This weekend I was fortunate to go to the YouTube Fanfest Academy for creators and see the YouTube Fanfest show last night. It was an exciting and inspirational weekend and I’m grateful to everyone, especially my one and only, for getting me into these events. Not only was I able to grow my YouTube following by 25% in one day (from 8 to 10 – log into gmail and subscribe here if you haven’t!), but I also got to meet and listen to the stories and advice of some YouTube sensations. I even got to hang with Marquese Scott, of this viral video’s fame. Here are some highlights from his interview and the questions I was able to ask him one-on-one.
Q: When did you start dancing?
A: Age 12 after dance battling some kids at the roller skating rink and losing badly.
Q: How did you get started on YouTube?
A: At first I just loaded videos to view my own dancing and to improve. Then as more people other than my direct friends started to watch my videos I started to dress nicer and find nicer backgrounds for my videos.
Q: Is YouTube a business?
A: Yes and no – I still have love for dancing but there are now commercial considerations like what to wear etc.
Q: When did you get a manager and how did that process work?
A: Luckily I had a manager from before I blew up, from when I was doing “So You Think You Can Dance” etc.
Q: How is your time divided between on and off YouTube?
A: 40 on / 60 off – live performances take up most of my time but I am considering employing a team to push my channel full time so I can work more on that.
Q: Do you have any advice for people just getting started?
A: Love it 1st. And stay true to your content.
And from my brief convo with him after his talk –
Q: Was there ever a time when you considered quitting?
A: Never – and when you decide to take time off or do something else, that’s when you lose it.
Q: You started posting videos when you were already an advanced dancer. What advice can you offer to someone who is a bit more blue belt in his skill level?
A: Don’t worry about the level – there is an audience for every level – just find it and keep doing what you love.
So that’s it – I shall keep making my vids, and see what comes of it.
Later in the weekend I got to speak to his manager (and also spill sparkling water all over his shoe in my nervousness, sorry!), and he reiterated the point about loving it – “Love it, because it’s a ton of work”. Anything of value is, innit.
Sunday, Oct 12: banana, blue belt breakfast, whole wheat pizza with Joe’s marinara (mild version), mixed grilled peppers, and pesto sauce (this was AWESOME – easy whole wheat pizza dough recipe, pesto recipe)
Monday, Oct 13: fruit course of Japanese mikan and banana, blue belt breakfast, salad, dinner of Mexican Spicy Bean Soup and guacamole over brown rice (soup recipe from Women’s Weekly “Pressure Cooking”, guacamole recipe but I’ll use Alton Brown’s next time)
Tuesday, Oct 14: blue belt breakfast, lunch and dinner of Mexican Soup, guac, and brown rice
Wednesday, Oct 15: chapati and macadamia nut butter, lunch of Mexican Soup over brown rice, dinner of lovely couscous salad (recipe)
Thursday, Oct 16: chapati and macadamia nut butter, lunch at Google of seafood curry and brown rice and naan, mixed salad, miso soup, small grilled fish filet, snack of champions (Japanese sweet potato over brown rice, sprinkled with peeled almonds and sesame oil), dinner of Kitchari cleanse (recipe, 3rd one)
Friday, Oct 17: fruit course of stewed mixed berries (from the Rader Farms bulk frozen bag), last blue belt breakfast, lunch and snack of Kitchari, dinner of Kitchari and mixed pan fried vegetables to celebrate our new, real dining table!
Saturday, Oct 18: fruit course of Japanese apple (need to look up the variety, my favorite), last Kitchari, dinner of Kinpira and steamed white rice (pan-fried burdock and carrot, recipe from the one and only Aki-san)
On tap for this week: Yogurt and Chickpea Soup (from “Pressure Cooking”), Paneer Bhurji (recipe); Pesto Risotto by my one and only; Sweet Potato Loaf (gotta try out Thug Kitchen’s latest recipe)
Personal production: Continuing video work on “My Little Flipper Girl”, a Tokyo music video, and “Stir to Sleep”, a music instructional on my pre-bed breathing meditation. Continuing composition for “Radiohead Park” – music for a future “Tokyo Beach” video
Current listening: to my own detriment I think, I cut down music listening as I’m hooked on Mark Passio’s podcasts (see below) – most will disregard it as “conspiracy theory bullsh*t”, but many parts of his lectures resonate with how I see the world working, and many of his discussions, such as his breakdown of the human brain (reptile, limbic, and left and right neocortex), the polarities in the world (fear and love), the breakdown of human consciousness into thoughts, emotions, and action, his discussion of time and astrotheology, and his investigation of the meanings of words have been interesting in their own right.
Podcasts: What On Earth is Happening #36-38 (the illusion of time, religion)
It looks like the “End of QE” correction has begun and stocks swiftly fell 8% from their highs. A lot of signs are pointing to an intermediate term bottom but I would like to see a 15% correction coupled with negative sentiment before establishing any trading long positions.
Money Mustache is insightful on the topic of investing, and this is worth a read. Certainly anyone with a 30 year+ investing horizon should have a high allocation of equities, though with the duration of the S&P currently at 50 years, those with cash needs from their investments sooner than that should have proportionately less allocated. My current allocation stands at around 25%, which definitely feels light in the context of this raging bull market.
