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G’Day,
This week, the first of a two-part newsletter on a topic I’m researching for a piece to pitch to publications. If the image above didn’t give it away already, the piece in question is about YouTube, and more specifically, How YouTube is facilitating a visual tradition — by illuminating the work and study inherent in a variety of careers and hobbies, and passing skills and culture between generations.
Criticism is heaped on YouTube for how it platforms fake news and extremist views, and how its advertising model rewards algorithmically-targeted content, but I want to write about a more wholesome side of it, albeit one that is still driven, in part, by the same algorithm.
As someone who grew up in two distinct landscapes of global history — pre- and post-internet — I have vivid memories of both times. I remember watching 5 channels on TV and listening to radio stations that played both yesterday’s hits and the Top 40. I remember reading lots and lots of books, including pages of an encyclopaedia and the Chronicle of the 20th Century. I remember being blown away by the graphics of Microsoft Encarta '95. But then, I became a digital native. I probably delved deeper into social cyberspace than most of my peers. Not just because of my general interest in pop culture, but as a young queer person, the internet promised answers to so many questions about my identity that I couldn’t find IRL (In Real Life).
On top of all this, my career as an ESL teacher started two years after the arrival of YouTube in 2005. As my fellow teachers know, a video teaching aid is an absolute godsend. Thus my relationship with the website began. Today it’s just as strong, if not more so.
What does all this have to do with the thesis of the piece I’m researching? Well, I’m glad you asked.
YouTube is way, way, way, way more than its homepage. If you think all YouTube has to offer is whatever is trending, you’re missing out on a world of niche channels you never knew you wanted to see. In this newsletter I’m going to share some of that research with you. Like I mentioned above, YouTube can show you the superlative in talent, skill, and creativity. Some channels teach cooking, sewing, and all sorts of handiwork, while others…
You may have come across Mr. Tfue before. His profile states that he’s from the US, though his channel focuses on the Indigenous building techniques he has mastered to build a jungle resort somewhere in South America. It’s remarkable stuff, however obscure the reasoning behind this so-called ‘Underground City’, and his goals for it. I mean, who is even filming him? Where is he, exactly? Check it out:
From building to cleaning. The Detail Geek is a Canadian detailer who films the entire process of his job cleaning cars to near-factory condition. People who are calmed by watching a high-pressure hose have flocked to his channel… and they stay for his looks. His Q+A videos include him playing guitar (& violin) to counter his self-professed “monotone voice” and boring answers. The videos look meticulous and it’s amusing to hear triumphant stock music played over the final reveal. It’s also amusing to see the ways in which content creators create ‘parasocial’ relationships with their subscribers. The Detail Geek is often visited by his ‘house mate’, someone he claims is a ‘lazy bum’, but it’s a running gag how little he reveals about who the guy actually is (though it looks like it’s either his twin brother or boyfriend twin). But it’s the cleaning viewers come to see, and while it can be quite therapeutic, my mouth was agape for most of the ‘before’ shots of this van:
From cleaning to clearing out blocked storm drains. User, post 10, is quite the character. Filming his every day job, like The Detail Geek, this American man unblocks storm drains for viewers who get a kick out of watching whirlpools form and water levels drop. This guy talks about civic duty and infrastructure while he rakes leaves out of drains and tours abandoned tunnels. Complementing this peculiar passion of being knee deep in water is the fact that among his odd menagerie of pets, he has a suckerfish and a pet leech. There’s a video on his channel called ‘Feeding Pet Leech, How Much Weight Will It Gain, Leech Facts’. Rest assured I won’t share that one.
The next channel is by Australian user Luke Towan — a master diorama maker, or miniaturist. The focus on realism is mind-blowing, and this channel is just one of many like it. What sets his apart is his personable tone and the way he presents the process as something anyone could follow along to and do themselves. Set your face to impressed:
From impressive to absolutely insanely talented and ridiculous. Meet kiwami japan, a knife maker. He makes knives… out of all types of materials, from sand to jelly. In this video he makes a knife out of hard candy… hard candy that he makes from scratch. And by ‘scratch’ I mean he literally makes it from sugar cane! What in the ever loving heck!?
You may have noticed that these videos are quite long. These days, viewers aren’t put off by the length of videos on YouTube since watching TV and movies has moved online. Popular channels will get lots of comments saying “I could watch a whole hour of this!” and they mean it. This seems especially true for these skills-based channels — viewers want the authenticity of seeing the details in making something, or the amount of work that goes into a job.
Other requested long videos feature charismatic host/s, or well-researched ‘deep dives’ into topics, like history and social sciences, science, or logistics. The latter type of YouTube video has led to the creation of documentary platforms, like Curiosity Stream and Nebula, where these more educational content creators are vetted for accuracy. A channel like the following, Wendover Productions, was one of the first to use YouTube in this way:
Next week, I’ll share the other side of YouTube that I think is far more interesting than first impressions — the wonderful world of Reaction videos.
A few other things that I’ve seen this week:
Isamu Yamamoto’s mad skillz on a skateboard:
Crazy And Sad Story Of Chinese Students In Sydney Being Scammed Into Faking Their Own Abductions
This Reflection On 2020 So Far By Australian Author, Christos Tsiolkas
Queer Nigerians Living Under The Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA)
Luigi Boccherini’s Minuetto in bike pump major:
AND
The most amazing thing ever. A guide to figuring out the age of an undated world map by Tumblr user XKCD. View it larger here.
OK. That’s a lot. But! If you have any favourite niche YouTube channels you can share with me, please do!
Keep safe, everyone. Until next time!