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I Keep Thinking About Taylor Swift

2023-10-27 · letter vlog · Hank · 4:05 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Personal life, Nerdfighteria) · mode: Personal essay · tags: self promotion, on location, community lore

During Complexly's senior staff summit, Hank argues that online content splits into hater content, which is easy, and fan content that gives positive emotions and is accurate, which is harder but builds stronger foundations; he takes Taylor Swift as the model, then plugs Complexly calendars.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Busy week and Complexly's senior staff summit; the hats people sent during cancer; what Complexly makes

  • ★ Hank says it is a busy week: he was out of town a lot and Complexly is holding its senior staff summit, leaving him little time to make a video. — 00:00:00 · Complexly
  • ★★ Hank recalls that when he first got sick and was losing his hair, people sent him lots of hats, which seemed pointless in summer; he still has them now that it is cold. (playful) — 00:00:12
  • ★ Hank describes Complexly as the company that makes SciShow, Crash Course, Eons, Bizarre Beasts, Microcosmos, Study Hall and many other shows. — 00:00:20 · Complexly, SciShow, Crash Course, Eons, Bizarre Beasts, Journey to the Microcosmos, Study Hall

00:00:29 — Hater content versus fan content; the BBC piece on AI-made fake YouTube videos that began with SciShow videos

  • ★★★ In his summit presentation Hank said there are basically two kinds of internet content, hater and fan, and hater content works well and is easy because making people mad is easy. — 00:00:29
  • ★★★ Hank says making things that give people positive emotions and are accurate takes more work and time, but builds a much stronger and more stable foundation. — 00:00:44
  • ★★ Hank reports a recent BBC piece on fake YouTube content, largely made with AI, watched and believed by many young people including preteens, often about aliens or climate change not being real. — 00:00:55 · YouTube, climate change
  • ★★ Hank says the BBC video began by watching videos it called good and credible, and all of them were SciShow videos. — 00:01:13 · SciShow
  • ★★ Hank says the trouble is that viewers who start with Complexly's content still get these fake videos recommended, because their titles about aliens being real are exciting. — 00:01:20 · recommender system, Complexly

00:01:29 — What everybody can learn from Taylor Swift: making things people love is harder but better

  • ★★★ Thinking of Taylor Swift, Hank says outrage content is easy and fast, but harder does not mean worse: making things people love and building on strong foundations can take over the world, as she has. — 00:01:29
  • ★★ Hank does not know why Taylor Swift kept going, but finds it amazing that she kept pushing despite many chances to stop and surely some unpleasant moments. — 00:02:05
  • ★★★ Hank says that although educational media differs from pop songs, everybody can learn from Taylor Swift: making things that give positive rather than negative emotions is harder but better. — 00:02:20

00:02:34 — Positive is not only happy; plug for Complexly calendars; thanks to Complexly staff; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank says positive is not only happy (not every Taylor Swift song is): you can discuss how messed up the world is without driving people to hopelessness, the easiest way to control them. — 00:02:34 · hope
  • ★★ Hank asks viewers to get a calendar for the new year at complexlycalendars.com (Eons, Bizarre Beasts, Microcosmos, SciShow), supporting Complexly with beautiful art and fact-checked information. — 00:02:45 · Eons, Bizarre Beasts, Journey to the Microcosmos, SciShow, Complexly
  • ★ Hank thanks everyone working on Complexly and says he is very proud of it and happy to be part of it. — 00:03:10 · Complexly

00:03:32 — A test-print fabric scrap with a dual Pizza John and Three Wolf Moon shirt

  • ★ At the summit venue Hank spotted a test-print fabric scrap from their shirt maker: a dual shirt with Pizza John and Three Wolf Moon on it. (playful) — 00:03:32 · Pizza John, Three Wolf Moon

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says the company is called Complexly because imagining the world and each other complexly is better for the world and for individuals. — video description · Complexly, perspective-taking
  • ★★ The description says that although we mostly focus on the bad things being made, there is much proof that people love things that build, create and bring people together. — video description

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Complexly · moral outrage · Taylor Swift

Also: Projects: Bizarre Beasts · Crash Course · Eons · Journey to the Microcosmos · SciShow · Study Hall

Works: Complexly calendars

Organizations: BBC · YouTube

Terms: Pizza John

Concepts: artificial intelligence · climate change · extraterrestrial life · hope · misinformation · recommender system

Memes: Three Wolf Moon

Only in the description or credits: perspective-taking

Also centred on moral outrage: Addicted to Outrage · Feeling Thankful in Portland · Crime and Outrage · Ending the Age of Outrage (at least in ourselves, if not in the world) · I'm Scared of 2024...So Here's 3 Optimistic Thoughts · The People I Hate Most in the World

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