Of Youtube Videos and Going Far

So I’ve just spent (read: wasted) a whole buncha time watching episode after episode of The Fine Brothers’ Youtubers React. There was just something about seeing people watch weird things and reacting to them that just draws you in and makes you want to watch more and more.

I also liked it because I got to watch some of my Youtube heroes (Phillip DeFranco, Shane Dawson, Nigahiga, Hank Green, SourceFed) talk about not only viral videos, but also insert some social commentary and share their views on how the internet has changed us and the society that we live in, about why people are attracted to certain kinds of content and why people are the way they are. We don’t get to see that side of the Youtubers much, so it’s refreshing to see them not play a character and just be chill and talk like they usually would out in real life on issues that they have valid opinions on.

It also made me think about how together they are as a Youtube community and how everyone seems to know everyone or have at least met each other at some point or other. It may be because they live around the same are (Los Angeles), but it’s also because there’s an unmistakable sense of community in that ambiguous internet space that is called Youtube. 

It made me think back to a thing that I proposed a while back through one of my videos, which was AYAM (Angkatan Youtubers Anak Malaysia). Back when I made that video, I had a vision of maybe being part of that community as well, us all being Malaysians and making videos and uploading them on Youtube every now and again. Collaboration between content creators would be common and it would be exciting and we would love to work on each others’ projects.

I have been fortunate enough to have been able to work on videos with some fellow Malaysian video makers that I hold in high regard, such as Aiman Azlan, MatLuthfi, KyoPropaganda, and Mentol Pecah to name a few. Those were good times, really. The experience of making something with people you admire, really good feeling, that. And I had fun doing it, too.

I still remember Aiman Azlan calling me up and saying “hey, let’s make a video!” and coming to my house to tell me the idea he had, and we worked on our scripts (him making the English version and me making the Malay version) after we had a clear idea of how the video would go. It was really good, bouncing ideas off each other, suggesting this, improving on that, and finally just shooting it and having a hoot doing it. We were just two dudes, talking to a camera, running and jumping around, striking poses every now and again. Just a couple of typical 21 year olds having loads of fun. I think it came off well in the end products too. You can watch the video that we made together here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KS3iqtDsKk

Mentol Pecah tried to do something along the lines of the AYAM idea I had and made a video which collected footage from a host of Malaysian video makers and turned it into a nicely put video. You can watch that one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79F9NgN0UO0

Having said that, a lot of Malaysians that made Youtube videos that I watch regularly the past few years have slowed down significantly (namely MatLuthfi, KyoPropaganda, Aiman Azlan) because, much like myself, they’ve got other things going on in their lives, and making Youtube videos just isn’t one of the main ones. 

I was kind of sort of hoping that there’d be new, good content (even better) content creators out there to make Youtube videos in their spare time, but I haven’t been able to see any evidence of that. That may be because I’m becoming and old geezer who has a full-time job and is no longer cool. There might be a host of quality content out there that I just don’t know of, since I’m out of the loop and have become irrelevant (well, become irrelevant tu dah lama dah sebenarnya).

Jumping back on the AYAM thing earlier, yeah, I still believe it would be a great thing to have. If not officially (y’know, with merchandise and secret handshakes and everything), then unofficially. Just a circle of friends that are also video-makers, who make videos regularly, push each other to make quality content and collaborate with each other to learn from each other and become not only better video-makers, but also better human beings, hopefully. But maybe that’s just the idealist in me talking. Maybe real is this: us going about our own ways, doing what we want to, whenever we want to, without bothering to see what our peers are doing. It brings about progress of some kind jugak, kan? It’s something.

I am reminded of the saying: if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. 

I guess I am a person who wants to go far.