So I don’t have a lot of friends right now.
I moved for graduate school, and it’s been difficult making connections with people in a new space that’s relatively small. So, in the time I have now that I’m not going out, I find myself on YouTube, and for the past several months, I’ve become completely immersed in a community where I exist as a fly on the wall, just watching. It was during this time I found people I hadn’t known about before, like Keemstar (Drama Alert), IDubbz, LeafyisHere, GradeAUnderA, Onision, and so many others. I’ve racked up enough Youtube views for a lifetime, and I’m sort of embarrassed. I justify it with the excuse that I’m a Communication student, and it’s a form of media. But anyways, let me get to the point.
I think I found the commentator genre right as it was getting popular. And around this time, I found Keemstar. I can’t remember if I started watching Drama Alert during or immediately after the “Keemstar Exposed” garbage that was proven to be false. It was sickeningly captivating at the time, watching these events unfold like a movie. And I think those watching (and I’m embarrassed to include myself here) forgot that these were real people who were losing real friendships and going through real trauma. And I kept watching, following everyone on Twitter, going from video to video, trying to learn whatever I could.
And then one day, I actually decided to check out this podcast Keemstar kept Tweeting about, where he and these two guys Tommy C, and Colossal is Crazy talked about Youtube. I listened to the three episodes that had been uploaded to iTunes, and as soon as episode 3 ended, I was back on Twitter checking for any updates on episode 4.
I looked up Tommy C and Colossal is Crazy, two people I’d never heard of before but had immediately dug their personalities. Baited! is perfect content for those who enjoy listening to other people having a discussion. Colossal is the intellectual, Keemstar is fueled by passion and personal insight, and Tommy is the bipartisan who isn’t afraid to call someone on their shit (also that laugh). But it was more than that. While they could just fall into their stock roles, it came to my realization that these weren’t characters. These were actual people discussing topics that mattered to them. Topics that directly affected their platform and livelihood.
Baited! is enjoyable because it isn’t formulaic. It’s raw. During episode 7, while discussing GradeAUnderA, it was so incredibly uncomfortable and real I nearly shut my phone off. It was like listening in on two acquaintances shouting right in front of you. Now, I’m not saying these guys are my friends. I don’t know them, I probably never will. But the intimacy between the podcasters and audience is hard to avoid. And because this podcast, at least for me, got me to understand how judging these people I don’t even know, and thinking of them as characters is unfair. I can’t hold someone who puts their life on Youtube and shows their real life to someone like Rick from The Walking Dead. One is a fictitious character and the other is a real person. Granted, there are fictitious characters on Youtube, but I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about “Youtube drama,” two words people are sick of hearing. But that’s why Baited! is different. The topics they tackle are things that are able to transcend drama. Keem, Tommy, and Colossal don’t just regurgitate what’s already been said. They expand on the subject, providing three different perspectives. They offer the listener the opportunity to consider the ideas presented, build off of them, or completely reject them and create their own theories. I think that’s pretty fucking cool.
And I’m not trying to suck their dicks. I don’t always agree with them. A lot of the time, I disagree with them. Earlier today, I disagreed with Keemstar’s assessment on Philip DeFranco. But that didn’t mean I was going to attack him or tell him to die. I could see things from his perspective, but I saw things from my own. And the fact that I can keep coming back to listen to people who’s thoughts don’t align with my own must mean they’re doing something right.
Look, maybe this is all one big formula. Maybe Keemstar, Tommy, and Colossal are nothing like they present themselves on Baited!, Twitter, and Youtube. Maybe I’m a big idiot for thinking this deep into something that not many people will see or understand. But I think it’s important to recognize something when it’s really good and remark on its value. Colossal
And maybe I shouldn’t write shit while under the influence. My bad.
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