How Ty-mely

I woke up this morning with an email from YouTube with the subject "Apply Revenue Sharing for your video 'YouTube Live - KevJumba says Hi to Ty."

It currently has just under 16,000 views on YouTube. This is a monetization program called "Individual Video Partnership" program where rather than having all of your videos be monetized, only your popular ones that qualify based off certain criteria (like views) can shows ads against that specific content as long as they adhere to content policy.

I can't help but think of that day --- Saturday 11/22/2008. It was YouTube's biggest promotion ever, affectionally called "YouTube Live." It was an evening spectacular to showcase YouTube's biggest talent as well as popular culture stars of the time. It stood as a symbol of empowering everyday people to drive popular content rather than the mainstream pushing us content of what they think we'll like.

The day holds incredibly special meaning in my heart. I had just took to plunge switching jobs from Google to YouTube two months prior. I was crushing after someone who would later become one of my besties rather than a love interest. I brought Kevin W. as my date, as YouTube employees were granted 2 tickets to the event, which was held at Fort Mason in San Francisco. I remember when I introduced Kevin to one of my favorite people I've ever met at Google, Kenji. He's someone whom I've always looked up to, both personally and professionally. He was one of the Google AdWords temp managers when I was going through conversion in 2006. I remember when Kenji kept on checking in on how things were progressing with my interest beyond friendship with Kevin. I can't help but smile at those days.

Katy Perry, whom at the time was just starting to gain a smidgen of popularity based off her single "I Kissed A Girl," was the opening act. Kevin and I were incredibly excited to see her. Who would have called her not becoming a one-hit wonder and quite possibly one of the biggest pop music acts in the world today? There were also a ton of other cool acts.

Before the actual event, there was a YouTube Live Festival with live performances, art, etc. YouTube also invited a lot of its partners to the event, including KevJumba. KevJumba is a hilarious comedian who's currently still in school at UC Davis. However, he's also part of this season's Amazing Race 17 on CBS. He's racing with his Dad, who's featured on many of his videos. You can check out their Amazing Race intro video on CBS' website.

I remember Ty had one goal for me. Hunt down KevJumba and get him to say to hi to him.
To be completely honest, I never thought in my wildest dreams that:

1. I'd find KevJumba in that huge crowd and
2. Be able to get the balls to go up to him and record a video message.

I suppose it's symbolic. It was at a point of my life where I was consistently going out of my comfort zone to help me grow as a human. At one point of my life I was a incredibly shy (and in the closet) guy who'd always stare at the floor and never give anyone eye contact. I wasn't really social by any means and lived my life through entertainment (TV, Film, Radio, Music, Computers) rather than interactions with humans. I've come a long way from those days (basically up until my first year after graduating from college.)

I didn't want to disappoint Ty or not achieve a goal that was given to me. It wasn't a serious goal by any means, but I ended up taking it pretty seriously.

Today, KevJumba debuts on the Amazing Race, going from internet sensation to mainstream entertainment. Today, my KevJumba YouTube video qualified for monetization. Today, I'm a stronger person than I was on 11/22/2008.

KevJumba, Me & Kevin // 11.22.2008


My Video for Ty:

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