Kindly introduce yourself to us
I am Muaz Osman and I am a Youtube Creators for Change Ambassador. I have been making videos for five years now, advocating for change.
So how did you get to be where you are today? What was the inspiration?
My inspiration came from watching YouTube videos and finding out there was a lack of Sudanese content that speaks my language and from people my age. I got where I am today by constantly making videos.
Where does one start on content creation?
You start now, right here. You should think of what you want to talk about, get a camera and talk about it. Since if you are interested in this thing that you are talking about, then there must be others that like the same thing and will find you eventually.
You have about 191,000 subscribers on your Youtube Channel. How can someone get a huge number of followers on their channel?
I have been on YouTube for five years. This number came from fulfilling my promise of constant weekly content. People find it, they watch it and subscribe to get it. The key is consistency.
How you identify the topic for the week?
I make two videos a week. One is a news segment; research is a week long process and keeping up to date with the news in the region. Second video is usually about something I am interested in and it depends because some ideas take months to become a video and some just are made on the spot.
I am a one man band. I write, shoot and edit all of my videos. Time depends on the video, but I usually produce a video in 16-18 hours, depending on how heavy the edit is. Yes, I am a full time YouTuber. I have been like this for a year and I pay all my bills from YouTube.
So, how does Youtube pay you as a user? Is there any requirement to be in the payroll?
We are called YouTube Partners. We create content, YouTube places ads on it, and we get a share from the revenue. The requirements for being a YouTube Partner are easy.
Considering the political landscape in Sudan and Africa in general, have you ever found yourself on the wrong side of the law especially after sharing on the news segment touching on political issues?
For people not conversant with Sudan, we have been under a military dictatorship for 30 years. That ended in April with the civilian uprising and protests that took months.
With that taken into consideration, I have been arrested, harassed on my place of work, equipment taken, death threats and so on. It is a hard thing to face, but it is the price of being an activist. Now, that Sudan is finally under a semi civilian ruling, I am not getting arrested so far.
How do you recover when the government becomes too closely monitoring?
If you believe in something enough, you’ll fight until your last breath for it to be. For me, speaking my mind and covering what’s happening in my country with transparency is very important. Having my life on the line for it is just a price I have to pay.
So, being the Youtube Creators for Change ambassador, do you have any responsibilities arising from the position? And how does one get to be selected for such a position?
We have been picked as ambassadors for change because we create content that talks and advocates for change. We are 80+ from thousands of content creators world wide. We have made films with the help of YouTube that talk about change. I have made 4 films.
We were asked to promote these films locally and create conversations with young people around it. SoI and the team that helped with this project did tour universities and local cultural houses, screened our films and had conversations with thousands of people that attended the events.
On selection, we simply made content and YouTube people found it to be on the same page with what they wanted. For more information about the creators for change project, click here
How do you get to promote your videos to reach people? Do you use Youtube Ads?
I share my videos on social media and talk about relevant topics to make sure they get to my target audience. I do not buy ads on YouTube.
Any other tips, apart from consistency, that we can put in place to ensure that our content on Youtube reaches more people?
You learn with making. The things I have learnt through out my five+ years on youtube, no course or workshop can teach. So do it now, do it the best way possible, and learn from your mistakes to make better and better content day by day
Technological change defines the horizon of our material world as it shapes the limiting conditions of what is possible and what is barely imaginable. It erodes … assumptions about the nature of our reality, the ?pattern? in which we dwell, and lays open new choices, Everything changes, nothing remains without change. The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children’s games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games which it is most attached is called, “Keep tomorrow dark,” and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) “Cheat the Prophet.” The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. Then they go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.
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