Green always means good. We want to keep the environment nice and green. Green means go when we’re driving. And you’d hope to find your YouTube videos awash with a sea of green thumbs up, compared to the dread-inducing red thumbs down.
But Green has never been as great as when it comes to the Green brothers - Hank and John. Two men you might know better as the Vlogbrothers.
Where it all began
Unlike other famous siblings - William and Harry, we’re looking at you - John and Hank have always understood the power of brotherhood, and the wider importance of community.
For the two brothers, Brotherhood 2.0 was where it all began. And it was a surprisingly simple idea. Send each other a video blog every day for a year.
Family connection for 2007 - when the internet and social media was becoming the force we know it is today.
Enter the Nerdfighters
Perhaps without really realizing it, their authentic Vlogbrothers channel resonated with people. If the Green brothers could find a way to keep their relationship going with the power of video and content creation, why couldn’t others?
The Vlogbrothers went from two brothers to a global community who shared the goal of - and we quote - “decreasing world suck.”
Known as the Nerdfighters, suddenly Hank and John Green became important figureheads for a more positive, connected online world.
School is in session
From YouTube’s foster brothers to everyone’s favorite teachers, another way the Vlogbrothers have connected with millions of people across the globe is by creating a platform that people didn’t know they needed - until it proved essential.
CrashCourse is their online platform built around educational videos that does the teaching without the preaching, and focuses more on broadening the mind than sticking to a status quo.
Instead of academia that feels run of the mill, or built around passing tests, the Green brothers have thought about what people really need to know. This can be topics that others might find intimidating or tricky to ask for from others - topics on feminism, a look at different religions, and Black American History.
Scared to ask something in the past? Worried you’d say something offensive or get laughed at? The Vlogbrothers have your back.
Rather than letting people either submit to ignorance or risk being afraid to ask, they have covered over 50 subjects with engaging, expertly-animated videos highlighting high-quality research and verified expertise.
And the best part? It’s all free.
The lessons don’t end there, though. When class is over with CrashCourse, over 8.1 million subscribers (and counting) can slide over to SciShow, another Green brothers creation built around connection.
Instead of full subjects, SciShow is like a bite-size blast of curiosity - taking fans on a whirlwind tour of the weird, the wonderful and the ‘who would have thought to ask that..?’
How do they top all of that? Oh, just by starting the biggest creator event of all time
You might think that running several successful channels, charity work and building a community of positivity in an ever-toxic online world is more than enough for two people to handle - and we’re not even mentioning Hank Green’s side hustle as a successful author, writing the likes of The Fault in Our Stars - but you’d be wrong.
Perhaps their greatest gift to creators was paying it forward with VidCon.
Instead of just capitalizing on their own popularity, the Green brothers wanted to create a space for everyone to shine. And VidCon, beginning in 2010, was one of the first ways they helped support and promote other emerging and established creators expand their reach.
It started out with a reported 1,400 attendees - and has since become the biggest in-person event for influencers and content creators around the world. There are VidCons that take place in Asia, Australia, London, Abu Dhabi, Mexico and more. The number of attendees has reached 75,000.
For context? It took Comic-Con (which started in the 1970s) nearly three decades to reach similar figures.
Sorry Kermit, it turns out *is* easy being Green
Where so many crash and burn, the Green brothers have made it look, dare we say, easy. But that’s simply because they’ve never wavered from their intentional approach to influencing.
- If you have an idea, go for it: the Vlogbrothers started out with the most simple of premises between two brothers
- Keep things consistent: the brothers were able to keep up with the demand because they never strayed too far from the premise of their online platforms - to make each other laugh and to create connections
- Pay it forward: from insisting on keeping their SciShow and CrashCourse videos free to helping spotlight other influencers and creators with VidCon, the Vlogbrothers prove the power of promoting and encouraging others. Loyalty is earned, and John and Hank have certainly worked hard for theirs.
