Junky

Dear Jake,

I love YouTube.  I'm sort of a junkie.  I am not sure how most people use YouTube, but I get this feeling that most of the people around me wait for a video to be shared with them, waltz across their social media feed, or come up in a conversation to be looked up.  I admit that many an enjoyed video is consumed by me through those means as well.  However, I am the sort of YouTube guy who carries a profusion of subscriptions that include vloggers, film makers, musicians, scientists, historians, and professors.  It is such an interesting form of communication and interaction and I love it.  I am going to share a short list of my favorite YouTubers.

Blimey Cow
Jordan and his family/friends hilariously discuss a variety of issues using variety of styles.  Sometimes they create funny lists such as, 5 Tips for Healthy Dating and 3 Things We are Tired of Hearing About.  Sometimes it's just a dramatized speech.  On Mondays they do a challenge and answer questions from their subscribers.  Their target is teens but I enjoy them because they present everything from a biblical perspective and it seems their background is similar to mine.  They poke fun at things like HS Youth Group and AWANAS without invalidating their importance.  They are really creative and funny.

CommunityChannel
Natalie is from Australia, if I remember right.  She does these sketches mixed with monologue.  She does all the acting herself and has conversations with...herself.  Every video is guaranteed to make you belly laugh.  Most of the time it isn't deep stuff at all, but she always brings up observations that you can immediately relate to.

Desiring God
John Piper's channel.  Basically any time he's filmed talking it shows up here.  My favorite thing though is when they post these videos called Look at the Book.  You see a Biblical text and John Piper then voice overlays himself as he breaks down each word of the text.  He marks the text up like crazy and brings to light all sorts of cool things that a quick glance won't show you.  You learn not just what the Bible says, but also how to study the text yourself.

ERB
Epic Rap Battles of History.  I'm sure you've seen some of these in the past.  This channel runs in seasons like a TV show would.  It pits historical figures in dramatized rap battles.  It's witty, funny, over the top, and always entertaining.

OlanRogers
Olan is a story teller.  You know how you would go hang out with your friends and there was always the one guy who could recall a past memory with you and then make it sound hysterically funny?  This guy is that guy.  He tells about stories of his life and he sees life in an incredibly joyful way.  I don't think there is a YouTuber that makes me laugh as hard as this guy does.  He also produces very cinematic short films sometimes too.  The films are on par with a professional level, but it's his stories that I crave.

vlogbrothers
Hank and John Green do on video what we do blogging.  Who are Hank and John Green?  Just spend a couple of minutes on the internet.  They sort of own it...  Oh and John writes books.  I don't know if you've heard of "A Fault in Our Stars" or "Paper Towns", but that's John.

CGP Grey
Using pictures and illustrations he explains big questions.  How does the pope become the pope?  What's the difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain, and England?  Where is the true border between Canada and the U.S.?  Super interesting stuff

Veritasium
Derek Muller uses fewer pictures and illustrations than CGP Grey and more interviews and live footage to explain stuff.  Often he lands on more of the sciency topics.

Then there is my personal favorite:
SmarterEveryDay
Destin is one of the coolest people I've ever met.  He's a Christian who happens to be a lover of all things science.  He exudes joy and brings a child like perspective to life in general.  He LOVES his family and isn't afraid to explain why.  He loves using the extreme hi-def slow motion cameras to find out about physics and biology.  He is curious about everything.  He takes you into the rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef, and his own backyard to show you how awesome things really are.  The icing on the cake is the little picture of Reepicheep's silhouette and an accompanying scripture refernce at the end of each video.  I never miss one of his videos.

There are a ton of YouTubers I didn't mention that are on my list but I don't want to make this a mile long.  A few of them that I feel bad not mentioning in depth are:
Agent XPQ
BatDadBlake
BadLipReading
Charlieissocoollike
Convos With My 2-Year-Old
juliansmith87
KevinOilPainting (Bob Ross reincarnate no joke)
Kurt Hugo Schneider
Mental Floss
MysteryGuitarMan
RocketJump (They did the amazing Video Game High School web series)
ScottBradleeLovesYa
Vsauce
The Art Assignment
SoulPancake
ThePianoGuys

And I'm embarrassed to say, many more.

Keep in mind I don't watch every video that comes my way.  Most of them only produce between 1 and 3 videos a month.  My favorites I watch nearly all that they post and the others I watch when I'm bored.

I want you to post some of your favorite all time viral videos.  You don't have to be original here.  I'm interested in why things go viral.  I think everyone likes different videos and there are a lot of different types of videos out there.  Almost all these types of videos have some that have gone viral.  What are your favorites?  Why?

Sincerely,
Joel