Today's video is going to be a bit special, it's a bit different.
We are not going to talk about politics, instead, we we wanted to tell you a bit more about
VisualPolitik itself.
In other words, we are going to talk about this channel because we have important news
to tell you.
A a few weeks ago we marked the one year anniversary of this channel.
Today, we're well on our way to half a million subscribers, and everyday 100,000 people view
a video.
Whenever you start something new like a business or a YouTube channel there's always risk.
And honestly we all at VisualPolitik felt that starting a political channel on YouTube
was a particularly big one…
Informed, rather than sensational politics on YouTube, is not exactly a super hot topic.
It's not an exciting vlog, or gaming, or even top 10 lists!
And we didn't really expect this channel it to grow the way that it has.
Now, many of you have asked us, in comments and emails…
Why do we do this?
How did we get started?
Who is involved?
As many of you might know, this is not my first channel.
In fact, I have 3 other YouTube projects on the go.
So what made me chose to start this one?
What made me think this was a good idea?
An idea worth the risk?
Well, in this video, I want to tell you that story.
WHY DID WE CREATE THIS CHANNEL?
No matter where you are watching this video from, I'm willing to bet there is PLENTY
of media coverage about politics.
I'm sure there are news outlets and political talk shows of all stripes, satisfying both
sides of the political spectrum...
And I don't want to be critical because many of them really do truly outstanding journlism.
But, in general, they have two issues.
The first one is emotion.
The media playbook on politics says that people watch news to confirm their views.
If you are conservative, you will watch conservative news and the same goes if you are liberal.
Media gurus will tell you that the way you make politics appealing is by showing emotions
and showing confrontation.
This is exactly why so many shows tend to exaggerate their political positions - it
creates a bigger conflict.
Chances are, you already knew that.
But I said there were two issues, and the second one, you might not be familiar with.
You see, by definition, journalists are focused on exceptional facts.
Consider this journalism aphorism:
'A dog biting a kid is not newsworthy, but a kid biting a dog is'
This has been the cornerstone of political news since…well, kinda forever...
Let me give you a more real world example: anytime an oil tanker sinks, it hits the news.
On and on go the extensive reports, the interviews with experts, and all kinds of extended analysis...
But nobody is talking about all the thousands of oil tankers that don't sink, all the
thousands that make it to their destination on schedule and without problems.
And, despite what you might think from the media coverage, those ships, the ones that
just go about their journey, they have a far bigger impact on your life.
As an example, I'm willing to bet that the price of fuel for you car affects you far
more than any oil tanker sinking...
But the reality is we build our perception on reality based on those rare happenings,
not on the normal, everyday realities of life.
This leads us to not really understand the reality of life at all…
How about another example?
This one a bit more "VisualPolitik".
Africa.
Unless you are a regular VisualPolitik viewer, you might still think of Africa as an entire
continent full of poverty and misery.
Why?
Because when a journalist talks about Africa, he talks about those exceptional things: a
war in Congo, corruption in Angola, starvation in Somalia…
And on, And on...
Economic progress isn't some exceptional event.
It's something that ticks along, little by little, day by day…
Never really a big enough story to make the headlines....
And headlines, that's what people read, that's what people have been conditioned
to care about.
And it's not just Africa.
It's the world.
Ask the man on the street what the status of the world today is, and he's probably
not going to be full of optimism.
The world is war, is poverty, is corruption...
But you know what the dog biting the kid of this story is?
The oil tanker that arrives safely to its destination?
Well, that's the simple fact, that we live in the best time in history.
And this is not an optimistic, dream-like, viewpoint.
It's absolutely fact based.
We've got the growing middle class in Asia, a clear path to the elimination of starvation
in Africa, and life expectancy is higher than ever before, pretty much everywhere...
Our hope, that if you are watching this video, you want a realistic view on what the world.
Not one slanted by the popular medias desperate need to show you conflict and emotion…
And this isn't just about giving you an informed opinion for the sake of it.
It's about giving you an informed opinion because many negative elements of society
take advantage of people who believe that the world is in trouble.
Very little is better at polarizing a society, stirring up populist movements, and on the
micro level, even causing us to make bad decision in our day to day lives.
Okay, so big talk, but what does VisualPolitik has to offer you here?
Well, we're here for context.
We're not competing with traditional media, and the 24 hour news cycle.
And don't get me wrong, it's great to read newspapers and watch TV news.
They are going to tell you the daily news, but we are going to give you the trends and
the movements that are changing our entire world.
This is why we love so much to compare one country to another, or dive into the history
of a situation in depth before we tell you what's happening in the present day.
Context is so important, and it's so often missed by TV news because they need to get
to the story that is breaking that day, that hour, that minute...
But most important of all, we do this while keeping our independence.
Not every media outlet, or even YouTube channel can say this, but VisualPolitik is 100% independent.
There's no think tank behind the scenes writing cheques, there's no company providing
us with a fancy office, or a political party peddling influence.
There's no hidden agenda.
We publish our content in English and Spanish and we are 100% funded by our own resources.
So why do I say 'we' instead of 'I'?
As you can imagine, behind me, there is a team helping me to create the best content
possible.
We are four people if you include myself.
If you want to see the other guys behind the team check out our Spanish language channel,
they all also present on there!
And this is not an easy job.
Behind the scenes of video, there is between 15 and 25 hours of research.
All of our sources have been double-checked and we make sure that all our stories meet
the highest standards.
And then comes the writing, and the editing, and the recording, and the production, and
the channel management… and on and on.
Alright, so I can hear some critics already!
"Do you really have no viewpoint?"
"No bias at all?"?
"Are we completely neutral when we talk about each and every issue?
Honestly, no.
In fact, nobody can be neutral when talking about politics.
Not even in theory.
From the very moment one topic is chosen over another, a point is already being made…
It's just inescapable.
So what is our view?
What is our bias then?
Well, I think its best described as a principle.
And that is simply: FREEDOM.
We believe freedom should be an absolutely core value of politics.
More specifically respect for the freedom and civil rights of people, to as greater
degree as possible.
Another principle we stand for cultural understanding.
We've consistently stated that free trade between countries and cooperation among people
are the best mechanisms for peace and prosperity on a global scale.
As we've demonstrated many, in many video, the evidence shows that isolationism and protectionism
do not lead to anything good...
But finally, our most important principle is to not to be dogmatic.
Everything we say it's fact based and, as we can have our minds changed if someone gives
us a good reason to change them.
This is why your feedback and your comments are so important for our project.
You, the viewer, provide us with new information and sources.
And many of our videos are made because one of you contacted us with information about
a country, and said why we should make a video about it.
So, that was a really long way to introduce you to something you probably already know.
But now let me tell you something you don't, let me tell you where we want to be.
A NEW STAGE IN VISUALPOLITIK
We wanna go further.
We want to make more content, more videos and in different formats.
We want to go to different places and show them to you, we want to introduce you to the
people behind the stories, the people who are changing the world we live in.
Oh, and we also really want to have our own website, with more VisualPolitik content.
In summary, we want to take VisualPolitik to the next level and take this community
we have built along with us.
And we need your help.
Many of you have already asked us why we don't have a PATREON page.
And the truth is… it's something we've been considering for a long time.
The truth is we realised, that if we want to do more, we need more, and we need a way
to do it while maintaining that, all important, independence.
And now everyone who wants to help us can.
If you want to, you can join us taking Visual Politik to the next level.
And just quickly for those who don't know about it, PATREON is a platform that connects
creators with those who want to contribute financially to that creator.
But look, we're not taking anything away, that's important to say.
The classic VisualPolitik videos that we post every week on YouTube will always be available,
to everyone, for free.
But now, for less that what you pay for a beer, you can make all our ideas: more videos,
more specials, a website, and even potentially books, a reality.
Further, you will get access to exclusive content and lots of other surprises.
If you click the link in the description box below, you can check out the web site and
learn more about the goals we have set.
And of course, you can choose the type of commitment you might want to have.
Finally, we want to use this opportunity to thank you all for your support.
Thanks to you, VisualPolitik is possible.
So to everyone who has watched and shared our videos, sent us music, sent us ideas,
left us comments…
THANK YOU.
I'm sure over the next year we'll continue to grow into an even greater community with
more possibilities.
And, without you, none of this its possible.
So, again, thank you so very much and I'll see you in the next video.
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