Conversation with Nas Daily: 1:1 with the Internet Video Sensation

Video is king, and we all know it. By 2020, over 80% of internet traffic will be video.

If you want to hear from the video frontlines, then look no further than Nas Daily, the Arab-Israeli video creator who has become an online sensation with his daily 1-minute videos.

Nas, whose name is actually Nuseir Yassin (Nas means ‘people’ in Arabic), left behind a lucrative hi-tech career in New York and embarked on a challenge to travel the world and document his life in a 1-minute video every day. Over time, he has attracted a massive online following and is now one of the most popular vloggers in the world.

We sat down with Nas for a short discussion about the important stuff: what makes him tick, how it feels to be a viral sensation, and his advice to video creators just starting out. Here’s what he had to say:

Q: You started Nas Daily in 2016 and today you have nearly 10 million Facebook followers! What has the journey been like for you?

Nas: “Oh man. It’s been hard. It’s been dirty. It’s been wild. Getting to 10 million followers has not been easy.

I think, when you force yourself to do something new and interesting every single day… you’ll find yourself truly living. You’ll meet the most incredible people, make the most incredible videos, and it will never feel like boring work.

If you ask me: “would you do it all over again?” I’d say yes in a heartbeat.”

Q: How did you manage to turn your passion into a viral phenomenon?

Nas: “It was never my intent to turn this into a viral phenomenon. My intent was to only make the videos I am proud of. Videos that I am passionate about. Turns out, there’s a lot of people… 10 million (!)… who have the same passion as I do about my video topics!”

So, all you really need is consistency, hard work, dedication… and passion. The rest will come naturally.

Q: Most people would think that traveling all over the world and uploading Facebook videos is the most fun job in the world. What are some of the challenges you face every day?

Nas: “A lot of people say that I’m living the dream. That I have the best life in the world. To some extent, that is true. But to another, that is false. Getting to 10 million has been the hardest, craziest dream I ever imagined. I’m not living the dream… I am working it.

It is important to understand the distinction between living the dream and working it. Now, I travel to make videos. I sleep and wake up just to make videos. I have no time off. No time to spend with family or loved ones. It’s work 24/7/365. It’s okay, I’m not complaining, I just want to make sure everybody understands that this life doesn’t come easy. It has its own costs as well.”

Q: If you had just one tip to give to aspiring video creators, what would it be?

Nas: “Be authentic. Many many creators do things because they feel they’re forced to. They dress up or down because they think they have to. They say promotional stuff because of the money, etc. If you just stay true to what you truly believe in, I guarantee that your video creation will do well. Viewers have a very good radar to spot who is authentic and who is not.”

Check out our complete guide to online video advertising!