YouTube Academy: Let’s Get Schooled

BY Friday Flyer

Ah, the New Year. A time for organizing your life, making goals for the upcoming months and focusing on what you deem to be the most important aspects of your life. We all make resolutions, such as, “I want to work out more” or “I want to eat healthier,” or even, “I want to be less of a slob.” But let’s be real here: most of the time, that doesn’t happen. Sometimes there are people who stick to their new regime, but if you’re like 42.4 percent of the rest of humanity, including myself, then you make a promise to yourself before failing to keep it by February 1. So, then, what else can we look forward to in the New Year? New adventures, of course!

If you can recall, I spoke about my journey to the 7th annual VidCon last summer. It was an amazing experience, and I’m lucky enough to say that I’ll be going again this year in late June. VidCon, for those of you who have forgotten, is a “Video Conference/Convention” centered around creators and consumers of content on YouTube and other social media platforms. It is usually scheduled over three days and jam-packed with panels, variety shows, contests and meet-and-greets. The VidCon I will be attending will be held in Anaheim this year; however, our foreign friends will have their very own conventions, as VidCon Europe and VidCon Australia make their debut later in the summer.

VidCon is known best for its inclusivity, allowing everyone to join in on the fun. Last year, over 25,000 people of all cultures and backgrounds came together to set the record for the biggest attendance for VidCon yet. That monstrosity of a number doesn’t include the over 500 creators who were featured in stage acts, interviews, and meet-ups. Those creators also differ in cultures, social media platforms and entertainment.

The varieties of content creators include gamers, vloggers (or video-loggers), beauty gurus, pranksters, musical artists, comedians and many, many more. To get all you loyal readers in the know, I’ll be holding a YouTube Academy these next few months. Each month I’ll explain a different side of YouTube leading up to my trip to VidCon. Of course, I won’t be able to explain every genre of YouTube, as I think that would be impossible; there are too many types of videos to even name, but I’ll try my best to explain the bigger categories fully.

For those of you who want to join the VidCon family and attend, you can purchase tickets at VidCon.com

To mark the introduction of my YouTube Academy, let’s break down the genres I’ll be expanding upon. The first genre, which happens to be one of the biggest, is gaming. Gaming videos can range from Let’s Plays (single or multiplayer video games, usually dubbed with commentary) to comedy clips to walk-throughs (tutorials and strategies about a game). Although those are the major types of content, others can be found throughout the site, and some types can blend together or skew apart. Of course, I will have more on that later.

Another category I’ll be reviewing is the beauty and lifestyle side of YouTube. Makeup tutorials, workout tips, grocery store hauls and many other helpful videos can be found on this avenue. I personally search for new hairstyle ideas as well as recommendations on different brands of makeup and clothes. This is the side of YouTube you can be sure to always stay organized and healthy in.

Next, we have the vloggers. Vloggers and lifestyle gurus are very similar, and can often be confused with each other. The main difference between them is simple: lifestyle videos often show you how to do something easier or more efficiently, while vlogs will just showcase a person’s routine and schedule. Comedians can also be vloggers, and lots of gamers and other content creators vlog as well. Vlogs were the original YouTube videos ever posted.

In my opinion, this next genre isn’t as great as the others; however, it is still a very big part of YouTube and needs to be discussed. Prank videos, or “social experiments”, have plagued YouTube for years. Some videos are small-scale pranks, such as scaring someone as they walk in a room, while others have been taken to the streets, sometimes involving hundreds of witnesses and bystanders. A lot of the time, these videos are unsafe or askew from reality.

The last style of video I’ll be reviewing are the musical videos. Creators in this category often play instruments and cover or parody songs. Some people even write and record their own original music. Music videos from “mainstream” artists, as well as lyric videos, are also in this category.

Whew… that was a lot to take in. But don’t worry; it’s an easily grasped subject once it’s broken down. I think these next few months are going to be interesting, and I hope you do, too! Until we meet again, dear readers. From prints on paper to musings in your mind, my name’s Hannah. Thanks for reading.