WATCH NOW! What’s it Like Being Jamaican in Saipan?”
Leave a comment on Youtube, ask a question! If you’re Chamorro or Carolinian, let me know if I got anything wrong!
BACK STORY:
Way back around 1996, before many of us even heard about the internet, Jamaican native and techie, Xavier Murphy, got a head start and was able to secure the JAMAICANS.COM domain name in anticipation of ‘big tings to come!’ His prescience proved correct, and over the years, this wildly popular website has served as a repository of all things Jamaican for Jamaicans and the people who love them!
As Youtube, Facebook and other online media platforms gained in popularity, Jamaicans.com was there as well! Xavier’s popular Youtube video series, “What’s it Like Being [probably the only] Jamaican in ___________?” has provided a way to connect Jamaicans around the world and showcase our presence and impact abroad! Korea? Ireland? Norway? Zambia? Kuwait? Bali? Russia? Malawi? Yep, we deh deh! (Translation: We are there!)
A few weeks ago, I sat on a beach on Saipan while Xavier–about 8 thousand miles away–asked me that very question: “What’s it like being Jamaican on the small, remote, Pacific island of Saipan???” We had fun as I shared facts and trivia about my new island home, talked nomadpreneuring and escaping the rat race, and during the course of the conversation, discovered that Xavier knows one of my long lost primary school classmates and has helped me re-connect with him!
The interview is FINALLY viewable:
The Youtube version of the video has a lively discussion to join in
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=431285311574616
OUTTAKE
Here I am prepping the day before the interview:
Want to learn more about Saipan? Here’s a tour/documentary filmed by LaMancha Media featuring a guest tour guide you might recognize :
UPDATE (12 days later)
Narcisism alert! Yes, as a former civil engineer, these sorts of things
keep me awake at night. Ever since the release of the Jamaicans.com
interview video (“What’s it Like Being a Jamaican in Saipan?”), I’ve
been tracking the daily views on Xavier’s Youtube channel and Facebook page.
Here’s what my analysis revealed:
• The Youtube version had a total 599 views in the first 3 hours; and jumped to 766 in the 1 hour while I watched it
• The version of the video on the Jamaicans.com Facebook page already had an astounding 15,000 views by the time I first checked it out 3 days after upload; it now has 19,000+ views 12 days
after release.
• Here are the daily stats for the Youtube edition
Aug 30, 2021 3:00am 0 2,253/day 39 comments
Aug 31, 2021 3:00am 2,253 1,861/day 55 comments
Sep 1, 2021 9:00am 4,600 1,652/day 90 comments
Sep 2, 2021 9:00am 6,252 1,854/day 98 comments
Sep 3, 2021 9:00am 8,106 2,107/day 113 comments
Sep 4, 2021 9:00am 10,213 1,326/day 117 comments
Sep 5, 2021 9:09am 11,539 1,327/day 135 comments
Sep 6, 2021 9:01am 12,866 1,609/day 139 comments
Sep 7, 2021 9:00am 14,475 909/day 160 comments
Sep 8, 2021 9:00am 15,384 1,055/day 168 comments
Sep 9, 2021 9:00am 16,439 563/day 166 comments
Sep 10, 2021 9:01am 17,002 355/day 168 comments
Sep 11, 2021 9:00am 17,357 285/day 170 comments
Sep 12, 2021 9:00am 17,642 170 comments
I discovered that my Canva.com account that I use for creating Youtube thumbnails, also has a graph feature. So, with nothing else to do on a Sunday morning at 6:00am:
Xavier has 25.2 thousand subscribers to his Youtube channel and this video generated an average of 1,500 views per day. If you have your own Youtube channel, this is definitely the sort of daily view activity you want to aspire to!
ANOTHER UPDATE:
26 days to get to 20,000 views! (Plus, there are an additional 21,000 views on the Facebook upload with its own set of comments.
