Hey everyone, welcome to another edition of Homeroom Announcements, my Friday podcast type video where I give thoughts and updates about the Skooled Zone channel.

I thought I'd do something a little different for today's video. We're going on a field trip! With what I'm going to talk about today, I don't have a whole lot to throw up on the chalkboard. So instead, I figured we could take a drive while I chat about an important tool in a YouTuber's toolbox. And what a better game to take a drive than GTA5. Love this game. We'll have to see if I ever make it into a series on the Skooled Zone. But it can definitely be a fun backdrop while I wax philosophical.

So this is one of my fav cars in the game and I figured I'd repaint it in the Skooled Zone colors, you know, just for the fun of it. So hop in and buckle up cause we'z off!

You'll have to forgive me if my driving is a bit off here. I literally haven't played this game in about year. Been so busy ramping up the channel and playing other games, but it's all good. We'll just take a chill cruise up the Pacific Coast Highway here. All right, slowpokes. Come on. Outta my way. We'll just have to slip on past you.

All right, so in today's Homeroom Announcements, I wanted to chat for just a moment about the Art of Collaboration. My channel's only been up about a month or so and I'm already getting some requests for collabs. And honestly, I'm totally humbled by that. I didn't think I'd be collabing with anyone for many more months, so I was honestly a little unprepared. But I'm not one to shy away from opportunity.

We just drove past a cop. Don't you wish the cops would ignore you like that IRL?

Anyway, it's a little more challenging for gamers to collab than other channels for a few reasons. For one, the footage comes from the videos games themselves. So it's not like there's a whole lot of ability to integrate skits or guest cameos. But the main challenge is the majority of gamers don't show their face. I don't know the exact statistics but I'd bet it's at least half if not more don't. I'm sure it's got something to do with being shy. Admittedly, I'm a bit shy. Still getting used to the whole platform and all that. But I think it's mostly due to the fact that the video game itself is the main character, so to speak. Too much emphasis on the gamer and not on the game and it more or less turns a gaming channel into a comedy, reactionary, or review channel.

I like to think of YouTube gamers a lot like sports announcers. If you're watching sports, you don't mind hearing the sports commentators in the background, you know, hyping up the plays and explaining things. But too much face-time with the sports announcer and sports fans can get really annoyed. I mean, they tuned in to see the game after all. Can you imagine if some zany kid with a foreign accent was up in the corner of your favorite sports channel screaming and peaking the microphone? Actually that might be kind of funny. But it's definitely not customary.

Sure there's halftime reviews and after sports interviews, but I consider that analogous to the gaming channels who review games or give critiques. For most gamers, they take a backseat to the game. And as a result, it makes it more difficult to do things like make appearances on each other's channels. But there are other ways that gamers can collaborate.

One way is to showcase each other's channel on the featured channel page of your channel. Most of you watching probably already know this, but in case you don't, there's a tab on a YouTube channel that says... Channels. Bigger YouTubers will reserve that space for their own channels if they have like a network of subchannels. But smaller YouTubers should be using that page to feature channels that have similarities to their own channel. Not only is it a kind gesture to feature other channels that inspire you, but it actually helps YouTube's algorithm get an idea of how it might better sort you in search.

And since many viewers actually do check out that tab, it can make a difference for smaller channels to get ranked. But it's also a great way to collab. Not only does it show some reciprocation, but it can help you connect with other channels and make friends who you might meet someday at conventions or on panels.

You do want to try and approach channels that are right around your subscriber level though. Too much disparity can set you up for disappointment. I wouldn't approach Vanoss or RadBrad and think they'd want to collab with me. Or even get my message for that matter. It's a lot like a freshman hoping for a date with a senior cheerleader. I mean maybe you got game like that, but you'd have better chances with another freshman.

So another way gamers can collaborate is the shout out. They do this on network television sometimes, especially with talk shows. They “throw it over to” someone else as they say in the biz. Or they do outro/intro overlaps.

A YouTuber named Wes from Wesolly Gaming found my channel and contacted me about a collab of sorts. He thought the Skooled Zone was really unique and wanted to feature it in a video he was creating called “5 YouTubers You Need to Know About.” Of course I was incredibly flattered and gave him permission. And the video turned out really cool. If you're on a desktop, that billboard should be a link right to the video. If not, there's a link in the description of the video.

Anyway, he didn't even ask me to shout him out in return. He just did it just because. In his words, “I believe YouTubers have to work together to grow their channels.” I was so impressed by that mentality that I wanted to give him a huge return shout out in this video. If you're watching Wes, huge props to you brotha. Creative idea, well-executed, highly proactive, and you definitely made some new friends in the process.

See, YouTube is not a zero-sum game. Viewers on YouTube don't have like a limited number of channels that they can subscribe to, so a subscriber to one channel doesn't mean a loss to another. So many other YouTubers feel like its a big competition, especially bigger YouTubers, believe it or not. But it's not. As they say, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” I got into YouTube because it's the wave of the future and YouTubers, not the least of which gamers, should find creative ways to collab with each other, even if it doesn't involve facecam antics. If nothing else, you can make a new friend.

And that, my friends, is my wisdom for the day!