What Was Early YouTube Like? (with Hank and John)

2021-12-10 · Q&A · Hank, John · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube · mode: Q&A & conversation · tags: guest or collab, recurring series, civic or action cta

In the last reunion video, a Question Tuesday YouTube edition, Hank and John answer Nerdfighter questions about early YouTube: favourite early creators, short YouTube careers, the best and worst site changes, Brotherhood 2.0, the play button and video responses; Hank then asks viewers to take the Nerdfighteria Census.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Census teaser, last reunion video; favourite early YouTubers, YouTube as a job, short careers, best and worst site changes, Brotherhood 2.0

• ★★ Hank says this is the last reunion video, a Question Tuesday YouTube edition answering real questions from real Nerdfighters. — 00:00:00 · Reunion video, Question Tuesday, Nerdfighteria, YouTube
• ★★ John's favourite OG YouTuber from the early days is Natalie Tran of Community Channel. — 00:00:00 · YouTube
• ★ Hank says his 2006 favourite was probably lonelygirl15. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:00
• ★ Hank says he loved Winekone, and Ze Frank of course. — 00:00:27
• ★★ John: Asked when he realized this would be his job, John says it is still not his job: he doesn't get paid to do this. (playful) — 00:00:27
• ★★ John says YouTube careers tend to be very short: in 15 years on YouTube they've seen really good careers not last, and those who stick around reinvent themselves a lot, which the brothers don't. — 00:00:27 · YouTube, Hank Green
• ★★ Hank says the best change is that the site works now, unlike in 2007; the player is excellent, and its hotkeys, like going back a frame or 10 seconds, are his favourite UX feature. — 00:00:56 · YouTube
• ★★ John's least favourite change: ratings were better as a five-star system than likes and dislikes, now without dislikes, though he is old and wrote a book about the five-star scale. — 00:01:25 · YouTube, The Anthropocene Reviewed (book) · also in: John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated
• ★★ John wanted to stop Brotherhood 2.0 around March, when it still felt long; imagining the future is always the hard, overwhelming part for him, while the present was always fun. — 00:01:25 · Brotherhood 2.0 · also in: John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated

00:01:55 — Jokes videos, the play button and 1 million subscribers, oldest YouTube friend, video responses

• ★★ Asked when the next jokes-in-four-minutes video is coming, Hank says the first minute of Dear Hank and John is where he does that now. — 00:01:55 · Jokes in four minutes, Dear Hank and John
• ★ Neither brother knows who has the Vlogbrothers play button; Hank thinks it is on the wall at Complexly in Missoula. (hedged) — 00:01:55 · Vlogbrothers, Complexly, Missoula, Montana
• ★★ Hank remembers being on a plane when they hit 1 million subscribers and the incredible feeling; now he never thinks about it. — 00:01:55 · Vlogbrothers
• ★★ John names Hank as his oldest YouTuber friend: they are lucky to have each other, since otherwise he would have no peer who understands it from the inside. — 00:02:24 · Hank Green, YouTube · also in: John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated
• ★★ Hank misses video responses far more now than when YouTube removed them, feeling they would do better now. — 00:02:53 · YouTube
• ★ John notes that video responses were widely misused. — 00:02:53

00:03:14 — Sign-off and the Nerdfighteria Census ask

• ★★ Hank explains the Nerdfighteria Census, yearly but this time two years apart, as a survey that tells them what to focus on and how to understand the community. — 00:03:14 · Nerdfighteria
• ★★★ Hank asks viewers to follow the link in the description to fill out the census, one of his favourite projects of the year. — 00:03:14

In the description and comments

• ★ The description says the census was broken and very short for non-coffee drinkers if filled out before 3:45 Montana time on Friday, due to wrong question logic, and is now fixed. — video description · Montana
• ★ In a comment Hank thanks census takers and says a glitch stopped some from finishing; he thinks his fix caused problems for others, and clearing cookies may help. — creator comment

Threads in this video

• update · John and Hank reunite in person in late 2021 and record several videos together (2021) — Hank says this is the last reunion video, a Question Tuesday YouTube edition answering real questions from real Nerdfighters. (00:00:00)
• looked back · Jokes in four minutes: Hank's rapid-fire joke videos (2008) — Asked when the next jokes-in-four-minutes video is coming, Hank says the first minute of Dear Hank and John is where he does that now. (00:01:55)
• launched · Nerdfighteria Census 2021 edition — Hank explains the Nerdfighteria Census, yearly but this time two years apart, as a survey that tells them what to focus on and how to understand the community. (00:03:14)
• asked · Hank asks viewers to take the 2021 Nerdfighteria Census (2021) — Hank asks viewers to follow the link in the description to fill out the census, one of his favourite projects of the year. (00:03:14)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• Hank asks viewers to take the 2021 Nerdfighteria Census (2021) — asked in 2021; no response reported; last: reminder, 2021-12-14
• Nerdfighteria Census 2021 edition — past edition (2021); last: milestone, 2021-12-14

Mentioned

Central: YouTube

Also: People: Natalie Tran · Winekone · Ze Frank

Projects: Brotherhood 2.0 · Complexly · Dear Hank and John · Nerdfighteria Census

Works: lonelygirl15 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)

Rituals: Jokes in four minutes · Question Tuesday · Reunion video

Concepts: star (classification)

Places: Missoula, Montana

Products: YouTube Creator Awards · YouTube video responses

Only in the description or credits: Montana

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