Alright, so everyone’s always yapping about getting a “Cody Ko response” or, you know, some bigshot online noticing them. I get it, I guess. For a while there, I was kind of wrapped up in that whole idea myself. Seemed like the ultimate validation, right?
My Big Plan
So, I decided I was gonna try and get one. Not like, spamming his comments, nothing lame like that. I thought, “I’ll make something so undeniably Cody Ko-esque, but with my own spin, that he just has to see it.” I spent, and I’m not even kidding, like three weeks on this one video. I watched his old stuff, his new stuff, trying to dissect the timing, the editing quirks, the specific brand of awkward-but-smart humor. It was a whole operation.
I storyboarded. I filmed. I re-filmed because the lighting in my apartment is, frankly, garbage. I learned more about jump cuts and zoom effects than I ever thought I’d need to know. My diet for those three weeks was pretty much coffee and sheer willpower, and maybe a questionable sandwich here and there.
The “Response” I Got
So, I finally finish this masterpiece. I upload it. I even used some of the trendy hashtags he sometimes pokes fun at, thinking it was a clever meta-nod. And then I waited. And waited. Checked my notifications like a maniac. Did Cody see it? Did his team see it? Was I about to go viral?
Well, here’s the kicker. Cody Ko, as far as I know, never saw that video. Not a peep. But you know who did respond? My Aunt Carol. She left a comment saying, “Very creative, dear! Is that a new haircut?” That was it. That was the big response. My Aunt Carol, who still thinks YouTube is a type of fancy television.
And you know what? At first, I was super bummed. Like, “all that work for Aunt Carol?” But then, something else happened. A couple of days later, my old buddy from high school, Dave, messaged me. We hadn’t talked in ages. He said he stumbled on the video, thought it was hilarious, and it reminded him of some dumb stuff we used to do. We ended up grabbing a beer, catching up, and it was genuinely great.
What I Figured Out
It got me thinking. This whole “Cody Ko response” thing, or chasing any big online nod, it’s like trying to catch smoke. You put all this energy into this one specific, kind of narrow outcome, and you miss all the other stuff happening around you.
- I learned a bunch about video editing, which is actually pretty useful.
- I reconnected with an old friend, which was way more valuable than a fleeting internet moment.
- And yeah, Aunt Carol thought my (non-existent) haircut was nice. Bless her heart.
So, my practice with trying to get a “Cody Ko response” ended up being a response from my own little life, I guess. It wasn’t what I aimed for, not even close. But looking back, it was probably better. Now, I just make stuff because I feel like it. If people see it, cool. If they don’t, well, I’ve still got Dave and Aunt Carol. And honestly, that’s not too shabby.
