This interview was conducted via YouTube Private Message on March 14, 2017, by Aidan Dunphy
PracticalPat is a YouTuber with over 15,000 subscribers.
Q1: How and when did you discover YouTube?
- During school around summer of 2008.
Q2: Can you remember what the first YouTube video that you ever watch was?
Q3: Can you remember what the first video game that you ever played was?
Q4: How many YouTube videos do you think you've watched in your lifetime?
- 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.
Q5: How many YouTube channels do you think you are subscribed to?
- 100.
Q6: Who was the first YouTuber that you were a fan of?
- Not gonna lie I was a fan of PewDiePie but seriously though TheAngryGrandpaShow I really liked the channel a lot because I could relate to the channel.
Q7: Who influence you to make YouTube videos?
Q8: What do you think about the new YouTube Advertiser-Friendly content guidelines?
- It's terrible and ruins the creative of content creators so they can't experiment with their content or upload.
Q9: How did you come up with your former YouTube channel name JustLifeProductionz, and your current YouTube channel name JustLife?
- When I would get upset over something I would say to myself well that's JustLife. Very cheesy but I personally like the name.
Q10: Was JustLifeProductionz your YouTube channel name when you first created your YouTube channel?
- Yes It was.
Q11: When did you change your YouTube channel name to JustLife?
- Back in 2014 I changed it cause I thought the name was too long and I prefer JustLife better.
Q12: Currently who is your favorite YouTuber or YouTubers?
- Life of Tom, Nadeshot, WillDaThrill, Sharp tK, PewDiePie, iDubbbzTV, Pyrocynical, Imprah, and Ali-A.
Q13: Do you have a favorite and least favorite video that you have uploaded?
- My Prank Calls are my favorite series I don't really have a favorite video and my least would be me talking about The first time I smoked weed.
Q14: What is your favorite video game?
Q15: What is your favorite video game to record?
Q16: What is your favorite part about having a YouTube channel and being a YouTuber?
- Having people that love what you do and creating content people will like.
Q17: Do you play video games in your free time that you don't record and upload if so what games?
- Yes I do I typically play fps games sometimes sandbox games too.
Q18: How many video games do you own?
- 30.
Q19: What are your PC and setup specifications?
- In a room alone.
Q20: Do you have a job in real life, if so what is your occupation?
- Jobs come and go but my occupation besides YouTube well I got nothing
Q21: What is your dream job
- A job that can keep me set for life and one that I like doing
Q22: Do you watch your own videos after you upload them?
- Hell yeah.
Q23: You currently have just about 2,270 subscribers, did you ever think you would have that many subscribers?
- No I didn't.
Q24: You currently have uploaded 177 videos, did you ever think you would have uploaded that many videos?
- Yes I did I will probably upload over 1,000 videos eventually.
Q25: Currently your most viewed video has over 7,700 views, did you ever think one of your videos would have that many views?
- I thought it would get somewhat viral but yeah I did.
Q26: What is your lifetime subscriber and video view goal?
- 100,000 subscribers.
- 1,000,000+ video views.
Q27: What was your lifetime subscriber goal when you first started uploading YouTube videos?
- 1,000 subscribers.
Q28: How long do you think YouTube will last?
- 2020.
Q29: How long do you think you will be uploading YouTube videos?
- Till I die.
Q30: Are you planning on going to any YouTube/Gaming conventions?
- No I'm broke.
Q31: What advice would you give to someone who is trying to make videos on YouTube?
- First off balance out your life before you make YouTube videos, meaning you should manage everything in real life first then do YouTube. Have a quality setup and make content you think people will enjoy, be sure to ask others if they like your content.
Q32: What is the future for you and your channel?
- Do something that will make me and everyone happy and keep going on with what I love.
Q33: Have you ever done an interview like this before?
- Yes I have.
2nd Interview With PracticalPat
This interview was conducted via Twitter Direct Message on October 6, 2018 by Aidan Dunphy.
Q1: How many YouTube videos do you think you've watched in since I interviewed you in March of 2017?
- I have watched more videos than the amount of fingers you have
Q2: How many YouTube channels do you think you are currently subscribed to?
- 80.
Q3: Can you remember who was the first YouTuber that you subscribed to?
Q4: Can you remember what date you uploaded your first YouTube video?
- August 14th 2009.
Q5: Who is the most subscribed YouTube channel that is subscribed to you?
Q6: Currently who is your favorite YouTuber or YouTubers?
- TheSyndicateProject, Drama Alert, PewDiePie, McJuggerNuggets, Vlog Creations, Patty Mayo, NELK, VanossGaming, FaZe Rug, Deji.
Q7: The first time I interviewed you, your YouTube channel was JustLife, now it is PracticalPat, How did you come up with PracticalPat as your YouTube channel name?
- I was in a party one night on xbox one debating with some friends on a name change. Someone gave me a bunch of names to pick from and he said PracticalPat. At that moment I jumped up in my seat and said "YES THAT ONE" I like that name it just fits me.
Q8: Can you remember what date you changed your YouTube channel name from JustLife to PracticalPat?
- It was at the end of August 2018.
Q9: Why did you change your YouTube channel name from JustLife to PracticalPat?
- I want to start by talking about how I got the name JustLife. JustLife777 was my xbox name back in the day but before I made that I came up with the name JustLife. The meaning behind JustLife was meant to be peace and love. JustLife was someone who was passive and just absorbed everything including his friends arguing and fighting with him; he wanted nothing to do with it. JustLife was meant to be an idol for people who are depressed and need someone to watch because everything that went on around justlife was disturbing, funny and just entertaining but also different for him, he was a funny guy but deep down his friends were the real humor and he liked that. JustLife had problems with people making him feel unwanted about his presents. I changed the name due to the fact I was noticing bad search volumes around my name and it was hurting my chances to be seen by others. Not to mention bigger channels were actually taking my name. I also felt the name JustLife was something I called myself because I felt isolated from society and felt not loved at all. I felt like I was living a non reality, like I was programmed to watch everything that went on. I had many dark moments throughout high school and it hurt me even after high school, even back around middle school and elementary. I recently have broken free from these negative things and seen a better outcome for my life. I still have the same friends around me since I started my channel around all these bad things happening but I think that's what lead to this outcome and why we made it this far, my friend group is legit like something you would see out of vanoss gaming but gone wrong. They helped me through my bad times with there outrageous acts. Now however in spite of things, some things are the same but the name JustLife had to go especially if I wanted to move on and grow the channel on my own. I wanted to call myself PracticalPat because I feel like people have always came to me for laughs. Whether its me acting goofy or being funny for a video. I recently have kind of pushed my friends and others aside a bit that were apart of being in the funny moments. I just feel I need to put myself out there more and I can't always record with my friends especially since they are growing up and moving on. I've felt its just a bit annoying and an inconvenience of their time and mine. The growth of the channel I am however thankful, I'm thankful we accomplished something but I want to go bigger and I need to focus on myself. That's why I changed my name and moved on from the funny moments and trolling, it just wasn't going anywhere.
Q10: How many subscribers do you think you've gained since you have changed your YouTube channel name to PracticalPat?
- I actually was losing a lot since I got the channel back which was when I changed the name. However recently I've started to noticed a little growth. I'm slowly but surely positive we will see big changes within growth on the channel. Yes some people may not like the changes but I think its fine.
Q11: How many video games do you currently own?
- 10.
Q12: What do you use to record and edit your videos?
- I record gaming videos with an elgato and I record reaction videos with a webcam called a logtich. I also record real life videos with a canon camera.
Q13: How long does it take you to make a thumbnail for one of your videos?
- About 30 minutes or longer. It depends on the video.
Q14: What equipment did you have when you first started uploading YouTube videos?
- A laptop and realteck microphone.
Q15: Have you got any new equipment since the last time I interviewed you?
- I have gotten a condenser mic, logitech webcam and a canon camera.
Q16: Who made your YouTube channel logo and your YouTube channel banner?
- I made my current logo and banner its just a white background but I plan on getting something done here soon as of 2018.
Q17: Since you have joined YouTube how many YouTube channel logos and YouTube channel banners do you think you have had?
- About 20 or more.
Q18: How many comments and messages that you receive do you read and reply to?
- I would say about 20+ daily and I reply to them whenever I have time.
Q19: What is the best comment or message that a fan of your videos have ever sent you?
- I had a fan say I was a huge inspiration for him starting up YouTube, he was going through family issues and still is but he eventually one day would like to continue to make videos again.
Q20: Does any of your family members watch your videos?
- I had a few relatives watch my some of my videos.
Q21: Have you ever met another YouTuber?
- Personally no, but online yes multiple.
Q22: Have you ever met a fan of your videos other then your family and friends?
- Yes quite a few, we socialize on Discord and xbox from time to time.
Q23: Do you have a job other then YouTube, if so what is your occupation?
- I don't have one.
Q24: If you were the CEO of YouTube right now is there anything that you would add or change to or about YouTube?
- No notification bell. Go back to the old way and figure out a better solution to send out email notifications instead of push notifications.
Q25: If you were the founder of YouTube what do you think you would have named it?
- VideoHub.
Q26: Do you think YouTube should make a play button other then it's current 100,000 subscriber, 1 million subscriber, and 10 million subscriber play buttons?
- A 50 million subscriber button would be insane, like a 50 pound gold play button, that sounds dope.
Q27: The first time I interviewed you had about 2,250 subscribers, now you have over 8,150 subscribers, did you think you would have gained over 5,900 subscribers in less then 19 months?
- No I didn't think it would have been possible.
Q28: You currently have uploaded 269 videos, did you ever think you would have uploaded that many videos?
- Yeah eventually I thought I would have this many and more.
Q29: Currently your most viewed video has over 46,000 views, did you ever think one of your videos would have that many views?
- Honestly I knew something would happen eventually. But not still having that many views was a bit unimaginable.
Q30: How many subscribers did you gain in the first month that you uploaded your current most viewed video and how many subscribers do you think you've gained because of that video?
- At least a couple hundred or more after the OMG WOW (1 hour long version) video but honestly I believe I've gained about 50 from that video if that.
Q31: What date did your current most viewed video become your most viewed video?
- I would say around sometime in may 2018 to say but I'm not 100% sure on that.
Q32: How did you come up with the idea to make an OMG WOW (1 Hour Long Version) video?
- I found the original version and found no hour version. I also ended up showing the video to my fans and thought hey for a funny April fools joke I'll upload a 1 hour long version of this because people are so used to me uploading funny moment videos and trolling videos I figured hey lets try something new.
Q33: In your first interview your lifetime subscriber and video view goal was 100,000 subscribers and 1 million+ video views, what is your lifetime goal now?
- Honestly it's be rough to estimate where I will be. I've been all over the place. Name changed, terminated, content change like every 6 months. It's hard but I want to say 100k subscribers and over 1 million views. Still thinking the same as I once was.
Q34: In your first interview you said YouTube would last until 2020. How long do you think YouTube will last now?
- Jesus man 2020, haha it's almost 2019 the time I'm filling this out, I gotta say YouTube will probably last until 2050. My theory behind this is technology is just at it's prime, within the next few decades it will become grader and jobs online are starting to just become more of thing than what they started out. For the most part these jobs are not so guaranteed as far as a steady pay check but it's just the beginning. For someone who is succeeding with this can really benefit a lot from it depending on what they are doing and how well they are making content. Change will happen but I think YouTube has a ways to go before it's gone.
Q35: In your first interview you said you would be uploading YouTube videos for the rest of your life, are you still planning to do that?
- I may have been tripping when I said that but let's just say I will upload for as long as I can.
Q36: Are you planning on going to any YouTube/Gaming conventions?
- Yes I feel I'll be attending MLG Anaheim or PAX.
Q37: Have you ever been to a YouTube/Gaming convention?
- No.