YouTube Celebrities – The Vlogbrothers
John and Hank Green as Nerdfighters
The Vlogbrothers show on YouTube began as Brotherhood 2.0, designed by the brothers as a way to reconnect as adults. Feeling that textual communications such as emails, text messages and instant messages were impersonal, they decided to start something new.
John Green
John lived in New York City when they started Brotherhood 2.0 and has since moved to Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife, Sarah. Sarah, or “the Yeti,” has never been seen on any of the Vlogbrothers videos, preferring to stay elusive and myth-like.
John is a professional writer of young adult fiction, With three novels under his belt, he is an inspiration to all aspiring writers and frequently doles out advice and wisdom about writing.
Hank Green
Hank lives in Missoula, Montana with his wife, Katherine, who is occasionally seen in his videos. With a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and a Master's in Environmental Studies, Hank has founded a green-tech website called EcoGeek.
Hank put Brotherhood 2.0 on the map in July of 2007 with his song Accio Deathly Hallows. Since then, Hank has written numerous songs and co-founded DFTBA records, releasing 3 albums himself so far.
The Brotherhood 2.0 Project
In the beginning, the brothers mainly told each other news relating to themselves, but, after gaining an audience, they began playing up to the camera, cracking jokes and trying to be as entertaining as possible.
When the project began in January, certain rules were laid out. First, they would alternate weekdays as the person to post a video. Each video could only be four minutes long, with montages being excepted from the rule.
If someone failed to post a video or accidentally communicated in a text form, that person was “punished” by the other brother. Sometimes the audience was polled for a punishment idea, with wives having veto power.
A punishment usually consisted of eating a blenderized Happy Meal, or waxing a body part. As long as the punishment was embarrassing, it was usually acceptable to the audience and the other brother.
A few phrases were created during this year, including the term Nerdfighter. John discovered a video game called “Nerdfighters” in an airport arcade and the term was soon applied to their viewers, people who are into learning and other nerd-like pursuits.
DFTBA was coined from a friend who had the acronym tattooed on her arm. Standing for “Don't Forget To Be Awesome,” this phrase was used as a farewell for both brothers.
After the Brotherhood
What started out as an idea to get to know each other better became a popular show on YouTube, with over 100,000 subscribers and over 4 million channel views. In December of 2007, many viewers were worried the show would come to an end, but in the December 31st video, the brothers announced they would be continuing the show with a few changes.
One change would be the number of videos posted. Instead of every weekday, they decided to be a little more relaxed in the format and mainly post videos when they could. A few of their fans were upset to see punishments stop but for the most part, people were relieved to see their favorite brothers stay on YouTube.
Another change was the name. Since Brotherhood 2.0 was over, they took on the moniker Vlogbrothers, still seeing a healthy number of viewers, who send out positive comments every day.
The show is hard to describe, being a mix of humor, news and politics, with a large dose of randomness tossed in. Seeing John's puff-levels change and Hank's new songs is enough for some viewers, keeping them coming back for more and for John's, “Best wishes!”
Hank Green
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John Green
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