A nerdfighter is someone who is a fan of John and Hank Green, and the web following they have created. I say fan, but it’s more of a community they’ve created of likeminded people (who have nerd-ish tendencies).

The infamous duo

The whole thing started when John and Hank decided at the beginning of 2007 to go an entire year without communicating textually. Instead they posted videos on YouTube every weekday, alternating days. Every email, text, etc. required a “punishment,” which was usually performing some gross and/or embarrassing task and posting the video.

They say they did not expect the series to take off the way that it did, but Brotherhood 2.0 became a YouTube hit, due to their humor mixed with interesting debate on topics ranging from Marshmallow Peeps to raising money for charity. Not to mention the success of Hank’s song Accio Deathly Hollows, which hit the front page of YouTube from all the fellow Harry Potter fans who  understood his frustration at the time it was taking for the last book to be released.

Two years and 100,000 subscribers later, the Vlogbrothers  continue to make videos on their account. The Nerdfighters have become an internet army of sorts, helping John’s third novel Paper Towns make it to the NYT Young Adult bestseller list and even talking Ashton Kutcher into following him on Twitter. They’ve taken over YouTube for charity twice, and eaten innumerable peeps.

All in all, they never forget to be awesome.

Key Phrases:

An Abundance of Katherines: John’s second book
Decepticon: Evil person
DFTBA: Don’t Forget To Be Awesome
In Your Pants: The theory that every book title becomes more awesome once you add “in your pants” to the end. ”
The Katherine: Hank’s wife
Looking for Alaska: John’s first book
Paper Towns: John’s third book
Puppy-Sized Elephant: John’s dream of evolution
So Jokes: Super cool, awesome. Also the name of Hank’s album.
The Yeti: John’s wife. I don’t think her face has ever appeared in a video.
Zombies vs. Unicorns: A question for the ages.

Want More?

Nerdfighters.com ( FAQ )
John’s Twitter
Hank’s Twitter
DFTBA Records
Ecogeek.org

This is the first in a series of nerd/geek/fandom explanatory posts that I hope to make. If you’ve got a question you’d like answered, or a “nerd thing” you’d like clarified, leave a comment! If I’ve left anything out, feel free to let me know.