Storytelling on YouTube

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matt72582's Avatar
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Is it just me, or is the art of Storytelling dying out? I would have thought with YouTube, there would be some amazing revival. I ask around (to very little response), so I'll ask here.


I'd really like to check out elderly YouTubers. There was this one guy I used to watch, but he died. He would just have this old webcam, be all alone, and talk into the microphone whenever he felt like it. Nothing else on the screen - no special screen, no sponsors, just a man telling stories in his 80+ yrs. Some really sad stories, some happy ones, but he was a very sincere guy and had a ton of views. Another benefit of older people is that in a few years, you'll never have access to them, how things were like in the 1940s. I'm not really interested in things made in my lifetime -- I already know it! I'm trying to figure out how we got here, and it's nice to compare stories, what people went through a long time ago, but also what they stress. It was why I collect newspapers, too.


Lately, besides stand-up comedy, I get most of my humor from YouTube comments (or other places) and I guess the humor "sticks" because people who are watching the same videos probably understand the references and point of view.


I do like Americans living abroad, but they're mostly YouTube Tourist Guides. Very little stories, and mostly highlighting the differences between both countries, which is also interesting, but it would be cool just to hear stories abroad... I'd also like to hear foreigners talk about their time backpacking throughout the US.. One of the highlights backpacking were the talks in hostels with people from all over the world, trying to get a better understanding of the world and people.


This is one man I have watched, Bernard Albertson. It's been a long time, but I wonder if there's any others like him in the same kind of format.




I don' think YouTube is the barometer of storytelling greatness. It's mainly used by people to put stuff on in the hope that someone gives them some likes. Same as other social media. Most of your new good stories will be in book, film and maybe video game format.

Personally I can't remember a time in my life when there was so much quality and quantity of film and tv and thus story telling. It seems every week I discover a brilliant new Director releasing a great debut film. It's a golden age.



matt72582's Avatar
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Here's one young Russian woman who I used to follow...What I like about it is that there are no bells and whistles, just her in front of a camera talking.. Someone random, 70+ subscribers.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVZ...92meU9g/videos


My Childhood



I don't think storytelling is dying out, it's just that there's a lot of places for people to post their absent-minded ramblings and it's easy for that to drown out the good stuff if not curated somehow.

Lots of people are very bad storytellers. I know some fairly articulate people who have no sense of how to even convey an amusing anecdote properly.

Performances are the same, there's just more platforms that give random people the veneer of being on a stage.



matt72582's Avatar
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I don't think storytelling is dying out, it's just that there's a lot of places for people to post their absent-minded ramblings and it's easy for that to drown out the good stuff if not curated somehow.

Lots of people are very bad storytellers. I know some fairly articulate people who have no sense of how to even convey an amusing anecdote properly.

Performances are the same, there's just more platforms that give random people the veneer of being on a stage.

I don't even mind a rambling storyteller on YouTube with barely any popularity. It has to be interesting somehow -- their stories, or at least their personalities.


For me, I think video is essential, though, to see their expressions, etc.. People who are very old, or from another part of the world - basically something I don't hear regularly.



Conversation itself is dying out. The majority grunt back and forth at each other on their iPhones using poor grammar, bad spelling, and with almost no understanding of how to express a thought.

Are grammar and writing even taught in public schools anymore?



matt72582's Avatar
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Conversation itself is dying out. The majority grunt back and forth at each other on their iPhones using poor grammar, bad spelling, and with almost no understanding of how to express a thought.

Are grammar and writing even taught in public schools anymore?

Great post.. I think it's because 99% of conversation is not face-to-face, which can explain a lot.


I do know they stopped teaching cursive.