Chapter 12. Beyond the 'Tube

Alan Lastufka

Stepping Out

So, you've established your presence on YouTube. You've made a few casual friends—people who you watch and people who watch you. Maybe you're even a YouTube Partner now and making some extra cash each month from your videos. Is this it? What's next?

Well, next comes building real connections—personal, emotional, business, and creative. The relationships you seed on YouTube can soon grow far beyond the 'Tube's digital walls.

Staying on one site all the time can be a little like walking around with blinders on. Many YouTubers connect outside of YouTube, whether on other websites better geared toward socializing or at YouTube Gatherings.

YouTube Gatherings are public events held across the globe for YouTubers to hang out together, buy each other a beer, or just enjoy an afternoon of Frisbee in the park.

This chapter will point you toward some of the sites I and other YouTubers use to stay in touch and to better interact with each other. You will also learn how to find and attend future YouTube Gatherings. Later, Michael Dean will talk a bit about time management to ensure you don't spend your entire day in front of a computer screen.

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