than today's. — 00:02:01
  • ★★ Monica, one of the Short Sisters, now works for VidCon and is running PodCon. — 00:02:07 · VidCon
  • ★★ In August 2009 the channel had 98,000 subscribers and was about to hit 100,000. — 00:02:13 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ The first archive.org capture of the channel shows 9,700 subscribers. — 00:02:39 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ Reading the 2007 page's 'latest YouTube drama' box, Hank says there has been YouTube drama since there has been YouTube. — 00:02:52 · YouTube
  • ★★★ In December 2007, having done the project for its planned year and with 11,000 subscribers, the brothers thought about stopping but decided to keep going, which turned out okay. — 00:03:06 · Brotherhood 2.0, John Green

00:03:19 — No archive of the first 11 months; the early community at brotherhood2.com and its discussion questions

  • ★★ The earliest archive.org capture dates from December 1, 2007, so there is no record of the channel for its first 11 months. (hedged) — 00:03:19 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ In the early days the brothers' main community was not on YouTube but at brotherhood2.com, whose discussion questions included how Hank should take Nerdfighters to the next level and the first book you ever loved. — 00:03:24 · Brotherhood 2.0, Nerdfighteria, John Green, YouTube

00:03:52 — Thanks to John; a longer version on hankschannel; sign-off

  • ★ Having recorded for 36 minutes, Hank says there is probably a much longer version of the video on hankschannel. (hedged) — 00:03:52 · hankschannel

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says 1,500 videos seems a kind of impossible number, but Hank is pretty proud of most of them and thanks everyone who has watched or subscribed. — video description · Vlogbrothers, John Green
  • ★★ Hank says he needs to remember how huge 10,000 subscribers was for the brothers in 2007, and how much he has always cared about the creative community YouTube fosters. — video description · Vlogbrothers, YouTube
  • ★★ Hank asks viewers to check out Archive.org and donate to support the Wayback Machine. — video description

Humor (significant)

  • Paging back through YouTube.com on the Wayback Machine, Hank finds a profile field for 'male seeking everyone between 18 and'. — 00:00:27

    “was YouTube a dating site?”

  • Lamenting Truth or Fail, the show he worked so hard on that never worked. — 00:01:52

    “it was destined to fail.”

  • Hank wonders whether Truth or Fail could work with YouTube's new end screens, then stops himself. — 00:01:59

    “don't, don't do it, Hank.”

  • Going back to the channel's 2008 design. — 00:02:30

    “Oh god! Edit undo.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: YouTube

Also: People: Monica (staff, mentioned from 2014) · Renetto

Projects: Brotherhood 2.0 · Dear Hank and John · hankschannel · PodCon · Truth or Fail · VidCon

Organizations: Internet Archive

Groups: Household Hacker · Short sisters · YTwatchdog

Products: Cosmic Panda

Only in the description or credits: SharkeyeJones

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