DFTBA

Hey there again :)

Brace yourselves: this is going to be my last post for summer term!

Somehow I didn’t want my blog to end with a guided post, and I found something – or rather someone – entertaining I’d like to share with you before you go wherever you’re going for your well-earned summer break: the VlogBrothers.

The who? The VlogBrothers aka John and Hank Green are two brothers (who would have guessed?! ;) who run a youtube video log that is predominantly pitched at teenagers (although many people who are far from being teenagers like to watch their videos, too). 

link to the VlogBrothers on youtube

The brothers themselves say that their blog is

“not about anything in particular. Whether we're talking about our lives, making each other laugh, or trying to get something more important across, people seem to enjoy it.”

“People seem to enjoy it”… yeah, that’s kind of a modest description of what’s really going on. Currently, two million people have subscribed to their video log. But why?

Maybe you need to watch one of their videos to know what makes them so attractive. The Greens’ log always follows a certain pattern: In the beginning, the two brothers would address each other with “Good morning, Hank” and “Good morning, John” – and that’s the only two seconds in the whole video where you can actually take a breath. What follows are well-researched and well-explained talks on any topic you can imagine, often current political issues. The videos are filmed in a breathtaking pace, though, because the brothers cut out everything in between their talking: there’s no er…, no pauses, no breathing. I’m not even sure if they blink.

(By the way, the selection of intriguing topics and the pacey way of speaking make the vlog a perfect listening exercise for advanced English learners that is far from boring.)

Here you can get an impression by watching Hank debating against himself about net neutrality:

The VlogBrothers call their fans nerdfighters. Many teenagers see the two brothers as their role models. Thousands of young people watch, share and comment the video log every day – and, even more astonishing, they follow the advice given by the two brothers.

Similar to their routine beginning, most videos end with the words “Don’t forget to be awesome” (DFTBA). You might have seen the slogan printed on a t-shirt. That’s because Barack Obama once told John Green as an answer to Green’s question how he should name his daughter that the name didn’t matter. He just had to make sure to tell her: Don’t forget to be awesome.

And the two brothers are awesome. They manage to be informative and funny at the same time and always take a light-hearted look at whatever issue they’re talking about.

What’s more, not only are they successful with their vlog, but also with a thousand other things. For example, there’s the Crash Course, which is a little like school, just ten times better. It’s another series of videos on youtube in which they explain a wide range of topics regarding several school subjects such as History, Geography, Literature or Psychology. High-school teachers all over the States use the brothers’ videos for their lessons, and the students love it.

What do you think of their videos? Worth watching? Or a waste of time?

Whatever you think, have a great summer break – and DON’T FORGET TO BE AWESOME! ;)

Bye-bye :)

 

PS: If you don’t feel like having a laugh, there’s also John Green’s heart-breaking novel The Fault in Our Stars that’s recently been turned into a movie. You'd better have enough kleenex at hand when you watch it... Here’s the link to the trailer: The Fault in Our Stars