So, why start Reid TDR on YouTube?

Because gaming was a passion of mine (see Part 1) — and after 2 years of playing Portal, Minecraft, and BigLittle Planet with Reid, it appears the force is strong with him, too.  Thus, to answer some of the questions of how my kids will engage with YouTube and the Internet and technology (information/entertainment tools, specifically) – we are skill building with our YouTube show (see Part 2).  We will be creators too – not just consumers.  And we will focus on areas that may be underserved in the community of YouTubers as we further develop these skills.

We are starting with video content on YouTube similar to those that are already successful (topics like Minecraft minigames, adventures, tutorials, storymode, story-driven games, puzzle games), and Reid and I are both still improving our skills at crafting a 15-25 minute episode that will hold interest.  Meanwhile we are making sure that content is safe for younger kids (no swearing, no bad words, few bad situations, positivity and questions, silliness, sharing/helping, bonding, ethics/morals, communication, etc).

YouTube happens to be the current popular video media outlet for this endeavor; however, other media are similarly valuable to create an ecosystem that people want to engage with, participate with, and create with.  What will the next YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter be?  What will the next Audible, WordPress, Book Publisher, or Kindle be?  And can we as a community help utilize, optimize, and participate in the development of that technology for a positive impact on the world and society?  I hope so!   So, lets start creating media where things are.  And thus, where things start is YouTube (but they certainly don’t end there!)

 

And why focus on Minecraft?

Because it is a toolbox for so much: a virtual Lego set, an adventure game where you can work together and help each other, a place for experimentation, an engaging space to learn basic circuit design and computer logic and de-bugging skills, a unique way to learn resource management, a trove of self-driven problem solving exercises, place where you can be collaborative or competitive, and much much more.

Whatever you are trying to teach in real life, there is a way to explain it in Minecraft.

And now that the Minecraft phenomenon is global and pervasive across all forms of technology, it provides a new language for shared experience and connection.  Now that Microsoft is a power behind Mojang, my hope is that Minecraft will also stay a relevant and evolving gaming and education platform for another decade or two.  Minecraft Education Edition exists and can be integrated into school curricula.   The Hour of Code also has a Minecraft version.

Minecraft is pervasive in our children’s experience of the world.

As a creative person with an entrepreneurial itch, I see Reid TDR on YouTube as one part of a larger eco-system that will be developed over time.  As opportunities arise, new components will be created and expanded in this eco-system.  Books?  Games?  Real-life experiences?  Vlogs?  Podcasts?   VR experiences?  I don’t know.  As I said, the eco-system (like the game industry and media/technology) is continually fracturing and shifting and morphing and evolving.  Opportunities, collaborations, introductions, ideas, and resources are also always shifting and morphing and evolving.

This Blog is part of the initial expansion.  If you enjoy it, please subscribe to our Reid TDR Channel on YouTube, join our mailing list, follow on Twitter, Like our Reid TDR Facebook Page, share this Blog with a friend or Minecraft Parent, and leave some positive feedback and inspiration below!

This Reid TDR Blog is also part of a larger strategy to have a positive impact on parents and kids throughout the world over time.  If you want to be a collaborator, creator, or experimenter with us, let us know.  All of that is a topic for a future blog series.

And finally, the existential, immortal ego part of me also wants my kids and grandkids to be able to “know” me when I am gone.  Creating something that will live beyond me (like videos and blogs) can enable this.  It is a legacy for my kids and for their kids.  It will hopefully enrich their lives in the future, or at least entertain them in some small way (as technology will certainly have eclipsed this medium by then).

I wish I could capture some of the engagements I had with my dad and grandfathers when I was young, to have their teachings/wisdom recorded so I could listen back to them.  As I get older, I would have loved to review, debate, and discuss their ideas and life concepts with them to gain greater knowledge.  Though I couldn’t accomplish that very easily with my parents when I was a child (I could just use my memories, photos, and anything they happen to have written and saved somewhere); today, we have the capacity to record all sorts of things for our children’s future experience — even if we aren’t here anymore!

For example, I asked my dad once why he had so many fiction books on his book shelf (Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, The Peanuts, etc).  Specifically, I asked why he read many of them again and again every few years.  “I mean, after you’ve read the book, don’t you know what happened?” I asked.   “Son,” he said, “I know what happened, but it all means something different the next time I read it.  The book is the same, but I am a different reader.”

Ok.  I get that now.  And especially related to science fiction, he’d mention that it gave glimpses of the future — and that some of it was actually happening today or just about to happen.  While none of that made sense when I was a boy, it does now.  I hope some gems of parental wisdom leak into Reid TDR’s videos during our “interactive play,” too.

Perhaps Reid TDR’s channel and this Blog will be one way to capture some of that “wisdom” for my kids and their kids.  Perhaps my kids will extract new value over time and see Possibilities and Passions and Potential in these words that had only been foreshadowed when I wrote them.  Perhaps they will perceive their role in the World Community differently after re-reading these Blogs when they are 15, 25, 35, 45, 65, and 95.

And perhaps your kids will find that these Blogs and Videos are a way of learning to be a better member of the Gaming Community and World Community.   Perhaps it can help them be inspired and better connected to their Mom/Dad.  Perhaps the words and videos can be points for dinner table discussions, exploring ideas, sparking your family’s creative engines!

This can be your way to tap into and use the positive energy of the Reid TDR community to strengthen your own family bonds and friendships around the world.

My hope is that our viewers will enjoy, be inspired by, and want to deepen their relationships with their parents too – via gaming or other interactive play mechanisms.

Remember, by age 6, the foundation of your relationship with your child has been poured!  Interact and enjoy!

Watch Reid TDR on YouTube or engage on Facebook.

Let us know your thoughts!  @DaddyDroyd on Twitter