So, on a whim, about 2 months ago I decide to enter the Geek and Sundry Vlogger search. Basically, the geek specific YouTube Network wanted some new faces to add to their new vlogging channel, where different geeks come together to discuss their various hobbies. Now as most of you may know, a chunk of my time on the internet is spent obsessing over J-pop, anime, and the convention scene. But, for this contest, I decided to shine the spotlight on one of my other obsession; K-pop. I have to admit, I was a little hesitant at first. I've been in the K-pop fandom long enough to know anyone with an opinion can become a target for hate. However, the channel already had a cosplay /anime correspondent, so K-pop seemed like the most sensible choice. So, I buckled down and thought about what message I wanted to convey in my vlog. My main objective was to introduce viewers to not only me, but my love for K-pop. After some hard thinking, I knew just what I wanted to do. Being a non-korean speaking K-pop fan, I often get the side-eye from people who can't comprehend how I could like music that's in a language I don't understand. I really wanted to make the viewers understand that to me, music is much more then understanding words. It's has the power to move people all over the world.
My First Submission
So I turned in my submission, and patiently waited for the contest to start. When it did finally kick off, I starting sharing this sucker like a mad man! I knew I was at a disadvantage from the start as some of the other contestants were well established YouTubers with an healthy fanbase willing to vote them up everyday. Luckily for me, while votes were taken into consideration, they weren't the final word in deciding which vloggers would make it into the final round. Thus, with a humble 33 votes (while most of the more popular contests managed to gather thousands) I was chosen to advance to the final round, where 30 vloggers would fight for 10 spots on the Geek & Sundry Channel. Now I want to stop and commend Geek & Sundry Channel for their very involved process of selection. I've been in so many internet-based contests in the past where the winner was strictly determined by voting, so well known contestant always came out victorious, even if they weren't necessarily the best choice. I really liked how Geek & Sundry took the time out to sort through all of the contestants themselves,and determine who would be good for their channel. It shows that their goal is to make their channel entertaining and well rounded, their not just looking for easy traffic.
Anyway, as a contestant of the final round, I was asked to make another video that would then be submitted for voting and critique. This is where things got tricky. I really didn't have a clue what to do for a follow up video. On top of that, I had a hard time finding a balance between a video that caters to fans of K-pop and a video for K-pop newbies. I went over a plethora of K-pop topics but either it cover too much information for a K-pop newbie to follow, or to little information for a K-pop veteran to relate. I ended up doing two videos; one that I actually submitted, and one to kind of act as a supplement to the other, in case someone wanted to see more of what I had to offer in terms of K-pop. The video I submitted dealt with K-pop rivalries, while I discussed the situation of the "popular member" in the other.
My Second Submission
Supplement Video
When the second round kicked off, once again I was sharing like crazy. But I soon started to notice that my video weren't receiving as positive of a respond as the first time around. Don't get me wrong, it's not like anyone was leaving hate comments. In fact, for a good amount of time, there were no comments at all. I started panicking because I thought I had screwed up big time and had totally blown my chance. However, the comments and reactions slowly started to poor in and I could relax at least a little. And then it happened. I was given my first chance to be featured on Geek & Sundry Vlogs. No, not because I had won the competition; it was no where near over by this point. To my delight, Geek & Sundry had decided to host a series a of Google hangouts where viewers could get to know each potential vlogger. And where would this hangout footage be uploaded? On none other than Geek & Sundry Vlogs itself! I was excited, nervous, and terrified all at once! Slowly I counted down the days until my Hangout would take place. Unfortunately when the day rolled around, nothing went well for me. At first, I had thought I had missed my time and sent an embarrassing email trying to understand what happen, only to find out I had made a mistake and was freaking out for nothing. Then, when my time did come around, my computer/ webcam stopped working. I ended up making a mere 30-second appearance during my hangout that I couldn't even be heard during. [I come in around 24:24]
Needless to say, my determination to make it on the channel multiplied ten fold. So I kept sharing and spamming and hoped for the best! To wrap things up here, I didn't end up making it on the channel. However, it definitely was an overall positive experience. And at the end of the day, I see it as a confidence booster, and proof that even if I'm not the best or most interest vlogger yet, I have at least some potential. For now, I'll just work on improving the quality of my own channel. And who knows, maybe I could be a guest vlogger in the future;)
-RCUJay
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