There's No Crying In YouTube!!!

I like YouTube a lot.

Like, a LOT lot. It's such an interesting and powerful way to share information, converse, and educate through the Internet. Online interaction is predominantly dominated by textual communication. So the video medium brings another whole set of opportunities to the table. It's not a secret that YouTube has special properties that other sites don't offer.

Whether it be vlogs, advice videos, makeup tutorials, music videos, educational videos, trailers... Whatever. The potential to tap into something that interests you while ALSO being entertained, is quite high. That place is close to my heart and I utilize it frequently. It was probably one of the first social media sites that I gravitated to.

ANYWAYS!!! VidCon was this past weekend (THE convention for members of YouTube) and there was a panel hosted by some prominent YouTubers for the Women on YouTube.

If you're interested in social media AT ALL, regardless of the site (but especially YouTube), male or female, you should really check out this event. It's a little over an hour long, but so worth your time.

The girls on the panel were (from left to right) Laci Green, Hayley Hoover, LexCroucher, Kristina Horner, Rosianna Halse Rojas, and Brittani Louise Taylor.

Many of these girls I've been watching for YEARS. Some are rather new to me. But each of them has their own flavor and vibe. They do share some common elements though.

For one, they are extremely normal people. They're the 'every girl' in the way that human beings tend to be natural and real. Not the idea of an 'every girl' that comes from a middle-aged network executive. One who looks like the perfect Zooey Deschanel -- which makes us all look bad and feel like shit.

These girls are doing the things they like to do, they are talking about topics that interest them, and they are educating others on things that they believe in passionately and personally.

And by the very nature of thoughts or opinions, if you have one, someone-somewhere is going to completely disagree with you. Therefore, each of these girls have to deal with quite a lot of negative feedback in addition to the success and popularity they receive.

On the panel they discussed how these problems manifest in specific ways, due to the fact that each of these video users are women.

I had always sort of assumed (sadly) that they had to deal with a lot more/different pressure and harassment than many of the males on YouTube. But in hearing their discussion, learning about how much courage, conviction, passion, and strength it takes to deal with that FORCE, it really made me appreciate all of their hard work.

Yesterday I talked about how important it is that we’re honest about where we are.

The ones who are doing what they love, and living the 'dream' need to acknowledge how NOT EASY it is; even after they reach some level of achievement. The fear, stress, and anxiety is still there. They just have more practice at summoning the courage to move on.

Here are a few things the girls mentioned working on as they went through the process of putting material out for the world to see.

They all said in their own way, that they had to get right with themselves.

People (especially girls) need to have enough self-confidence to put it out there - despite the hate they may get. They should protect themselves - because they value their (and their family's) safety more than anything. And that they must always work with integrity - believing in what they are talking about or just enjoying the process.

Without those things, you're unlikely to have much personal or professional health and success.

I got a lot out of this panel and maybe you will too! So check it out!