YouTube was launched in 2005 by a guy named Steve Chen and a couple of his friends. Less than two years later, it was purchased by Google for more than $1.5 billion. Twenty years later, it has 2.5 billion monthly viewers, and most people have at least heard of it, if they haven’t actually used it.

I say “used” because, until a couple of years ago, that’s all I did. I used YouTube to find out how to fix my dishwasher, build a shed, or learn the words to a new song. Rarely did I watch anything longer than three or four minutes.

That changed significantly when our daughter, Makari, launched (actually, re-launched) her YouTube channel in the fall of 2023. I’ve learned that, for many people – especially younger viewers – YouTube has become their entertainment platform of choice. Most no longer pay for cable TV to watch traditional channels. (In North America, only about one in six people under 30 still have cable.)

Young people aren’t looking for three- or four-minute videos. They want longer, well-edited shows that are entertaining, motivational, and informative. I’m pretty sure that’s why Makari’s channel has become so successful.

At this point, she has just over 300,000 subscribers and almost 20 million views. She also works with several sponsors and collaborators, and YouTube has become her full-time job.

However, the part that makes me most proud as a dad is that the overwhelming majority of the comments on her videos – and there are thousands of them from all over the world – are positive and thankful. The words that appear most often are “motivate,” “inspire,” and “encourage.”

With “I fail often” as her mantra, she has created videos about activities such as cycling, running, bouldering, swimming, golf, and surfing. Other videos explore challenges involving screen time and internet use. In fact, one tells the story of a six-day “no phone, no internet” road trip that she and I took to the northern end of Vancouver Island.

If Deb and I have one concern as parents, it’s that she works too hard. Scripting (creating!), filming, editing, travelling, and staying fit for the physical challenges consume most of her waking hours. Keep in mind that, in nine out of ten cases, when you see her running away from her camera, she still has to run back and pick it up!

Although I love all of her videos, I do have a few favourites. One in particular stands out for me. It was released on July 12, 2024, and is called How I Got 50,000 Subscribers in 5 Months. In it, Makari explains why she decided to pursue YouTube, why she kept going, and the challenges and doubts she faced (and still faces) along the way. If you take the time to watch just one of her videos, make it this one.

The goal of her channel is stated right on her homepage. It reads:

“The goal is for you to leave this channel thinking and feeling better :)”

I believe most of her 300,000 subscribers would agree that they do.