This interview was conducted via email by NameOfUser57.
Jordan Harrod is a YouTuber with over 60,000 subscribers.
Q1: How and when did you discover YouTube?
- I was probably in middle school? I was looking for resources on natural hair care, and my mom found a few channels making great videos on the topic that I still follow today!
Q2: What was the first video you watched?
- I have no idea - probably something hair related, but I don’t remember the first time I went on YouTube, let alone the first video I watched!
Q3: How many videos do you estimate you have watched?
- Upwards of thousands, probably. Maybe a few hundred thousand?
Q4: How many channels are you subscribed to, and which is your favourite?
- Depends on which account we’re talking about. :) I’m subscribed to 66 channels on my main channel account, and lately my favorite would probably be Becki and Chris - I absolutely love their videos! I also have a separate account for more lifestyle/food videos, and am subscribed to 95 channels over there. My favorite would probably be a tie between LaurDIY, Morgan Yates, and Brooke Miccio.
Q5: Who is the most subscribed to channel that is subscribed to you?
- Real Engineering, followed very closely by MinuteEarth.
Q6: What was the first YouTube channel you were a fan of?
- Naptural85
Q7: What do you think of YouTube’s copyright and demonetisation policies?
- I think they have a hard needle to thread when it comes to abiding by copyright laws and monitoring the content on the platform using algorithms and without suppressing legitimately good content. However, I also think they could stand to support creators more as they develop these policies, especially in the educational community, where content is often removed because it deals with topics like World War 2.
Q8: When did you first become interested in artificial intelligence?
- Around my junior year in college - I’d heard of machine learning before that, but I spent the summer doing research on medical AI and came back way more interested in the field as a possible career path.
Q9: Do you have a favourite and least favourite video you have created?
- Hmm, that’s hard. My favorite video lately is probably the second video on the Computational Photography series, just because it was fun to make. And my least favorite video is probably an early video on AI and DOTA 2 - I don’t think I understood the game well enough to speak on it, and the comments section reflected that.
Q10: Can you remember your first video? What was it like uploading it?
- Yep! I was pretty nervous - I didn’t really tell anyone about my channel for the first six months or so because I was afraid people would hate it. I still get nervous when friends discover my channel, but it’s definitely gotten better as the channel has grown and my confidence in my videos has grown with it.
Q11: What’s your favourite thing about being a YouTuber?
- In terms of my own channel, probably getting paid to learn and talk about topics that I already find fascinating. Outside of that, the “smart YouTuber” community is full of awesome people, so I really love the community that I’ve found in the process.
Q12: What is your favourite thing about the educational community on YouTube?
- How nice people are! I feel like social media has taught us that who you see on the internet isn’t a reflection of the actual person (usually in a bad way) so it’s been really nice to meet people and get to know them in real life.
Q13: What do you use to record and edit videos?
- Right now, I’m using a Canon 90D with a 18-35mm Sigma Art lens and the RodeLink Wireless System for filming, and I alternate between Davinvi Resolve and Adobe Premiere for editing. I’m in the process of hiring an editor though, so I’m hoping to do less of that going forward.
Q14: How long does it take you to make a video? What about thumbnails?
- It depends a lot on the video - projects can take a few weeks, but videos on specific recent papers take a few hours. Thumbnails take about 30-60 minutes - I have a template, so the hard part is usually deciding what I want the thumbnail to look like, but once I have the idea in mind, translating it to Photoshop takes another 10-15 minutes.
Q15: If you could change anything about YouTube, what would you change?
- More creator input - I think that a lot of YouTube campaigns could be improved by having creators more involved in the process of developing the campaigns.
Q16: What, in your opinion, are the most exciting recent developments in AI?
- Probably work in medical AI - I work on neurotech for my PhD, so I follow that field pretty closely.
Q17: What are some of the potential problems or risks of AI?
- Anything from exacerbating existing societal biases to negatively impacting individuals - there’s a lot of issues.
Q18: Did you ever expect to get over 56,000 subscribers?
- Not really - this started as a hobby and has turned into a second job, which I’m definitely grateful for but I never expected to have a significant following.
Q19: Did you ever expect to have uploaded over 130 videos?
- I want to say yes, but this also isn’t my first YouTube channel, and I thought I’d be doing my first channels for years. (Spoiler - I posted weekly for about three months and then quit.)
Q20: What is your lifetime view and subscriber goal? What was it when you started YouTube?
- I don’t really have one! I’d like to get the 100,000 subscriber award before I finish my PhD, ideally, but past that, I’m not that concerned with views and subscribers.
Q21: How long do you think YouTube will last?
- Oh, that’s hard. I’d imagine it will be around in another 10 years, but maybe not under the same name? Alphabet is always doing new things, and new platforms are always popping up, but no one has managed to really rival YouTube yet.
Q22: How long will you be uploading videos?
- At least until the end of my PhD - I’m not planning to go full-time into YouTube afterwards, so I haven’t quite figured out where the channel will go after that.
Q23: What advice would you give to someone doing a PhD?
- Make sure you actually enjoy research before you commit to it - I love research, but it’s definitely not an easy job, so I think it’s important to have something motivating you to push through. Also have hobbies outside of your PhD! Especially when things aren’t going as planned, it’s nice to have other things that you’re passionate about so you don’t tie your self-worth to the degree.
Q24: What advice would you give to aspiring YouTubers?
- Just keep uploading, and make sure to check in with yourself regularly to see if you actually enjoy making content! At the end of the day, I know a ton of great creators who don’t have a ton of subscribers but make videos because it’s something they enjoy doing, so I don’t really recommend getting into YouTube with the intention of “blowing up” because a very small percentage of people actually do.
Q25: What is the future for you and your channel?
- For now, there will still be weekly videos through the end of my PhD! Past that, I have no idea on both fronts. :)
Q26: Have you ever done an interview like this before? What did you think of this one?
- Nope, but this was fun!