The Value of YouTube

When you are starting a new hobby, sharpening a skill, or generally curious about something, the internet is the place to go nowadays. As a Millennial, I do remember the days of going to the library and checking out a book on a topic, hoping to see something you were curious about in TV Guide, or asking Uncle Ted and taking his blatantly incorrect information as gospel until one day in college you triumphantly regurgitate this knowledge... only to be laughed out of the student lounge.

Now, with almost every device in our homes containing the magic of WIFI, pretty much anything is at our fingertips. My personal choice for vegging out on topics I find interesting is YouTube. It's current algorithmic structure is designed to make AI driven suggestions to keep you watching and piling on the ad revenue - and, oh wow, it works. I can start watching baking fails as a relaxer after work, then by bedtime somehow have traveled so far down the rabbit hole that I am now the 5th most expert on crocodilian distribution in the Southern hemisphere. I can start watching gamers streaming, and somehow end up with $300 worth of artisanal soap making products in the mail.

YouTube has been with me my entire journey in switching from performing with orchestras to running queries and performing data analysis. Heck, YouTube got me through the orchestra cycles, as well. The point of this blog post is that resources are out there. Finding one that works for you is possible.