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A New Thing?

2018-11-07 · announcement · Hank · 3:51 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Projects (also: Internet & YouTube) · mode: Announcements · tags: self promotion, civic or action cta

Following John's video on leaving social media, Hank says the internet's pendulum may have swung too far and announces Truth or Fail Trivia, Complexly's pub and school trivia packages meant to bring friends together in physical places, away from their phones.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Reply to John's video, slow Montana vote counting, and the 'go to a place to watch a YouTube video' tweet

  • ★★ Hank thanks John for yesterday's video but says it didn't stop him from constantly refreshing his feed last night, and he is still doing it. (hedged) — 00:00:00 · John Green
  • ★ Hank says Montana is very slow at counting votes. (playful) — 00:00:00 · Montana
  • ★★ Earlier this year (2018) Hank tweeted a 'really bad idea': what if you had to go to a place to watch a YouTube video? The most common response was 'thanks, I hate it'. — 00:00:00 · Twitter, YouTube

00:00:29 — Love of the internet, the pendulum swung too far, and the old Truth or Fail game

  • ★ Hank says an idea being bad doesn't mean you shouldn't obsess over it for eight months and then do a slightly different version. (playful) — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Hank loves the internet, its social nature, the good social things it has done, and Nerdfighteria. — 00:00:29 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★★ Hank feels the pendulum may have swung too far, and he is now much more interested in innovating in physical experiences. (hedged) — 00:00:29

00:00:58 — What Truth or Fail Trivia is: standard and hosted versions, guest round, pub and school packages

  • ★★ Long ago Hank made an internet trivia game, Truth or Fail; it was great but relied on YouTube annotations, so it is now literally impossible. — 00:00:58 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank expects viewers to say he just invented pub trivia, which already exists, but thinks the idea changes when looked at from different angles. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:58
  • ★★★ Hank announces Truth or Fail Trivia, played only at a physical place: it exists and is available now in various forms. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Complexly, the production company behind SciShow and Crash Course, puts the questions together. — 00:01:27 · Complexly, SciShow, Crash Course
  • ★★ The standard version, like other pub trivia, is hosted by a person at the venue and comes with a slideshow of the questions designed by SciShow's Hiroko Matsushima. — 00:01:27 · SciShow
  • ★★ A big pub trivia pet peeve of Hank's: sometimes you can't hear the questions, and people who can't hear well find it very hard to play. — 00:01:27
  • ★★ The hosted version is a full five-round trivia hosted on the TVs by Hank and other SciShow hosts; someone just sets it up, presses play and keeps score. — 00:01:56 · SciShow
  • ★★ Both packages include one guest video round hosted by a bunch of Hank's internet friends. — 00:01:56
  • ★★ Hank thinks bars aren't the only place for this: besides a weekly pub subscription there is a school package bought a semester at a time. (hedged) — 00:01:56

00:02:26 — Why: friends meeting in a physical space, mediated play, no phones

  • ★ A semester of trivia costs about a tenth of bringing a medium-popular 2000s band to campus for one 90-minute set. (playful, hedged) — 00:02:26
  • ★★★ Hank is excited enough to add Truth or Fail Trivia to his list because of friends meeting in a place and sharing physical experiences that are a little mediated, so not all the social pressure is on them. — 00:02:26
  • ★★ Pub trivia gives a very good reason not to look at your phone for a while, since you could be cheating. — 00:02:55
  • ★★★ Phones and the internet are great, Hank says, but so is being dumb with some folks for a while: learning, connecting, building community, winning and losing. — 00:02:55

00:03:24 — Surveys, sales open, start in early 2019, and sign-off

  • ★★ Viewers who want to know if Truth or Fail Trivia comes near them can fill out a quick survey in the description. — 00:03:24
  • ★★ Viewers who want to involve a business, school or organization they work with have a separate survey in the description. — 00:03:24
  • ★★ Hank says there is a chance no one wants this; if not enough people sign up, they won't be able to do it. (speculative) — 00:03:24
  • ★★★ Sales are open now at truthorfail.com at a low introductory price, and the trivia starts going out in early 2019. — 00:03:24

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says we need reasons to gather, and calls this the first step on a path Hank wants to walk to achieve that. — video description

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: pub quiz · Truth or Fail

Also: 2018 United States elections · Crash Course · Montana · smartphone · Twitter · YouTube · YouTube annotations

Only in the description or credits: Complexly · Hiroko Matsushima · SciShow

Also centred on Truth or Fail: Truth or Fail! START HERE · TRUTH OR FAIL!!! (START HERE) (re-try...with more info) · TRUTH OR FAIL!!! Episode 2 (New and Improved) · Truth or Fail with John! Famous Authors Edition · Twitter Games and Truth or Fail · Truth or Fail: John Green Books

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