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Being Old on YouTube

2024-01-02 · letter vlog · John · 4:22 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Nerdfighteria) · mode: Personal essay · tags: timely hook, community lore

On the 17th anniversary of his first Brotherhood 2.0 video, John reflects that the brothers have been successful but never that successful, says he is not old yet but old on YouTube and likes their way of being YouTubers, and announces he will skip weeks when he doesn't want to make a video, trusting Nerdfighteria to stay strong.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — 17 years since the first Brotherhood 2.0 video; 2007 then; YouTubers younger on YouTube; loyal community; octopus and UN

  • ★★ John notes that on January 2, 2024 it is 17 years since he uploaded his first Brotherhood 2.0 video, in 2007. — 00:00:00 · Brotherhood 2.0, Vlogbrothers
  • ★ John recalls 2007: George W. Bush was president, AFC Wimbledon played in the seventh tier of English football, and neither Instagram nor the iPhone existed. (playful) — 00:00:12 · AFC Wimbledon, Instagram
  • ★★ John says many YouTubers are younger than the brothers on YouTube, and that they still make videos is mostly a testament to a loyal community that grew and changed with them. — 00:00:29 · Nerdfighteria, YouTube
  • ★★ John says he was once a guy who threw himself against a wall to prove he wasn't an octopus, and later one who spoke at the United Nations; Nerdfighteria found both fitting. (playful) — 00:00:38 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:58 — Views compared with Gangnam Style; successful but never that successful; old on YouTube; likes their way of being YouTubers

  • ★★ John says their public conversation has lasted over a third of both their lives; each has uploaded over 1,100 videos, viewed over 980 million times in total, less than one-fifth of Gangnam Style's views. — 00:00:58 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★★ John says they have been very successful for an astonishingly long time with wonderful people, but never that successful or near the center of YouTube or culture, and that is where he is happiest. — 00:01:12 · YouTube
  • ★ John says he gets to make stuff with people he likes while never amassing, even over 17 years, as many views as Maroon 5's song Girls Like You. (playful) — 00:01:34

  • ★★★ John sums up: he is not old yet, but he is old on YouTube. — 00:01:42 · YouTube

    “I'm not old yet, but I am old on YouTube.”

  • ★★ John jokes that being old on YouTube means not understanding newfangled techniques like custom thumbnails, but he can say he was there when YouTube's rules were written, from reply guys to prank houses. (playful) — 00:01:48 · Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, YouTube

  • ★★★ John says over the years he has seen many ways of being a YouTuber and, all in all, he likes the brothers' way. — 00:02:05 · YouTube
  • ★★ John never expected to be making YouTube videos at 46 and doesn't know whether he will be at 50 or 56. (unsure) — 00:02:12 · YouTube
  • ★★ John says he likes the job: writing, editing, and the many lovely people on the other side of the camera lens. — 00:02:20

00:02:26 — John will skip weeks he doesn't want to make a video; Nerdfighteria will stick around; thanks

  • ★ John asks how all the viewers fit behind the camera lens, calls it a stupid dad joke, and concludes that he is old after all. (playful) — 00:02:28
  • ★★★ John says that over 17 years there have been many weeks, maybe four or five a year, when he didn't want to make a video: sometimes mental health, quite present lately, or family or writing deadlines. (hedged) — 00:02:37
  • ★★ John says he almost always made a video anyway, unless hospitalized or without internet, and was usually glad he did. — 00:02:58
  • ★★ John says there is a lot to recommend a schedule, and he is a big believer in discipline in creativity: being available to the work rather than waiting to be inspired. — 00:03:10
  • ★★★ After 17 years John knows how to show up for the work, so from now on he won't make a video in weeks he doesn't want to, even if it hurts subscriber or view growth. — 00:03:22 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ John says he is not overly concerned about subscriber counts or view growth as long as Nerdfighteria stays strong. — 00:03:38 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John suspects Nerdfighteria will stick around, because it somehow has amid an ocean of higher-res, algorithm-optimized content. (hedged) — 00:03:42 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John says over a hundred thousand people still show up to watch these videos, which amazes him. — 00:03:59 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ John thanks viewers for spending part of their week with him for 17 years: it has been the great privilege of his professional life. — 00:04:10 · Nerdfighteria

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: YouTube

Also: People: George W. Bush

Projects: Brotherhood 2.0

Works: Gangnam Style · Girls Like You

Organizations: AFC Wimbledon · Instagram · United Nations

Groups: Maroon 5

Concepts: dad joke · mental health · octopus

Products: iPhone

Memes: Do not cite the Deep Magic to me

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