Thanks for pitching in guys, awesome to see.
And in response to the question of why My Drunk Kitchen made this list. I typed up some ridiculously long response last night that ultimately wound up going no where and achieving almost nothing, and decided, rightly, not to post it. But now having had a day to mull it over, I think I have an answer that makes some sense.
When I say "smart youtube", I'm not just referring to channels that promote intelligence, rational thinking and curiosity, although those are great and amazing things to have. But just having those would render my idea of youtube as a smart, entertainment platform, a bit null, leaving it more of an entertaining classroom than anything. So I think what I mean when I say smart youtube, is channels and content creators that are very clearly trying to go outside of the status quo of internet entertainment, go outside the first gut reaction punchline, channels that don't repackage memes and throw them at your face in a new shiny coat.
And I think all of the channels I posted do that. When you hear the name My Drunk Kitchen and I tell you it's a youtube show, your mind (probably) instantly flashes to visions of drunken frat boys around a stove pouring beer on large flanks of meat... or some such stereotypical visage of drunks and cooking. But that's not what MDK is, the drunk part of MDK is just a small aspect of the show, it's not vulgar or excessive, I mean she has some drinks, tries to cook something, makes puns, and is adorable for 10 minutes. To me that seems like something new and different, and entertaining.
Regular Ordinary Swedish Mealtime takes the idea of a cooking show, (and just to drive my point home, we'll use Epic Meal Time as a comparison here), and completely flips it over. Whereas Epic Meal Time is based on "hmm, what does the internet love? Oh bason, whiskey and douchebags....ALLTHEBACONWHISKEYANDDOUCHEBAGSTHEN", Swedish Mealtime is in a foreign... I'm assuming real..ish language, not that it actually matters, making normal food, in an extreme manner. It's something so off the wall and weird, that you have to admire the guts it took to make it, it could have just floundered and been forgotten, but they did it, and did it as damn good as they could, and it found an audience.
I mean they aren't perfect examples, and I'm sure there are better ones out there, and I'm certain my explanation is lacking, but hopefully I'm getting at least some of my point across. At the end of the day, I think a smart youtube is one where creators are pushing the boundaries, saying "Yes, I know we're an internet based show, but we can make legitimate, original, entertaining content, without relying on those push-me-and-I-giggle buttons that a certain sector of internet users rely so heavily on". Which is why I include channels like MDk and ROSWT, and decidedly don't include channels like CorridorDigital and FeddieW. And then add in all the channels using youtube as a source to spread intellectualism and scientific curiosity and all that good stuff into the definittion as well... maybe my definition should be kind of two fold... ehhh, I'll keep working on it.
Hopefully that makes sense, and maybe gives you guys a better idea of why I see youtube and online media creation the way I do.
PS. Unfortunately this definition does sort of highlight why I have hesitation about posting music channels. Music is something altogether different, music is...well...music, I know that sounds condescending, and it's not meant to. But at the end of the day, it's very very hard to make a music chanel something truly special, such that it stands out. I think Pomplamoose does this by making fantastic and original music videos while also having spectacular music. Gunnarolla and Andrew Huang I include because they work very closely with their fans in their content creation, it is much more of a community than it is an artist producing and releasing an album. Whereas, a channel like Mike Tompkins or Peter Hollens, while they are very good musicians, and the quality of their work is very high, I just find it blending into the background in the context of this thread. Where that actual dividing line is, I don't know, and more than likely it is something decided solely on personal preference. So please by all means post artists you love who are making high quality content, I have no issue with that and would love to find new music channels, this little PS was more me talking through an issue I have with my own definition and the idea of this little concept.
