MikShorty

Last week there was quite a terrifying moment for me and my YouTube account.

For a full 90 minutes, I thought my blondekel13 YouTube account was demolished. Squashed beneath what is known as the big giant copyright infringement bully.

Right as I woke up, I turn off my phone alarm, checked my email per usual. Except this is the email that was in my inbox:

Being an avid YouTube user, I knew this would be my third strike for copyright issues (two of my Anastasia fandubs were my first two). I clicked the Copyright Notice page on my phone and my browser informed me that the account had been disabled.

Cue heart failure.

Over 100 videos (all saved on an external hard drive luckily) from nearly 4 years of fandubs and singing, along with nearly 500 subscribers and several good YouTube friends, lost. That was NOT a fun way to start the day.

When I got to the office, after several tears of course, I pulled up the email on my laptop and clicked the link again, praying my phone was playing a joke on me. And it was. The link took me to my video management copyright area where I was informed–for the first time since my other infractions never offered this–that if I deleted the offending video, the claim would be dropped. So I deleted it… more than happily.

Thus, my YouTube account was saved. Everything I thought I would have to rebuild from nothing is safe. That is, until another production company decides to go all demolisher on another animated movie that I happened to do a fandub of years ago.

About the strikes, I seriously think fandubbing is a great way to promote movies. It’s not like we are stealing the whole show to distribute online. It’s a few minutes of a song or a scene that could potentially draw new viewers in who could go out and purchase the video. Throughout my years as a YouTube performer, I’ve run into several fandubs, songs, whathaveyou that made me go out and buy movies. No lie. It’s good free publicity! But whatever… if production companies have a qualm with it, then that’s their loss.

So I’ve set up a backup account that will take over for blondekel13 when it gets a third strike, which I hope it doesn’t, but you never really know. My first two strikes happened over a year ago so this one came as a shock. It’s always good to have a backup, just in case.

…

Well, that was the original plan until I learned more about VEDA, Vlog Every Day in August. I’ve seen some of my Twitter and blog buddies do this and it just sounds like a lot of fun and a new way to share information. Plus, seeing someone and hearing their voice adds a whole new dimension to blogging that I love.

I’m thinking that my new “backup” channel would be a good spot for those rather than my “performing” YouTube channel so I may be using it before I get pegged with another strike. And should the time come when blondekel13 is no longer around, then I could easily transition most of my videos over to TheMikaelShort, my new account. Not sure if I’d bother clicking that link now since there’s nothing there yet… but you’re more than welcome to subscribe. Same goes for blondekel13. ;)

This whole ordeal kind of makes me glad that I switched my Twitter handle from blondekel13 to MikaelShort. Just saying.

So… along with the VEDA conversation, who’s participating this August? Include your YouTube/Vimeo/etc. account below so I can find you! :)