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<\/a><\/p>\nYouTube. Instagram. TikTok. We\u2019re alternately fascinated with and afraid of digital content creators. Granted, there\u2019s a lot of hideous stuff out there, but there\u2019s also stuff that\u2019s surprisingly sweet and fun and educational and entertaining.<\/p>\n
Really.<\/p>\n
Along with journalism, I also do social media for a day job, so I\u2019m up to my eyebrows in this stuff. And now that I can watch YouTube easily on my TV (a real game-changer for YouTube, as I discussed<\/a> with media critic Christian Toto), I watch it all the time. Every day, in fact.<\/p>\n It\u2019s my first stop in the morning and half of my primetime viewing.<\/p>\n Now, I do watch a lot of Reels on Facebook and Instagram (not TikTok, but content crosses over), but everything I\u2019m going to talk about here is either primarily on YouTube or also on YouTube (and, shameless plug, so am I<\/a>)<\/p>\n Before you ask, no, none of the folks I\u2019m going to talk about is a Catholic YouTuber, or even a religious one.<\/p>\n For that, check out this post<\/a> from the company blog I edit, which focuses on Catholics on YouTube \u2013 and I do watch a lot of Catholic YouTubers. But I\u2019m more interested here in talking about YouTubers who a bit more off the beaten path.<\/p>\n And, I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about why I like them.<\/p>\n However, while these creators aren\u2019t making stuff necessarily for the whole family, it\u2019s all content with value. They come from different backgrounds, different parts of the world, and tell very different stories.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n This newlywed Canadian content creator<\/a> started out working in corporate IT. I think she still works in business, but as @loewhaley<\/a> on social media \u2014 a k a your WorkBestie \u2014 she\u2019s all about surviving in the corporate world, especially as a remote worker.<\/p>\n In many of her videos (which, on occasion, can be PG-13 for language), she\u2019s playing both sides of a video meeting, demonstrating ways to deal with things like co-workers who don\u2019t respect boundaries, work deadlines, coping with tough managers, or modeling what makes a good manager.<\/p>\n Then she signs off with her signature \u201cToodaloo!\u201d. There\u2019s a whole Toodaloo playlist.<\/a><\/p>\n But Whaley often holds a mug whose meaning I didn\u2019t get, until a commenter pointed it out. Whaley keeps her hand over part of the lettering on it because, let\u2019s just say, it\u2019s not a mug you should take to work.<\/p>\n And the video captions do make use of the \u201cwtf\u201d abbreviation.<\/p>\n But, since this content is about working a corporate job, it\u2019s not really something kids would want to watch anyway.<\/p>\n My favorite part of Whaley\u2019s content is an ongoing scripted series called #ProjectPoodles. She writes them, and, again, plays all the parts (with different clothes, wigs and accents) of a remote team toiling on a corporate project.<\/p>\n There\u2019s folksy but super-savvy Donna Sue and her ever-present teacup; uptight, work-obsessed Brenda; slacker Bethanie (who does say a mild profanity every now and then); and Haley, who\u2019s the most like Whaley herself (they even both got married<\/a>).<\/p>\n Together, the teammates support each other through the ups and downs of work, relationships, loss, good bosses (Tracy) and terrible ones (Linda).<\/p>\n Honestly, I\u2019m as invested in the #ProjectPoodles storyline as anything else I\u2019m watching right now \u2014 and judging by the comments, I\u2019m not alone.<\/p>\n Again, there\u2019s a playlist<\/a>, but here\u2019s a taste.<\/p>\nSo, What\u2019s Kate Watching?<\/h3>\n
Laura Whaley<\/a><\/h3>\n
There\u2019s Toodaloo\u2026<\/h4>\n
And #ProjectPoodles<\/h4>\n