Granted, it’s not a great picture, but it’s important. It was what was partly on my mind while flying home from VidCon. I was thinking about everything I had just experienced.
This is a normal feeling. This was my ninth time attending the convention that is devoted to celebrating online video. Everything from the great to the goofy. And even though it’s right across the street that’s not a reference to Disney.
On the last day there was a Creator Keynote. This has happened for the last few years. It’s a time to highlight some amazing video producers who give quick TED-like talks which will hopefully leave you feeling inspired.
One of the speakers was Hank Green. Hank has been making YouTube videos for over a decade. This began with his brother, John, on their still-going channel vlogbrothers. He also runs a studio in Missoula, Montana where other video series (like SciShow) are produced.
Because he’s been around for so long he wanted to provide some advice. Especially to those people who were feeling less than enthused about the platform which has been plagued by many issues over the last couple of years.
He framed it as bland advice, and what I was struck with was that even though it is absolutely great advice to video creators, it’s also great advice to entrepreneurs, business leaders, teachers, and others.
Here are the bullet points of his advice:
- Work hard
- Analyze the success of others
- Identify your strengths
- Be honest about your weaknesses
- Sell yourself
- Find great collaborators and colleagues
- Get out of your comfort zone
- Build your toolbox
What I love about this list is that it’s deceivingly simple, yet incredibly important information. Some of this stuff is obvious and yet difficult to implement on a daily basis.
So as this doesn’t turn into a novella of information, we’ll discuss this over the next few weeks. But if you’re just seeing this information for the first time let me know what you think in the comments below.