That Time I Got In Trouble With The Government
The first part of “How To Be Popular On The Internet*” is all about an old saying: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And if you do succeed… well, you’re still going to need to do that.
My site’s still online: http://www.preparingforemergencies.co.uk/
The government’s site is in the internet archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20040804033956/http://www.preparingforemergencies.gov.uk:80/
Post Audio by Emi Paternostro, http://proximitysound.com
🟥 MORE FROM TOM: https://www.tomscott.com/
(you can find contact details and social links there too)
📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: https://www.tomscott.com/newsletter/
❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: https://lateralcast.com/ https://youtube.com/lateralcast/
➕ TOM SCOTT PLUS: https://youtube.com/tomscottplus
👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: https://youtube.com/techdif
@TomScottGo
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
This is the first of a trilogy! Part two is out on Wednesday, and part three on Friday. They're three different stories, with three different messages, in three different locations, but with one overarching story. Hopefully it's worth the effort!
@AlexORourke-tt9uh
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
This is why AI is so popular
@alpha_c.
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
music at the end?
@NaN-h5w
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
A good mathematician has one excellent idea a month. An excellent mathematician has 50 new ideas a month and 90% of them are crap.
@IronVineAU-d1b
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
it didnt
@baconplaysblox1
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
That's what happens when you fly a kite in a public place.
@Evemeister12
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
Back then, he was "thomas scott". Not tom scott.
@benford1726
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
If it's a Tom's red idea do it
If it's a Matt's blue idea don't do it
Would be interested to see where Emojli falls on your graph
@Deathnotefan97
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
The website that Tom made is still up, you can still go look at it if you want to
Has it aged well? Not really, but there are still some funny parts
@robonick3607
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
Tom thanks for the advice ur goated bro.
@kkiil05
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
'instead of putting in more effort to make one thing, you could make lots of effortless things, and you will be more likely to succeed'
bro predicted brainrot content in 2018
@Thej611
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
I’ve been posting on YouTube for a little over a year. I’ve had several videos that I posted that I worked really hard on and ended up doing fairly well (by my standards). But the video that has done by far the best for me was one that I slapped together in a half hour from random footage I had gathered over a few weeks. What Tom is saying is 100% true. You never really know what’s going to take off. So just start making stuff and see what happens
@Becky_Cooling
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
22/01/2025 Tom's site is still online
@thomasfrench2012
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
Hmmm, there is slightly more don't-do-it than do-it on that graph.
@TheDeathmail
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
You know, this kinda shows that Tom Scott is one of the OG internet guys…. not just an OG for Youtube….
It's sometimes hard to remember how new the Internet actually is…..
@thedawg16
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
1:39 your link still works 20 years later, though the official one doesn't anymore
@YaredDC
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
COOL
@theprodigal72
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
I just looked up RSS and the only sites still supplying it that I could find where all German ministries. And there's actually quite a lot of recent news on those feeds.
@Becky_Cooling
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
19/08/2024 Tom's site is still online and still really funny
@MichaelEllisOfTenDeg
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
That chart goes on my wall now!
@KristopherNoronha
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
It's a lovely site and should be updated to be relevant with the times. You sir have struck gold!
@Koopastar_
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
here from tom scott
@kaleidoughscope
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
Just keep writing; just keep typing…
@ChristopherTradeshow
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
but for real. I have never seen a video with no views on my recommended list
@The_Top_Hat_2
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
pleasantries' live brought me here
@ThatCoalSoul
April 17, 2026 at 8:03 pm
I'd forgotten he had a ' h ' in his name.
Watching old Tom videos for a reason ~ yes.