0:00:00.000,0:00:03.580
Paul: And now that I'm in LA, I'm hoping I'll be doing a lot more collabs. [br]Yolanda: Yeah. That'd be cool.

0:00:03.580,0:00:04.859
Paul: I'm excited for it.

0:00:04.859,0:00:07.950
Hi PaulTalkers! I'm Paul Roth,

0:00:07.950,0:00:11.759
not from DC anymore! Now I'm from Los Angeles!

0:00:11.759,0:00:14.759
haha! [Yolanda laughs] And today I'm joined by my friend,

0:00:15.330,0:00:20.210
Paul: ah, introduce yourself? [br]Yolanda: my name is Yolanda and... [br]Paul: And your channel?

0:00:20.210,0:00:26.150
Yolanda: And my channel is just my name and I make videos about diversity[br]focusing on film and tv.

0:00:26.460,0:00:28.110
Paul: And you also have a channel about Chris Pine--[br]Yolanda: Ah, yes--

0:00:28.520,0:00:33.080
P talking over Y: I mean Chris Evans [laughs][br]Y: Well, Chris Evans. I also have a, I have a collab channel that i always forget to plug

0:00:33.420,0:00:37.890
Y: So that's great. Great reminder! It's called[br]Dear Chris Evans, we make videos to Chris

0:00:37.890,0:00:41.489
Evans, but also about Marvel and about[br]life. And that's with my friend Farrah.

0:00:41.489,0:00:46.890
P: Yaaaay! And occasionally guest stars, I've seen. [br]Y: Yeah we've had some guests on there. If you ever want to be

0:00:46.890,0:00:51.570
on Dear Chris Evans... Tweet at me![br][Paul rolls chair toward camera]

0:00:51.720,0:00:58.720
P: Chris Evans, if you'd like to be on Dear[br]Chris Evans, please tweet @ Y y o l a n d a a![br]Y over P: YES!

0:00:59.120,0:01:00.500
Y: That's the one!

0:01:00.500,0:01:01.450
[theme music][br][Yolanda laugsh]

0:01:07.140,0:01:10.380
P: We're going to talk about what certain things me to us[br]and we're going to start off by talking about the

0:01:10.390,0:01:12.630
the, the big one...[br]YouTube.

0:01:12.800,0:01:16.680
Y: I mean, I feel like I've been on[br]YouTube, and watching youtube for so

0:01:16.690,0:01:20.710
long, that I think the first time I[br]really thought,

0:01:20.710,0:01:26.140
"Oh! I feel validated in this hobby" was[br]when i went to my first VidCon in 2012.

0:01:26.140,0:01:30.310
and that was when like you'd have all these like-[br]minded people who are like, "Yeah,

0:01:30.310,0:01:35.710
online media is a cool thing. YouTube is,[br]like, this amazing thing!" And for me it's

0:01:35.710,0:01:40.390
been like this great community where, you[br]know, no matter what happens in life, or

0:01:40.390,0:01:42.910
no matter what changes, YouTube is still[br]there.

0:01:42.910,0:01:48.350
Y: So I think YouTube is kinda like this constant for me.[br]P: I feel very similar feelings about

0:01:48.360,0:01:53.250
P: youtube. Um, especially because for most of[br]my life, I've been trying to find a

0:01:53.259,0:01:58.579
community where I fit in. And I had various, like, geographically-centered communities. You know:

0:01:58.600,0:02:02.710
high school, college, uh, things in the DC[br]area where I lived. But when i discovered

0:02:02.710,0:02:07.600
YouTube, I discovered all of a sudden I could connect with[br]not just people were nearby, who may or

0:02:07.600,0:02:11.050
P: may not have anything else in common[br]with me besides geography [Y: Right] but people

0:02:11.050,0:02:14.680
who literally, like, care about the things that I[br]care about,

0:02:14.680,0:02:18.640
P: from the opposite side of the world! That's amazing![br]Y: Yeah.

0:02:18.790,0:02:24.130
P: And as I've just discovered from my move[br]from DC to LA, this is a community that

0:02:24.130,0:02:25.420
can stay with me wherever I go!

0:02:25.420,0:02:29.200
P: So I've now crossed the country and i'm still on[br]youtube

0:02:29.200,0:02:32.380
Yeah, it's really kinda like my, my online home.

0:02:32.380,0:02:35.950
P: Next question, which is: What does VidCon[br]mean to you?

0:02:35.950,0:02:37.730
Y: Yeah. Vidcon is like

0:02:37.730,0:02:40.730
the internet in real life! And it's wonderful!

0:02:40.730,0:02:44.870
Y: And you're just like-- I always forget[br]to post on social media, because it

0:02:44.870,0:02:49.400
Y: feels like [Paul laughs] you're living IN social media,[br]and inside the internet. And you have, like, all

0:02:49.400,0:02:53.209
these faces that you've seen for so long,[br]in real life and, like, "Oh, this is awesome!"

0:02:53.209,0:03:01.669
Y: and it's just like this great gathering[br]of YouTube nerds and peopl who just wanna youtube.

0:03:01.849,0:03:06.530
It's wonderful! If you've never been, I'm[br]sorry, but i hope you can go soon.

0:03:06.530,0:03:10.459
P: When I went to my first VidCon, only three years ago![br]I mostly went because I'd made connections with

0:03:10.459,0:03:15.560
people who I really liked and they said,[br]"Hey! Are we gonna see you at VidCon?"

0:03:15.560,0:03:20.420
and I was like, "I don't know what that is!" I've always[br]tried to connect with people who have a

0:03:20.420,0:03:22.310
small subscriber count.

0:03:22.310,0:03:26.900
P: So my fellow vloggers are people who have, like,[br]you know, a hundred subscribers, fifty subscribers,

0:03:26.900,0:03:30.739
maybe a thousand subscribers. Those, those[br]were my people. And when I discovered I could actually, like,

0:03:30.739,0:03:36.440
P: meet them? Face to face? That was it. I was[br]sold. I was immediately sold. I went to VidCon,

0:03:36.440,0:03:42.169
and it was great! Like, I got recognized?! people[br]knew who I was from YouTube!?

0:03:42.169,0:03:47.810
P: (in squeaky high voice): It was my first VidCon! [br](normal voice) There's just something about the spirit of, like, "We're

0:03:47.810,0:03:52.669
in this together!" that permeates VidCon[br](Y: Yeah!) that makes me just love coming back to it every year

0:03:52.669,0:03:56.840
Y: I think every time, too, I'm like, "Maybe[br]this will be my last year!" But there's

0:03:56.840,0:03:59.989
always reasons, you're like, "Nope. I have to[br]go next year, because these people are

0:03:59.989,0:04:01.130
coming next year, too!

0:04:01.130,0:04:05.540
Y: So, it's like a never ending cycle, like,[br]I'm still going to go to this!

0:04:05.540,0:04:11.120
P: How about NFI? What does Nerdfighters[br]Info mean to you?

0:04:11.120,0:04:12.260
Y: I found out about NFI,

0:04:12.260,0:04:17.900
Y: like many people, through pat. (Paul laughs) Pat, Pat is[br]amazing at networking--

0:04:18.260,0:04:20.600
P: Last year, in particular, she was on a mission!

0:04:20.600,0:04:23.630
Y: Yeah, I mean this year, too - she had her business card, she was, like, ready to

0:04:23.630,0:04:29.210
go! So I've done a couple videos on NFI,[br]and I think going to the meetup

0:04:29.210,0:04:34.190
Y: made me want to be even more part of[br]NFI, and like be more involved in

0:04:34.190,0:04:38.570
that community, because I think there was--[br]more people than expected showed up,

0:04:38.570,0:04:42.919
first of all, (P: More people than I expected!) yeah![br]it was wonderful and I think so many great

0:04:42.919,0:04:47.900
people are just so intelligent and[br]just have such great things to say

0:04:48.530,0:04:54.199
Y: so it's great to have everyone in one place. Yeah.[br]P: I've contributed to some other

0:04:54.199,0:04:59.510
collab channels, but NFI is the first one[br]that I really invested into and I'm so

0:04:59.510,0:05:01.550
glad that I have, because like you point out,[br]there--

0:05:01.550,0:05:04.280
P: These are people who are very[br]intelligent they're very socially aware

0:05:04.280,0:05:08.690
for the most part, and they care about[br]the themes that Pat and Dave come up with

0:05:08.690,0:05:13.910
P: for every week. Um, and it's, uh, you can see the[br]passion and the creativity and the intelligence

0:05:13.910,0:05:18.590
of all these members of NFI who come[br]from so many different walks of life! From young

0:05:18.590,0:05:22.910
Zainab in the UK to Yolanda and myself in disparate[br]parts of the United States with our disparate

0:05:22.910,0:05:24.560
racial identities...

0:05:24.560,0:05:28.340
I mean you get lots of different[br]perspectives on NFI and I love that! It's like a

0:05:28.340,0:05:33.480
little microcosm of the YouTube universe![br]and yet we all kind of, like, get along!

0:05:33.800,0:05:36.180
Y: Yeah![br]P (squeaky): That's beautiful! (Y: That's great!) It's so

0:05:36.180,0:05:40.889
nice! i'm gonna try to remember to insert, like, a photo of the huge meet up that we

0:05:40.889,0:05:45.389
had! (Y: It was wonderful!) I-- Uh, at this point in the video,[br]if i forget, just imagine tons of the

0:05:45.389,0:05:49.050
best people (Yolanda laughs) and that's-- that's the photo.[br]P: And you just mentioned it, so here's another thing:

0:05:49.590,0:05:55.020
P: What does nerdfighteria mean to you? [br]Y: Man! I think Nerdfighteria was like my

0:05:55.020,0:06:00.180
real introduction to youtube. That, like, the[br]YouTube community. Because i had, like,

0:06:00.180,0:06:04.770
Y: somehow found Charlie and through him I[br]found the vlog brothers and then I found

0:06:04.770,0:06:10.500
Nerdfighteria and that was, like, "Oh! A[br]bunch of, like, enthusiastic nerds about

0:06:10.500,0:06:14.039
Y: like, everything! About all kinds of[br]subjects no matter what! You could find,

0:06:14.039,0:06:17.039
like, your little subgroup within Nerdfighteria.

0:06:17.039,0:06:20.729
Y: I think I found Nerdfighteria when I was[br]still in high school, so that was like a

0:06:20.729,0:06:25.229
really cool community to have online,[br]when i felt like i couldn't always fit

0:06:25.229,0:06:26.699
in at school.

0:06:26.699,0:06:30.870
Y: I think, though, as I've gotten older, Nerdfighteria--[br]I mean I'm still, I still feel part

0:06:30.870,0:06:31.530
of it.

0:06:31.530,0:06:34.800
I don't think I've been as active in Nerdfighteria?

0:06:34.800,0:06:39.750
Y: I still watch vlogbrothers, I still[br]watch their videos, but I'm not,

0:06:39.750,0:06:42.870
I guess, actively part of Nerdfighteria?

0:06:42.870,0:06:47.550
Y: I think that's why NFI has been[br]really cool, because I've kind of been going back into

0:06:47.550,0:06:51.300
it. That's been, like, a smaller[br]community, because Nerdfighteria has grown

0:06:51.300,0:06:52.530
so much!

0:06:52.530,0:06:55.860
But you still have like those smaller[br]groups within Nerdfighteria that are

0:06:55.860,0:07:00.510
still that smaller community that make[br]you feel part of it still.

0:07:00.510,0:07:05.130
P: Yeah, that's really nice. I feel like I[br]first discovered Hannah Hart (Y: Okay!)

0:07:05.130,0:07:10.470
And then through Hannah Hart I discovered some[br]other people and I just kept, like Ashley Mardell,

0:07:10.470,0:07:13.860
P: then also discovered John Green through Hannah Hart, somehow. (Y: Oh, okay!)

0:07:14.610,0:07:18.449
And then i discovered the vlogbrothers[br]videos... Even though I was, like, enamored of

0:07:18.449,0:07:21.569
the vlogbrothers and watching their[br]videos and learned about Nerdfighteria

0:07:21.569,0:07:26.819
P: that way.. kind of similar to Ahsante, I[br]never really felt like a part of

0:07:26.819,0:07:30.479
Nerdfighteria because how often have you[br]seen an Asian person on their, on their

0:07:30.479,0:07:33.479
channel? I can tell you explicitly[br]the first time I saw an Asian person on their

0:07:33.479,0:07:34.289
channel:

0:07:34.289,0:07:36.969
P: Sabrina. [br]Y: Right. Yeah, I was gonna say.

0:07:36.969,0:07:40.169
P: When Sabrina substituted in because she won the Nerd Factor

0:07:40.169,0:07:45.969
Y: Yeah [br]P: That, that's when I thought, "Oh! Maybe[br]I can participate in this after all!"

0:07:46.140,0:07:47.819
P: It's only been, like, 600 videos and

0:07:47.819,0:07:51.479
finally an Asian person shows up. Maybe[br]i can now participate in this.

0:07:52.020,0:07:57.120
P: I like it! (Y:Yeah!) I just don't feel like I'm a part[br]of it, necessarily. But at VidCon not only

0:07:57.120,0:08:01.050
is there Nerdfighteria, there are people[br]who just go for VidCon itself.

0:08:01.050,0:08:06.419
Y: Yeah! [br]P: And, like, my favorite panel since[br]the beginning has been Less Than Famous.

0:08:06.419,0:08:11.250
Y: Okay... [br]P: So what does the Less Than Famous panel and concept mean to you?

0:08:11.250,0:08:15.389
Y: I remember when, I think it was [br]talenthatter who started this

0:08:15.389,0:08:19.860
and the idea was just like wow this is[br]great this is kind of what we've been

0:08:19.860,0:08:23.699
Y: looking for because it was getting to a[br]point where there was like, only these huge

0:08:23.699,0:08:25.750
youtubers and like, they just,

0:08:25.750,0:08:30.010
the smaller community was starting to[br]feel like we weren't important. And we

0:08:30.010,0:08:35.110
Y: needed some kind of platform, some kind of[br]space to be able to talk about our own

0:08:35.110,0:08:38.050
experience on youtube, being a smaller[br]creator because we're not doing this

0:08:38.050,0:08:42.550
full time, this isn't our day job. That[br]was like this really cool opportunity to

0:08:42.550,0:08:46.600
Y: have small youtuber voices amplified.[br]I think the last year was the first time i

0:08:46.600,0:08:50.380
auditioned for Less Than Famous, didn't get on,

0:08:50.380,0:08:55.000
that's fine, but there's like so many[br]audition videos you find because of Less

0:08:55.000,0:08:59.200
Than Famous, and you find so many small[br]youtubers because of it.

0:08:59.200,0:09:04.600
Y: Because there's like the small youtuber tag [P: Yes!] out[br]there, too, but people sometimes try to do

0:09:04.600,0:09:06.910
that just to get more views and whatever.

0:09:06.910,0:09:11.500
Y: I've made one, doesn't matter. [laughs] But, uh,[br]like Less Than Famous I think is more

0:09:11.500,0:09:17.080
community-focused and more about being[br]involved in the community. So finding

0:09:17.080,0:09:21.370
those audition videos, I think you find[br]people who are really part of YouTube

0:09:21.370,0:09:26.740
and really kind of are what, what VidCon[br]was about when [phone sound] it started and

0:09:26.740,0:09:31.330
Y: hopefully continues to be. [br]P: Less Than Famous was one of the first panels that

0:09:31.330,0:09:32.350
I was really excited about.

0:09:32.350,0:09:36.640
I think that, uh, i think like Linda Barsi[br]tweeted out about it and my friend Alex

0:09:36.640,0:09:40.000
P: Turlockosaurus tweeted out about it,[br]before I went to my first VidCon

0:09:40.000,0:09:44.290
So I was very excited to go and i loved[br]it. From that first Less Than Famous panel,

0:09:44.290,0:09:48.070
I decided I was gonna just audition for it.[br]I'd-- until I get on to it

0:09:48.070,0:09:52.480
P: or become famous. Because it gives me a[br]chance to really figure out what I want

0:09:52.480,0:09:56.110
from the community and what I want to bring[br]to the community. Because I think you're

0:09:56.110,0:10:00.290
right! I mean a lot of people do, do things[br]related to smaller creator, related to

0:10:00.290,0:10:04.160
P: little youtube, et cetera, but they're doing[br]it to get out of there. And I'm not gonna

0:10:04.160,0:10:07.279
ever turn down subscribers-- That's[br]great!

0:10:07.279,0:10:10.490
There are also lots of videos that are[br]by people like myself, by my friend

0:10:10.490,0:10:15.019
P: Ahsante who was on last year's Less Than[br]Famous, by my friend Justin Dennis who was on

0:10:15.019,0:10:19.550
this year's Less Than Famous, by myself[br]and by Yolonda, where our video auditions

0:10:19.550,0:10:24.230
are very clearly about the fact that we[br]care about this smaller creator

0:10:24.230,0:10:27.290
P: community and YouTube and YouTube[br]community at large.

0:10:27.290,0:10:32.120
And we want to contribute something to[br]it by being on that panel. And THAT'S what

0:10:32.120,0:10:37.880
I love! When people like that are[br]selected, I just, I'm just so, so happy! [Y: yeah] So

0:10:37.880,0:10:43.490
P: happy about it. I'm gonna audition again for it[br]next year! It'll be my third audition!

0:10:43.490,0:10:46.610
You can't stop me! Unless you ask me to[br]stop.

0:10:46.610,0:10:50.990
I think I'm gonna wrap it up by asking one last thing:[br]Race and Representation!

0:10:50.990,0:10:55.970
P: So, what does that mean to you? Both, both[br]within the context of the VidCon/YouTube

0:10:55.970,0:10:58.040
experience and just in general?

0:10:58.040,0:11:02.480
Y: What was cool this year was they had,[br]like, the main stage panel but then they

0:11:02.480,0:11:09.079
had a separate Creator Discussing[br]Diversity workshop or some kind of panel.

0:11:09.079,0:11:12.769
So they had different opportunity-- It wasn't[br]just like: This is your one chance to

0:11:12.769,0:11:14.060
Y: discuss diversity, GO!

0:11:14.060,0:11:18.980
They had, like, different opportunities,[br]It was great! VidCon has been, at least, listening to

0:11:18.980,0:11:21.170
the feedback from attendees.

0:11:21.170,0:11:26.060
Y: and saying, "Okay! Clearly you want more[br]diversity and we're going to provide

0:11:26.060,0:11:30.769
these platforms for you to continue[br]discussing it and we're going to invite

0:11:30.769,0:11:35.930
the people who, you know, you want to see[br]represented!" Which is awesome. But race

0:11:35.930,0:11:42.500
and Y: Representation specifically has... has kind[br]of, I hope, opened up that conversation

0:11:42.500,0:11:46.730
more, or at least brought awareness to[br]it more. Especially with online media, because

0:11:46.730,0:11:54.079
it's such... It's a more accessible[br]platform than TV, than film, that it is

0:11:54.079,0:11:59.389
Y: easier to have diversity and[br]representation on online media, but we still

0:11:59.389,0:12:02.570
don't often see it at these bigger[br]conventions and

0:12:02.570,0:12:07.370
and these panels, so at least VidCon[br]taking that initiative to having

0:12:07.370,0:12:12.260
Y: that, is great to see![br]P: You're saying all the things that I want to say so, I will add

0:12:12.260,0:12:15.769
P: to it [Y: Yeah.] And I will add to it by saying that,[br]you know, outside of VidCon,

0:12:15.769,0:12:20.959
there's often a response to racial[br]representation in media that if we have

0:12:20.959,0:12:25.490
like one person of this color or one[br]person of this identity type

0:12:26.240,0:12:31.040
that's all you need! We've done it. We've[br]fulfilled our "diversity requirements". And

0:12:31.040,0:12:35.810
P: I heard a couple people around VidCon[br]talking about how there was a lot of

0:12:35.810,0:12:40.670
race and representation at VidCon both in[br]the literally named Race and Representation

0:12:40.670,0:12:46.910
panels, the discussing diversity panel...[br]There was a YouTube and Represent-Asian

0:12:46.910,0:12:47.990
P: panel... [Y: Mm-hmm]

0:12:47.990,0:12:53.029
P: Yes! So I heard some people make-- remarking about[br]how there seemed to be a lot of that and

0:12:53.029,0:12:58.130
my immediate response thought to that is,[br]"Unless there are so many people who are

0:12:58.130,0:13:02.449
people of color on every other panel[br]that the Race and Representation panel, you

0:13:02.449,0:13:04.459
have nobody left to put on there--

0:13:04.459,0:13:09.690
we still need it!" It seems like a lot, but[br]only because up until now we've had

0:13:09.690,0:13:14.880
P: little to nothing. [Y: Yeah] My self-designed[br]track of panels at YouTube [*VidCon] was like:

0:13:14.880,0:13:19.650
social justice / disabilities / race and[br]representation track,

0:13:19.650,0:13:23.610
there were like 200 and some panels that[br]were available... Specifically the ones that I

0:13:23.610,0:13:26.970
P: Chose? Had most of the diversity!

0:13:26.970,0:13:30.810
Y: Yeah! That-- I was thinking about that, too, [br]because I think the panels I specifically

0:13:30.810,0:13:33.900
chose were catered toward or had a lot of[br]diversity.

0:13:34.410,0:13:40.020
Y: I mean, for me, I'm like, "Great! There is[br]more diversity!" But overall it's-- there,

0:13:40.020,0:13:41.820
obviously there's still work to be done

0:13:41.820,0:13:45.330
P: Yeah. Which is why, one of the reasons why I[br]really like the fact that, even though I

0:13:45.330,0:13:50.550
myself do not enjoy attending the Maine[br]State panels i love the fact that the

0:13:50.550,0:13:53.610
P: Main Stage is where the Race &[br]Representation panel happens [Y: Yeah] because it

0:13:53.610,0:13:58.440
should be! That should be the place where the [br]teenie-boppers who are going to see their white

0:13:58.440,0:14:03.180
celebrities that they scream over before[br]Race and Representation and after Race and Representation

0:14:03.180,0:14:06.720
station might sit through a service[br]station here and some shit

0:14:06.720,0:14:11.700
I want that to happen! So kudos to you,[br]VidCon, for keeping that up.

0:14:11.700,0:14:16.740
I really appreciate it so those are all[br]things i wanted to have our are various

0:14:16.740,0:14:19.740
shared about. Do you want to chip in [br]anything else?

0:14:19.740,0:14:22.220
Y: Uhh, I think I'm good! No.

0:14:22.220,0:14:27.060
P: Thank you so much for doing this collab with me![br][Y: Yeah, Thank you!] You're in LA for a while now,

0:14:27.060,0:14:28.350
Y: Yes! I am.[br]P: So we should do more stuff together!

0:14:28.350,0:14:29.750
Y: Yes![br]P: Yaaay!

0:14:29.750,0:14:35.240
P: YouTube friends! Y: YouTube friends. [br]P: if you liked this video, please be sure to share it so that other people

0:14:35.240,0:14:40.760
can see it. Let me know what you thought[br]about our responses to these things in

0:14:40.760,0:14:44.090
the comments below, or tell me anything[br]that matters to you because I want to

0:14:44.090,0:14:48.050
know what matters to you. And then how do[br]i wrap this thing up?

0:14:48.050,0:14:49.290
Paul: What do I say at the end?[br][music gets louder]

0:14:49.290,0:14:50.050
Yolanda: Tomorrow

0:14:50.050,0:14:51.270
will be even better!

0:14:52.400,0:14:55.400
Paul: Yeah, it will![br][music gets loudest, ends]