Vlogbrothers

Summary

Vlogbrothers (sometimes stylized as VlogBrothers or vlogbrothers) is a video blog channel on YouTube. The Internet-based show is created and hosted by the Green brothers: John Green and Hank Green. The first incarnation of the brothers' online broadcasting was the "Brotherhood 2.0" project, preceding the establishment of the pair's regular vlogging activity through the Vlogbrothers channel.

Vlogbrothers
John (left) and Hank (right), 2022
YouTube information
Channel
  • vlogbrothers
Years active2007–present
GenreVlogging
Subscribers3.77 million[1]
Total views982 million[1]
100,000 subscribers2009
1,000,000 subscribers2012

Last updated: Oct 13, 2023

The Vlogbrothers channel was the first in what would become a larger portfolio of YouTube channels created and developed by the Greens, sparking a community of fans and supporters of Vlogbrothers, known individually as Nerdfighters, and collectively as Nerdfighteria. Subscribers of the brothers on YouTube are the base of the online community Nerdfighteria. The Green brothers encourage their viewers to become a community by creating websites and various projects, like the Project for Awesome, as a way to engage with their subscribers.[2][3]

Vlogbrothers is owned by Complexly (formerly named EcoGeek LLC),[4] which was originally solely owned by Hank, but now jointly owned by both Greens.[5]

Format and schedule edit

The Greens state that their vlog has no consistent format: "Really, it's not about anything in particular. Whether we're talking about our lives, making each other laugh, or trying to get something more important across, people seem to enjoy it."[6][7] The channel passed one million subscribers on March 5, 2013.[8] As of 2022, the brothers post two videos per week onto their Vlogbrothers channel, with John posting his videos on Tuesday, and Hank posting on Friday.

Brotherhood 2.0 project edit

The Green brothers, inspired by the show with zefrank,[3] devised the Brotherhood 2.0 project late in 2006. The project was launched on January 1, 2007, based on the premise that the brothers would cease all text-based communication for one year and, instead, converse by video blogs every weekday. The project was made available to the public on YouTube, with John's first video on his original channel "sparksflyup," as well as through the brothers' own Brotherhood 2.0 website.[9][10] On July 18, 2007, Hank Green uploaded a video of himself performing his song "Accio Deathly Hallows" in honor of the seventh Harry Potter book.[11] This video was the first Vlogbrothers video to make the front page of YouTube, and the starting point of the brothers' success as vloggers.[citation needed] Toward the end of 2007, the brothers launched the first Project For Awesome campaign, in which YouTubers created innovative videos promoting their favorite charity, with the aim that their promoted charity gains more awareness, and donations from viewers.[12][13] The Brotherhood 2.0 Project ended on December 31, 2007.[14] However, the brothers decided to continue uploading videos on YouTube due to their popularity and growing fan base.

Post-Brotherhood 2.0 edit

 
Hank and John at VidCon 2012

In their December 31, 2007 video, the brothers revealed their decision to continue vlogging even though the project had ended.[14] Following the conclusion of Brotherhood 2.0, a website was set up for their community, known as Nerdfighters.[15] The website was originally maintained solely by Hank Green, but was later updated and moderated by a group of community volunteers known as the "Ningmasters". New projects, videos, discussions, groups and forums entirely made by the Vlogbrothers fan community were uploaded daily. The brothers' videos continue to be the basis of the online community known as "Nerdfighteria".[16]

Continuing the trend of their previous charitable endeavors, the Greens rallied their viewers to make micro-donations on Kiva.org.[13] The Nerdfighters lending team was launched in September 2008.[17] As of December 2021, the Kiva Nerdfighters group ranks fifth on the site for total money loaned through total domestic and international microloans.[17] It has roughly 51,000 members who have loaned a collective total of over $17.9 million.[17]

On January 20, 2010, John Green went on paternity leave, and Maureen Johnson made videos in his place until his return the following month, when he introduced his son, Henry.

Hank Green was interviewed by Forbes in May 2011.[18] During 2011 and 2012, the Green brothers had their Vlogbrothers videos consistently featured on media outlets such as CBS News and Huffington Post.[19][20][21][22] On September 14, 2012, Hank Green made a video celebrating the 1000th video on the Vlogbrothers channel that commemorated the brothers' experiences over the previous 5 years.[23]

One million subscribers and ten years on YouTube (2013–2023) edit

A Vlogbrothers video featuring both John and Hank

On January 15, 2013, they featured in "An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall" celebrating the anniversary of John's novel The Fault in Our Stars.[2][24] The two-hour live streamed event also featured The Mountain Goats, Kimya Dawson, and Neil Gaiman. In February, John Green participated in a Google+ Hangout with Barack Obama during which John's wife, Sarah Urist Green, also appeared.[25] Prior to this, she had not been seen on camera or in any of his blogs, preferring not to join her husband on camera. Her elusive attitude gained her the nickname "The Yeti".[26] On March 5, the channel hit 1 million subscribers and both brothers live-tweeted the occasion.[27]

Later, on June 25, John Green went on paternity leave for the birth of his second child, Alice, and six guest hosts made videos in his place, including Hannah Hart (MyHarto), Grace Helbig (itsgrace), Craig Benzine (wheezywaiter), Rosianna Rojas (missxrojas), and the winners of the "Nerd Factor" competition: YouTube users MagicTurtle643 and Sabrina Cruz (NerdyAndQuirky). In November, John created a video discussing bullying in general, as well as his personal experience with getting bullied.[28]

Starting in 2012 and 2013, John and Hank launched an event called "Pizzamas" in which they sold merchandise of "Pizza John": a white outlined image of John sporting a thick mustache, originating from a 2009 Vlogbrothers video that then became a popular meme in the Nerdfighteria community.[29] The event evolved in 2014, with John and Hank uploading videos every weekday for two weeks, as they had during the first year of the YouTube channel. The merchandise also evolved, introducing fan art printed on objects including blankets and tote bags, and other merchandise such as pizza-scented air fresheners, with all the proceeds donated to charity.[29]

On September 11, 2015, the Greens began listing all videos on the channel under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.[30] Hank Green later clarified on Reddit that "We didn't mention it, we just switched over. I'm not sure what people would do with a Vlogbrothers video, but I want them to be able to do it."[31]

On August 5, 2016, the project "How to Vote in Every State" was launched. It encourages viewers to register to vote with links to quick, comprehensive videos on how to do so in for each state.

In the beginning of 2017, the duo celebrated their ten years on YouTube. In honor of this, they held a one-time convention, NerdCon: Nerdfighteria, that was held in Boston, Massachusetts from February 25–26, 2017.[32] The convention celebrated the duo's YouTube career and the Nerdfighteria community.

On October 22, 2019, the Green brothers launched a project with Partners in Health to improve maternal health in Sierra Leone, primarily through the building of a Maternal Centre of Excellence.[33]

Hank's Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis and aftermath (2023–present) edit

In light of Hank's May 2023 Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis, the brothers announced that videos would likely not be uploaded with the same regularity while Hank underwent treatment and John took on more responsibilities at Complexly and DFTBA Records. For the first time, the Green brothers abandoned the four-minute rule for non-educational videos.[34]

Reception edit

The Greens were able to find a dedicated audience, with Christian Today detailing "their message, celebrating nerdiness, education, science, and imagining others complexly, has resonated loudly across the globe."[13] Margaret Talbot of The New Yorker has praised the topics of the video blogs, describing, "The tone of their monologues ranged from goofily informative... to wonkish." Talbot added, "Many posts dispensed adult wisdom, but in a reassuringly modern way."[26] However, Craig Rubens of GigaOM, gave a more critical review of the video blog, comparing it negatively to the show with zefrank. While Rubens stated that, "none carry Ze’s torch with more earnestness than the brothers Green," he closed by saying the Greens' vlog "remains a nerdy knockoff of Ze’s seminal work."[35]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b "About vlogbrothers". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b Kaufman 2013.
  3. ^ a b Green brothers 2009.
  4. ^ Green, H. 2016b.
  5. ^ Green, H. 2014.
  6. ^ Gilmore 2012.
  7. ^ Inck 2011.
  8. ^ Green, H. 2013.
  9. ^ Schatz 2007.
  10. ^ "Brothers Reconnect" 2008.
  11. ^ Green, H. 2007b.
  12. ^ Saleem 2007.
  13. ^ a b c Trimmer 2013.
  14. ^ a b Green brothers 2007.
  15. ^ Harry 2013.
  16. ^ Fitzpatrick 2014.
  17. ^ a b c "Kiva Lending Team" n.d.
  18. ^ Knapp 2011.
  19. ^ Goodman 2011.
  20. ^ Goodman 2012.
  21. ^ "Tumblr: The Musical" 2012.
  22. ^ Orenstein 2012.
  23. ^ Green, H. 2012.
  24. ^ Romano 2013.
  25. ^ Kellogg 2013.
  26. ^ a b Talbot 2014.
  27. ^ Gutelle 2013.
  28. ^ Goodman 2013.
  29. ^ a b Wurst 2022.
  30. ^ Green, H. 2015.
  31. ^ Green, H. 2016a.
  32. ^ Lesher 2017.
  33. ^ Green, J. 2019.
  34. ^ Green, H. 2023.
  35. ^ Rubens 2008.

Sources edit

  • Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia (September 18, 2013). "John Green fandom 101: Nerdfighters, Vlogbrothers, and pizza". The Daily Dot. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  • Brothers Reconnect Using Video Blogging. All Things Considered. NPR. January 20, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  • Crum, Chris (September 29, 2009). "Record Label Launched for YouTube Stars". Web Pro News. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  • DiGiorgio, Zoë (October 20, 2013). "Nerdfighters club on campus celebrates love of nerd culture while fostering community". The Diamondback. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  • Fitzpatrick, Anna (June 4, 2014). "Intro to Nerdfighters 101: A John Green Primer". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  • Gilmore, Georgette (April 16, 2012). "A Review of Children's TV". Barista Kids. Barista Net. Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  • Goodman, William (March 31, 2011). "Hilarious song: Bieber, Beatles, Slipknot, Rebecca Black, all stealing same notes". CBS News. Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  • Goodman, William (August 22, 2012). "Some interesting thoughts on whether college is "worth it"". CBS News. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  • Goodman, William (November 20, 2013). "John Green Gets Personal On Bullying And Gives Us All Hope". Huffington Post. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  • Green, Hank (July 18, 2007). July 18: Accio Deathly Hallows (no spoilers). Vlogbrothers. Retrieved January 12, 2014 – via YouTube.
  • Green, Hank (September 14, 2012). 1000 VIDEOS!!!. Vlogbrothers. Retrieved March 26, 2014 – via YouTube.
  • Green, Hank (March 8, 2013). One Million Nerdfighters!. Vlogbrothers. Retrieved April 13, 2013 – via YouTube.
  • Green, Hank (August 27, 2014). "Why does your "company" seem to have so many names?". Tumblr. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  • Green, Hank (September 11, 2015). Yellowstone: The Terror of Change. Vlogbrothers. Retrieved March 9, 2016 – via YouTube.
  • Green, Hank (March 9, 2016a). "Vlogbrothers went CC-BY?". Reddit. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  • Green, Hank (October 7, 2016b). Changing Our Business a Bit. Vlogbrothers. Retrieved January 8, 2017 – via YouTube.
  • Green, Hank (May 19, 2023). So, I've got cancer. Vlogbrothers. Retrieved June 5, 2023 – via YouTube.
  • Green, John (October 22, 2019). Giving Away $6,500,000. Vlogbrothers. Retrieved October 26, 2019 – via YouTube.
  • Green, John; Green, Hank (December 31, 2007). Dec 31: Goodbye Brotherhood 2.0. Vlogbrothers. Retrieved May 15, 2013 – via YouTube.
  • Green, John; Green, Hank (December 27, 2009). How To Be a Nerdfighter: A Vlogbrothers FAQ. Vlogbrothers. Retrieved November 18, 2013 – via YouTube.
  • Gutelle, Sam (March 11, 2013). "YouTube Millions: Hank Green On Vlogbrothers' Success". Tubefilter. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  • Harry, Lou (May 9, 2013). "Bestselling author Green to speak at Butler commencement". Lou Harry's A&E. Indianapolis Business Journal. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  • Inck, Sofiy (August 1, 2011). "Internet Humor: Nerdfighters DFTBA!". Kid Spirit Online. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  • Kaufman, Leslie (January 17, 2013). "A Novelist and His Brother Sell Out Carnegie Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  • Kellogg, Carolyn (February 15, 2013). "See YA author John Green hang out with President Obama". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  • "Kiva Lending Team: Nerdfighters". Kiva. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  • Knapp, Alex (May 3, 2011). "Q and A With Hank Green, Inventor of 2D Glasses". Forbes. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  • Lesher, Amy (January 2017). "Vlogbrothers Celebrate 10 years on YouTube". Verge Campus. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  • Orenstein, Hannah (August 9, 2012). "'Vlogbrothers' Tell You Why You Should Be Excited To Go Back To School (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  • Romano, Aja (January 16, 2013). "Vlogbrothers don't forget to be awesome at Carnegie Hall". The Daily Dot. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  • Rubens, Craig (December 10, 2008). "Vlog Brothers Are Good But They Still Aren't Ze". GigaOM. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  • Saleem, Muhammad (December 18, 2007). "How 2 Nerdfighters Took Over YouTube". ReadWrite. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  • Schatz, Amy (September 28, 2007). "Local Politics, Web Money". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  • Shore, Jennifer (November 9, 2012). "How 2 Brothers Turned a YouTube Experiment Into a Charitable Mission". Mashable. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  • Talbot, Margaret (June 9, 2014). "The Teen Whisperer". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  • Trimmer, Michael (December 7, 2013). "Our UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador wishlist". Christian Today. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  • "'Tumblr: The Musical': Cats, Hipster Little Mermaid & GIFS (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. July 29, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  • Wurst, Emily (September 28, 2022). "Pizzamas: How a Bad Mustache Became an Annual Fundraiser & Community Tradition". Good Good Good. Retrieved September 29, 2022.

External links edit

  • Vlogbrothers' channel on YouTube
  • Project for Awesome YouTube
  • Nerdfighter Community Website/Forum