#nerdfighteria

Our little corner of the Internet used to be much bigger--today the average vlogbrothers video gets 150,000 views, whereas in 2015 it got 500,000 views. Nobody's making sketches on SNL about my history of tuberculosis the way they did about The Fault in Our Stars.

And yet, although our community and fanbase are smaller than they were 10 years ago, they're also much more powerful. This is true in terms of fundraising; it's also true in terms of, like, successfully bullying large corporations to lower the price of tuberculosis tests. As a social movement, nerdfighteria is at its peak, even if it's well past its peak as a pop culture phenomenon.

I won't lie: I found being near the center of U.S pop culture very unpleasant. But not only that, it wasn't very effective as a fandom or social movement, precisely because it was so broad. What it's become now--an online community with strong values and a deep, 19-year understanding of itself--is so much cooler and more valuable than when the phenomenon of Hank&John were at their "peak."

Build as much community as you can. Now is the time.

If you've been thinking about asking some old friends to go somewhere, do it. If you've been thinking about starting up that D&D game, do it. If you used to hang out with some people and you're not sure what happened, see if they want to hang again some time. If you see a stranger that you feel like you can talk to, talk to them, even if only for a second.

It's okay if this means that you can't do something else that's kind of important to you. Honestly, your personal goals can probably wait a little bit (obviously don't sacrifice them if they really can't). Chances are very good in the digital age of 2025 that you are weighted a little bit (or a lot) towards your own internal life, since there are so many isolating forces.

It's okay if they don't (within reason) agree with you. Your proximity will probably change them. It's okay if they change you too.

The more people you are connected to, the better. The number of people you can ask to do you a favor when you need one is a very important number. The number of people to whom you can show something at least close to your truest self is also a very important number.