My favourite videos are when they’re both in the same place at the same time.
Mine too!
Crash Course is SO GOOD
I wager that it is impossible to watch Crash Course without enjoying it at least a little bit
impossible
Thank you, Vondell. Stan and Danica and Raoul and everyone at Thought Bubble work incredibly hard on Crash Course, and I really hope we get to keep doing it for many years, because it’s some of the most fun and rewarding stuff I’ve ever had the chance to help make.
Danica always puts easter eggs in the Crash Course subtitles. The new CC:WH episode, by the way, talks about Mansa Musa and his fascinating role in the history of West Africa.
(Source: lostnwandering)
Britain’s Got Talent (made of awesome) finalist Jon Antoine identifies as a nerdfighter. A British tabloid explains that nerdfighteria is “a bizarre Internet cult.”
WELL THIS BIZARRE INTERNET CULT IS GOING TO HELP JONATHAN ANTOINE WIN BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT.
I probably should have tumbled this when the British people were awake.
Oh, who am I kidding. Tumblypoos don’t sleep at night.
oh my god this article is amazing.
For those of you Brits who WERE sleeping last night, the British tabloid the Daily Star wrote the funniest three-sentence introduction to nerdfighteria ever.
In other news, Britain’s Got Talent finalist Jonathan Antoine is a long-time nerdfighter. VOTE FOR HIM IN THE FINALS ON SATURDAY OR WHENEVER THE FINALS ARE WHAT I DON’T KNOW I’M NOT FROM YOUR WEIRD COUNTRY.
Britain’s Got Talent (made of awesome) finalist Jon Antoine identifies as a nerdfighter. A British tabloid explains that nerdfighteria is “a bizarre Internet cult.”
WELL THIS BIZARRE INTERNET CULT IS GOING TO HELP JONATHAN ANTOINE WIN BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT.
I probably should have tumbled this when the British people were awake.
Oh, who am I kidding. Tumblypoos don’t sleep at night.
The game that started it all…
(Source: lightbringerquotecompendium)
Kiva Nerdfighters to #1
The nerdfighters kiva group is about to become the all-time largest group on the site. I think it would be an awesome Hanko de Mayo event if it happened today.
Join now and let’s get to #1 on Hank’s birthday! Also, thanks to everyone who has emailed their senators and congresspeople today. You guys are amazing.
(Kiva.org is a web site that allows regular people to make low-interest loans to business start-ups in the developing world.)
Only if You’ve Read The Fault in Our Stars…
I have updated the tumblr devoted to your questions, and my answers, about The Fault in Our Stars. I will try to answer a few more questions tonight. There are lots of spoilers. Don’t click that link if you haven’t read the book. Seriously. Okay, thanks.
Is Advertising the Future—Or the Past?
Hank and I have always felt varying degrees of discomfort supporting our YouTube videos with advertisements. We don’t control the content of the ads or who sponsors our shows, and many times we disagree with the advertisers.
I do not, for instance, think gold is a good investment, or that Obama is a terrible President, or that sexy geeks are just a click away. I also don’t particularly enjoy being supported by for-profit universities, oil companies, and Super PACs.
Recently, some nerdfighters have been upset about ads they’ve seen on vlogbrothers videos, and we share their concern. But these videos are a big part of our jobs—we spend a lot of time making them and trying to be good leaders of this community—and while there are other ways we make money (t-shirts, books, music, etc.), the ad revenue is a vital part of how I buy diapers.
But it’s not really that much money relative to the size of nerdfighteria, because online advertising rates are so low. Even so, I still think that most nerdfighters would rather glimpse an ad than use kickstarter or something to create a delightfully ad-free world of vlogbrothers. But with ad rates pretty stagnant and the success of kickstarter projects like Ze Frank’s, I’m beginning to wonder A. if I’m wrong, and B. if creators of online video might find themselves turning to new models of supporting their work rather than continuing to seek corporate patronage. Also, C. these days, I find myself personally more inclined to support online video projects and their creators directly.
EDIT: To be clear, I am not suggesting some awful subscription model in which you have to pay to watch videos. That would be gross. I’m suggesting a model like the one you find here in the US with National Public Radio: some people pay to support the station, but the listening experience is available to all, regardless of whether they pay. (There are bonuses for members, of course: tote bags or This American Life CDs or whatever.)
Mostly, I’m curious what you think. Do you want to watch stuff supported by ads, or supported directly by viewers? Are there youtube channels (not just vlogbrothers or crashcourse or scishow but any YouTube channels) you’d give $5 or $10 or more per year? Or do you like the current system and believe that advertising should continue to play the central role in visual media funding it has since the earliest days of television?
A new episode of Crash Course in which I discuss the (arguable) Fall of Rome.
Once again proving that tumblr is not just a place for cat pictures and homoerotic Sherlock watercolors. IT’S ALSO FOR LEARNING.
