Spotify has Spotify Wrapped. Twitter and Instagram let you see what your friends liked that may also interest you. Facebook and LinkedIn are just apps to broadcast what you are reading. All these social media sites have some built-in system to share the content you are engaging with the most.
YouTube, in comparison, is a relatively isolated experience.
I watch videos in my recommended and videos in my subscriptions. That’s it. It is rare that a video impacts me so much that I will copy the link and share it using other social media or messaging services. As someone who spends the majority of their screen time on YouTube, I have been curious about what other people watch. I would love to see what the algorithm recommends to you guys in the comments below!
But first, what did I watch?
Time Management
Elliot Sang is a video essayist on YouTube who I found a few years ago with the video “pop art: a review of BTS' map of the soul:7“ from his older channel bby gang mag. I was in my hardcore BTS Stan era at the time, but I never could find the words to explain how I felt about a particular song or why the album as a whole resonated with me. The way in which he explained his thoughts and presented the research he had done for the video amazed me and helped me express my own thoughts in a more cohesive and articulate manner.
The video I watched this week is about time management and presents an interesting alternative to the existing conversations that we all have.
I have always said that time management is the one skill I wish I could master. People who have known me for years can attest to the various methods I have tried. Time logging, time blocking, prioritizing, and Pomodoro to name a few. Somehow all these methods failed eventually, and I attributed it to myself and my lack of self discipline. But the video disagrees.
The most interesting part of the video, and the part that stuck with me, is the section about Ali Abdal’s video on Time Management tips. I had watched that video myself and had even made a little Twitter thread for myself with all the important points so that I could use it myself. It has some really interesting tips that I have incorporated into my daily life, but as Elliot points out in his video, there are some gaps that showcase the ways in which we unnecessarily beat ourselves up for things that realistically aren’t in our control. If you love watching time management TED talks, then watch this one too. It will be one time management video, you wont leave feeling tired.
BT21
Okay. Hear me out. This might be content made for kids. But the storylines, animation, and wholesomeness are top tier!
BT21 is a group of 7 animated characters and their robot, VAN. As you might have guessed, BT21 comes from the name of their creators, BTS. The concept is that each member of BTS was told to design a character (for what I assumed are emojis), and that resulted in BT21. The team of animators behind BT21 took things forward and created a series based on these characters. And I’m really confused why, but I love the result so much.
The 7 characters are Koya, RJ, Shooky, Mang, Chimmy, Tata, and Cooky. The story goes that they each come from different backgrounds but are brought together under a common goal. to become Universtars.
My favourite season is Season 2 which I linked above. It's a series of 7 videos that show where each character comes from. I like it because all 7 videos have their own unique style of animation, and each character has a very individual backstory. Shooky’s video is like the old Pokemon games, Cooky’s is anime style; and RJ’s is like a propaganda film (a personal fave).
If you have half an hour to spare and want to watch some totally unnecessary, incredibly creative, and high quality animation, give this compilation a chance!
AI
The last video I want to mention is by ColeyDoesThings and the video ‘We need to talk about AO3 and AI’
Some background context What is AO3?
AO3 is short for "Archive Of Our Own." It is a free and open site where people write and publish fanfiction about any piece of media that they want to, for free. It is in the same category as fanfiction.net and Wattpad. I have noticed that AO3 is more respected than Wattpad since the standard of writing tends to be better, but I find that it depends on the author. Wattpad attracts newer authors who are just starting out, while the more experienced authors stick to AO3. It might have something to do with AO3’s interface, which takes some time to get used to. Either way, I have found really cool stories on both sites.
AI is artificial intelligence. It's the thing that everyone can’t stop talking about. I personally recommended ChatGPT to so many people. To some, for code help. To others, for college essays. ChatGPT is the new viral thing in my friend group. That’s the reason this video caught my eye.
In the video, Coley explains that there is a worrying similarity between the writing on AO3 and what ChatGPT, and other GPT based AI, are providing as results to certain prompts. The thought of AI creating fanfiction? It's so bizarre.
It’s an interesting video that makes you wonder about how AI is so close to writing a novel of its own.
That was 3 videos that I watched recently. Hope you found at least one minute of interesting content!
As for this newsletter, I have decided on a 10 day schedule. I’ll try to stick to it. Post every 10 days and post some bonus posts occasionally when I have some ideas. Thank you for reading up to this point! Appreciate all the new people who subscribed to my newsletter! Byeee!