YouTube Stars!

What brought you to Youtube?
My internet connection. Still does, actually.

What influences your videos? Also, is Paperlilies your favourite Youtuber? *wink*
Thoughts that have been on my mind for a while, simple everyday things, and of course, remarks, gossip and issues of the YT community. Oh yeah, Paperlilies is also a great influence on my work since she's my favourite YouTubian. *winks back*

Do you have a big family? How many brothers and sisters do you have?
I have one younger sister, who is also my biggest fan on YouTube. For my last birthday, she gave me the webcam I now use. Without her, there would be no videos on the AericWinter channel.
My father doesn't live too far away and I see him about once a month.
My mother is even closer than that, her place is in my heart. She died of cancer nearly ten years ago.

Andreas' mother was Indonesian, and his father is German. How would he describe your experience growing up in a mixed family in Germany to someone who has experienced neither Indonesian nor German culture?
I cannot. You've either grown up like that or you haven't. However, I can tell you this:
I believe growing up within two cultural spheres and at least partially bilingual has made me a more open person, ready to embrace other cultures than my own.

Do you find much similarity between the various European languages or are they all quite different?
There are great differences, though I haven't attempted to learn all of them, mind you. Still, I have tried my hand at, English, French, Hungarian, Polish, German Sign Language, Portuguese, and most recently, Italian.
Languages are like people. They are born, they develop, they die. Each has its own talents and faults. Ultimately, they all have the same goal, which is communication, so the basics of any European language are easy enough to master. I also retain that anyone can learn to speak a non-native language fluently if properly motivated.

Do you eat brats often, and what else do you pwn at besides chess and frisbee?
A brat for breakfast a day keeps annoyances away.
As for non-frisbee and non-chess pwnage, I am also into pois, origami, short stories, and poetry. Also, I very much enjoy the sex, though I cannot be sure I pwn at it since I've never done it competitively. I am also a tournament level dancer, though I haven't waltzed for a very long time.

Do you want a game of chess sometime? How about backgammon?
Sure, just name a time and place for the game of chess and I'll be there. But prepare to be pwned like a n00b!
As for backgammon, I've never played it, but I'm always open for new challenges.

Which do you like better, orange juice or Tang? Do you even know what Tang is?
Orange juice. I need my dose every morning to start into the day. It pwns coffee. While Tang is fine, it is the German word for seaweed, so thanks but no thanks.

And what about orange juice, with or without pulp?
Either is fine in the morning, but definitely without pulp when mixing long drinks and cocktails. Ugh.

On your profile, you state "the soundtrack to my life is in a constant state of flux." Let's be real Andreas, everyone has a few favorite bands, or songs at least. Let us know what you like for Pete's sake.
Well alright, but just for Pete's sake. We all care a lot about Pete. Here's a snapshot of what I currently listen to: Massive Attack, Krezip, and Air. I also like the German bands 'Wir sind Helden' and 'Juli'. You have heard songs by each of these bands, since I occasionally use short bits of their music to underscore my videos. Dove95 recently sent me two CDs of a girl punk band called Sirsy, which I have quite grown to like.

What's your dream car?
Even if money didn't matter, I don't think I could live with a supercar like the Porsche Carrera GT, McLaren Mercedes SLR or a Koenigsegg. I'd be far too worried about something that costs so much and is so easy to damage. Plus, if I need to possess one of those, there has got to be something wrong with my love life. The only expensive sports car I could picture myself having is an Aston Martin DB9, which is awesome but doesn't have "P-R-I-C-K" spelled on its side. I'm also a fan of off-road driving. I'd love to do the Paris-Dakkar in a Bowler Wildcat, or dare the swamps of Sumatra in a Discovery one day.
Of the more affordable cars, I think the Alfa Romeo Brera is the most beautiful while the TVR Sagaris is the most provocative. At the end of the day, the Land Rover Defender is the overall coolest car. Its design is timeless and there are very few things it cannot do. That is the car I would like to buy should the need ever arise for me to have one. I heard you can get them quite cheap from British military surplus. Ack, why did you get me started on cars? I could write for days on end about that subject.

You have said that you prefer single person vlogs for your subscription list. Why do you enjoy them more than other types of video on YouTube, and how do you find such highly interesting people with all the mediocrity clogging up the Blog section of YouTube?
Considering the fact that I have seen over 14,000 videos, it certainly isn't precision. I just kept what I liked and passed by what I didn't. Most of the good channels I have come across are via word of mouth and have nothing at all to do with official YouTube search functions. (JENTHELUSH's "The Who's who of YouTube" gave me the first starting points. Then I came across the lisasimpson community, where I found some wonderful vloggers.)
Also, I look very closely at the comment sections of my own and my friends' videos.
If someone there leaves a clever or well-thought out comment, you can be fairly certain that I'll click to check that user's profile and maybe one of their videos as well. My friends also recommend channels to me all the time, either here directly or on YTT. Snazzit , for example, seems to have this gift for finding intelligent and original female vloggers. As a result, I am currently subscribed to more female than male channels.

Being a relatively recent addition to the YouTube community, how do you feel about your views-to-subscribers ratio? It seems pretty high to me. Do you enjoy your semi-celebrity status and growing popularity with the YouTubers?
First of all, I have been a YouTube member for over six months and started uploading videos more than three months ago. I wouldn't call that recent; in YouTube time, that's half an eternity. As for the view to sub ratio, the 'Aussagekraft' (representativeness) of that number is doubtful, at best. I don't pay any attention to it. I certainly don't regard myself as a celebrity on YouTube, semi-mode or otherwise. To me, there is no such thing. There are just more and less frequently viewed channels. Feedback from my friends is much more important to me than an intangible number.
Of course it is nice to have more viewers, because we all love feedback on our ideas, and interaction is why I started 'toobing in the first place. I still find it fascinating that I can exchange thoughts on a subject with someone who lives eight time zones down the block from me.
What's troubling now is that I find myself unable to respond to every comment, message, and video I receive, which is a shame. I do read everything I get and try to respond as much as I can, though.

Bonus question #1: Is there life after death?
Hell if I know.

Bonus question #2: Would you have taken the blue pill or the red one?
Definitely the blue pill. Ignorance is bliss.


To learn more about AericWinter, please watch these three videos:

FAQ
Here is a video in which AericWinter answers questions that he is asked frequently.

If you can't see the video above, watch it on YouTube.

Curiosity [Vlog]
AericWinter answers some questions about himself and talks about this interview.

If you can't see the video above, watch it on YouTube.


Out of context into a contest [Vlog]
This is the video that AericWinter submitted to Morbeck's "Hottest of YouTube 2006" contest. AericWinter won!!!

If you can't see the video above, watch it on YouTube.

posted by KennyCrane at 10/16/2006 02:21:00 AM