Hello. I'm Hank Green and this is VidThoughts.

Now, I wanna introduce the VidThoughts channel to you, but first, let me introduce myself, just in case you don't know who I am. I'm Hank Green. I started making YouTube videos with my brother in 2007.

Actually, I started making videos in 2006 because I put up my first video on January 1st. So technically, I've been making YouTube videos since 2006. I just didn't upload one until January 1st 2007.

I know that to some people this might seem like an arbitrary distinction but in the YouTube community, there is a little bit of, you know, thing between people who started in 2006 and people who started in 2007.

And that might be a surprise to some people, but there is a little something there. There's the 2006-ers and the 2007-ers. And then there's the other people who came up later. And really, who cares. We're not hol- Yes, we are. We're paying attention. Everyone knows when you started. And you don't have as much credit if you didn't start in 2004, before the site existed.

Anyway, diverted. Sorry about that.

I am an online video creator. I am also an online video business guy- entrepreneur- thing. I have started several businesses in the online video space, including a production company that makes YouTube channels like SciShow and CrashCourse and MentalFloss video.

And you know, I'm executive producer of the LizzieBennetDiaries and of the Brain Scoop, two very awesome channels. And the LizzieBennetDiaries team is working on new things. We are turning classic novels into video blogs, which is surprisingly popular. I guess I'm not that surprised. I thought it was a good idea.

My friend Allen, my brother John, and I, together we own DFTBA Records, which is a merchandising company for YouTube creators and also generally any online community leaders. That's sorta how we focus on content at DFTBA and we have a warehouse here in Missoula and we sell lots and lots of items. Like, ten thousand items a month. It's crazy.

I also, with my brother John, started VidCon, a conference for online video creators and just generally people who love online video. And VidCon has grown a lot. The fourth year will be this year, 2013, and we will have over 10,000 people there, which is...nuts.

So I like to think that I know a lot about the business and endeavor of creating YouTube videos. Especially as you might expect from the perspective of a creator. I have felt like in the last three months or so -now it's been years- but really in the last three months or so, the amount of interest from the business community, from the traditional entertainment industry and from the advertising industry and from, you know, investors and every big technology things has gone way through the roof.

And one thing I don't see being discussed in all those conversations is really, is the two things that I think are most important which are the creators and the consumers of the content. It feels like those people are left out of those conversations, and what we end up talking about are the people in the middle who convert value like YouTube networks and YouTube itself and other platforms and advertising agencies and stuff like that. Those people are getting talked about a lot.

The people who are actually creating the content and the people who are consuming the content kinda get left out of the equation as a, you know, "Those things will take care of themselves" kinda thing.

I want there to be more discussion about those two groups of people, and so here at VidThoughts, I wanted to create content specifically for people who are creating YouTube content and online video content to discuss our strategies, what we're doing, how we're thinking, how it's affecting the world, how we feel about it, how we're making money, what YouTube networks do, how they create value for us, why we pay them to do things for us, YouTube and all its various decisions, and what it wants to do and how its goal affect us as creators, especially if its goals don't line up with our goals as creators.

I want to talk about how to edit videos, how to develop an audience, how to get a cheap good setup, how to write videos, how to present yourself, how to gain confidence, how people are making money.

And I don't wanna shy away from the questions of money, because yes, this is a business and the people who are creating content are creating value and they deserve to be rewarded for that value and also they deserve to be able to have that be their only job. So that they can do that professionally. And if they end up making lots of money, then I think that's great. And not just because I'm one of them. I promise. Okay, maybe a little bit because I'm one of them.

So I wanted to create a place to talk about that kind of stuff. And it's not just going to be me talking about it. I'd also like to invite other creators to come in and talk about how they're thinking about this kind of stuff.

The way this is going to start out is I'm going to be uploading videos first, here on VidThoughts and then a couple days later, I'm gonna upload them on hankschannel just to make sure that the videos are getting, you know, noticed and that people are watching them and know about them. So that they don't just fade away. Because I have these other tools with which to promote my videos which...yay. 

That's what I'm thinking about doing with VidThoughts. If you are a online video creator, whether you're already doing it professionally and making money or you're thinking about making money or you just love the online video thing much you want to know more about how creators think about online video, than you should subscribe to VidThoughts.

I am really looking forward to the conversation that we can have here. And thank you for watching. And no catchy sign off. Good bye.