I suggested to Erin that as well as having a video of the week section on her website she should also do something like a "youtuber" of the month as well.  She liked the idea so much she put me to actual task of doing the article, so I figured I'd give it all I got and hopefully create something wonderful for this website. Originally it was to be a small shout out to people I like to follow on youtube, but as things progressed the project quickly took off and grew into a much larger piece.

For this first article I selected a youtuber who I have been watching for quite sometime now, pretty much since I started watching peoples video blogs on youtube. I always look forward to new videos by her, as I find her such a fascinating and remarkable personality within the trans community of youtube.  Her videos are ecclectic at times, but have always kept me smiling and engaged with her opinions and discussion topics. Every now and then she may comment about her dissatisfaction with her own voice, but I keep reminding her that she speaks her mind quite eloquently, and that it is the content of speach that matters most. Certainly she has inspired me in my own personal transition, but she is such an inspiration in a wide variety of subjects -- be it music, photography, or simply Hairstyles.

Maxie (youtube mercuryneedle) is a talented vlogger and musician, and quite honestly an all around wonderful woman. I thoroughly enjoyed our correspondence not just for the sake of youtube or this website, but on a personal level as well. She has inspired me in my own hopes and dreams for what i wish do in my life.

It is my great honour to share this conversation with you the reader, and without further ado, I present to you my interview with Maxie.

Read part 1 of the interview after the break. Part 2 will be available later this week.

I'm well aware of grishno and yourself of course and I think it would be great to share something more with the wider community!  Please fire away with the questions and I hope together that we can produce something great!

1. How did you find out about the trans community on youtube, and what motivated you to start making videos yourself?

It began when my friend JJFanshawe (http://www.youtube.com/JJFanshawe) did a Vlog and gave a special shout-out to me in it and sent me the link to the video. I hadnt really thought of using Youtube as a networking or blogging tool at the time, but after seeing lots of videos by amazing Youtubers, I decided that this was something that I wanted to try. I had a real curiosity about how I looked and acted as well. Id never really been on any videos before (that Id seen): I was always so busy being behind them! So curiosity made the cat do it and I tried my hand at talking about something on Youtube. At first I had a lot of technical issues. My camera, software AND computer conspired to fail on me simultaneously and it took a lot of re-programming and compromising to have something even half-presentable to show on Youtube. After borrowing a computer that wasnt ancient and shooting videos from my mobile phone, I was finally able to start shooting videos that werent bogged down in logistical problems. By this point, Id already started to have a good idea on the sorts of things that I wanted to talk about and I found myself easing up in front of the camera. For such an outgoing person, it certainly took me a few tries to get comfortable!

2. If you were writing this article, who would you choose to spotlight?

Ooh, thats a hard one! I watch so many peoples Youtube videos on a regular basis! Again, Ill plug my friend JJFanshawe. His videos are a joy to watch and he never ceases to find things in his life that are funny! I shot a video with him once when he came to visit the UK. I had a great time and he was just as funny in person! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE9nH7CYWk0

3. How has being part of an online community influenced you in your own life and what do you hope to achieve with your channel in the future?

Ive been lurking on the internet since the early/mid-90s. A lot has changed since those days and since been a part of a lot of online communities in the past. Its been informative, helpful (life-saving even) and fun. I wouldnt be the person I am today and I certainly wouldnt be my current position in life without it. I love libraries and meeting people and its great to have the worlds biggest, unmonitored library and communication space at the push of a button. Being a part of it is quite magical to me and its expanded my mind more than any type of drug ever has! :P

I used to be the editor of an online magazine which can be really hard work. You have to be so picky when running something so polished and opinionated. My Youtube channel has been more of a free flowing stream of ideas and thoughts, as well as a sort of personal diary. Its nice to look back over the past and see how Ive changed and what my ideas are now. But I try not to be too fussy or picky about writing scripts or presentation. If I do, I sometimes end up losing the feeling and end up generating something more detached and unrealistic. Sometimes I like doing that and so my videos often tend to jump from quite edited footage to simple streams of vocalised internal monologue. It really depends on my mood and mindset. Ive not done many videos in the past couple of weeks or so because of real life stuff taking over and thats fine too. I like to use my videos as an outlet rather than giving my life more commitments. My Japanese studies, my music (and band) take up so much of my time already; its more a case of being spontaneous.

Thats not to say that I have no structure or direction with my videos as time goes on, of course! In the future I hope that I will have time to set down some more professional and sleek videos, possibly on a different channel: probably for my music and/or band. That stuffs a little secret right now though, as when it comes to music, Im either a random scrapbook of ideas or a real perfectionist. After all, its my profession!

[Editors Note: Due to the sheer length and breadth of this article it's been split into two parts.  Look for the thrilling continuation of this article coming later this week]

!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."