The Video-Hosting Platform
YouTube is a website that does one thing: allow people to upload videos that they can share with others across the internet. That’s its entire shtick. Of course, that sounds like quite the oversimplification compared to the addictive abomination it is now, but it still holds true.
Every now and then, I stumble upon videos with a few thousand views, shot ruggedly and barely edited. It’s someone talking to the camera about a philosophical point of view they’ve been tossing around these past few days; someone singing a cover they’ve practiced a lot for; someone sharing why you should definitely listen to Bob Dylan or The Beatles or some artist I’ve never heard of.
I cherish these videos.
They’re glimpses of a more honest time on the platform, like people living in quiet neighborhoods, away from the loud and blaring central business district. These are people who are not caught up in going viral. They had ideas, and they wanted to share them.
In a time when monetization has become the de facto response to even the act of sharing, it’s become admirable to do something for the sake of doing something.
Overall, what I’m chasing is authenticity. People being real; not businesses, Content Creators, Influencers, or Publications. Real. These videos show people being truly creative. I don’t mean that in the sense of “creating art,” but instead more like “creating” a video to capture something in their life that, for some reason, they couldn’t keep to themselves. It’s bursting out of them, and YouTube provided just the right place for it. How lovely.
I’ve compiled a playlist of these random videos that I’ve come across. Watch enough of these, and maybe it’ll confuse the algorithm enough to accidentally lead you down some back roads.
Playlist: Authentic YouTube