Fun Picture and New Channel

I'm working far ahead on the heels of a busy weekend and Jury Duty next week. I keep videos live much longer than I used to. I just finished editing another one which has an Unsuspecting Co-Host. It should be live by mid week.

Here is a shot of me I took for me for Daily Booth. I'm taping my hosting part of the latest video. The script stand usually isn't there, but with a co-host it's nice to have their words there to reference.


Another piece of news is...I opened a second YouTube channel. I participated in Chartjackers and didn't want to have the videos on my main channel. BillTvMacon2 (or as I call it, the Blue Channel) will probably feature some short videos relating to videos on the main channel. I'm testing to see if old videos are being deleted from the original Bill Tv video tapes. YouTube has adopted a policy where they put an Amazon/ iTunes banner if copyrighted music is used. I really like this idea.

More Info

I am a big believer in the More Info area of the new YouTube design. I consider it the most underused but critical tool of the experience. Friends joke about me having so many links in it but it is a helpful way to inform, cross reference or direct viewers to requested information.

In my "2000 Subs" video I had a request as to where they could get a t-shirt I as wearing. It so happens that I had a link to Captain Wilhelm's 80's Hero Shirts (and US store) in the "More Info" area. In my video I made a comment about how his video mirrored the 1000 Subs video and a link to it is there. You get the idea.

The Total YouTube Experience

YouTube deserves to make money. I hope they are making money. Their focus is clearly on showing movie and television content and featuring their partners. But an incredible thing has happened. Those that "have" are reaching out to those who "have not." When Youtube stopped "Featuring" regular videos and only paid and professional content, other YouTube partners with some big numbers took over and started doing the same. YouTubers (hehe..that word Tuber again) like Crabstickz, Conawillvlog, Dan2Shambles, Blade376, Barry Aldridge and, most recently, Vlogbrothers have been so kind to promote my channel.

I try to do the same in my own small way with Shoutouts. I think that the "vlogging community" of YouTube will always find ways to help the backbone of the site no mater what corporate Google chooses to do. With the new channel redesign YouTube did listen and respond to requests from the vloggers. They still are today. My experience is just as great as it was when I first joined. In fact, it has gone way beyond my expectations. When you include Twitter, Skype and DailyBooth into the experience you find yourself making real friends.

What is happening is our world is getting smaller and there's no going back. Thankfully!

Bill Tv Shirts UK

I am very excited that now BillTvMacon.Spreadshirt.net offers colour shirts for Bill Tv in the UK.
This means that all my friends can now get the same adult shirts that have been available in the USA. There are still some limitations in that there are no children's or ladies colours yet. I hope that will change soon. And, as with the USA shirts, I make no commission as to keep the costs down for you.

(note the nifty drop down menu that lets you chose your colour!)

Epic Skype Call

ACB (AliChrisBill) is one of the YouTube joys of my life. It combines three YouTube Vloggers into one video with no timetable. Better yet, we're now on three different continents. I owe a lot to RougueBluejay (Alasdair or Ali) who has been an internet friend for just about as long as I have been posting new videos. MyNameIsChrisYeah (Chris) and I found each other when he asked to interview me for his first Chinwag feature. Ali commented how great great Chris was to be able to hold your attention for 10 minutes. Chris and I were watching one of Ali's BlogTv broadcasts and we all decided to try a video together.

One of my most asked questions is about how we make them. It's absolutely equal partners. We all edit the videos and most people can't tell who edits what. I love that. We always send to each other more footage than expected. Whatever you need you're always going to get more. We each have different styles and much the same sense of humour. (I use the UK spelling because I'm out numbered.)

It happened one day when I was on Skype call with Chris, JamFozz and WaffleSam. It's the first time I had ever spoken to Chris. We have Jammy (JamFozz) to thank because he saw that Ali was online added him to the chat and called him. The funny thing was it was 6AM in Australia. lol Ali took it well and the conversation became hysterical. I really wished I could have taped it. Needless to say, I hope we'll be doing a live type video sometime.

This is a case where people who share a common sense of humour (out numbered X 2) have found each other. When Ali moved from the UK to Australia he took us with him on his laptop. To me, this is what the internet does and good news for the world. We are all "literally" connected. I have made lifelong friends and laughter is, truly, the best medicine.

YouTube's Great Community

I recently put a mission statement on my YouTube channel.
Mission Statement: To be funny, creative and encouraging to all who post.
That pretty much is why I'm here. I like to think about the people I've met and how this happened. I'll try to explain.

One day I just started posting videos. I can't tell you who my first subscriber was, but I can tell you that I remember hitting seven and being amazed. Then I started getting to know people and really caring about them. Now, I've been all over YouTube and I can attest that there IS an underbelly of the beast.

My question is this. How did I get so many nice and kind people? Every now and again I'll get the occasional "turd in the punch bowl" but that has not been my experience in general. And, I do have friends that pretend to be asses and I know they're really not. (Actually, I can only think of one example) They act that way to keep people from taking advantage of them.

I was watching a SITC (Summer In The City) gathering video and the lady was saying that she didn't know who most of these people were. I'm here at home screaming their names. "Don't you know? That's Pixonu or Conawillvlog!" lol
YouTube is like a city. But the most important thing that it does is to allow people to be who they really are or to try being someone else without judgment.

I know the internet gets a bad rap for being dangerous. But, people need to know that it can also be an incredible place.

People Leaving YouTube

A show of hands of people who did not see this coming? Any time you turn your back on the people who made you popular you're going to see this. It's like radio turning its backs on the listeners. They've all found other things to listen to. And, surely, something else will come along to fill the void.

Youtube is very much like radio. You have to motivate yourself to stay fresh. In my mind I only have one viewer. It's nice to be popular but you can't associate your self worth with subscribers who can come and go at will. I make the same videos I did a year ago when I had 100 subscribers. If you let others choose the way you see yourself you will always lose. Don't let sub counts or views effect your opinion on your videos.

Everyone has a story. Because of different skills and various editing software we can make videos from "professional" content to just plugging in a camera and recording. To me the best ones are those who are being themselves. One of my favorite vloggers is Berehed. He's a unicyclist who loves what he does. Just fun videos that are real and honest. He has 30 subscribers and loves showing his latest accomplishment. I never miss watching video and I always comment.

The internet and those who use it is always changing. My experience is that you get out of the internet what you put into it. Make it what you want it to be.

(Barry Aldridge comments on this article and has some great thoughts.