Many of us are in need of a little cuteness and positivity right now in between. It’s a good thing that there is a Twitter account called “Buitengebieden” with its cute animal videos. But who actually does all this work? Of the star spoke to the man behind the account.
Anyone who uses social media will have thought about deleting the usual apps at least once in the past few months. Twitter, Facebook and increasingly Instagram are full of discord, bad news, slander and hate. It’s often no longer fun, and the Internet no longer really fulfills its task of distracting from everyday life. But there is an account that is currently bringing a smile to the face of even the hardest-bitten curmudgeon. And that despite the fact that it bears the cumbersome Dutch name “Buitengebieden”. Photos and videos of animals are regularly posted here – always heartwarming, funny or just plain cute.
“Buitengebieten literally means: outside areas,” says Sander van den Berg, who is behind the incredibly successful account, in an interview with the star. He is 41 years old and a single father of four children. He lives near Lauwersoog, near the Dutch North Sea coast, in one such rural “outskirts”. “In my spare time, I love to go hiking and take lots of photos. My other great passion is the weather. In the past I had my own weather station and a website that forecast the weather for my region,” says van den Berg. “Nature just fascinates me. There is so much to see out there.”
The man behind “Buitengebieden” is Dutch
The Dutchman earns his money with a full-time job as an account manager and buyer for a web shop. It’s amazing how much time is left for Twitter & Co., because Sander van den Berg much prefers to be outdoors than in front of the PC. His region, which lies within the province of Groningen, means a lot to him. And that’s how “Buitengebieden” came about: “I created the account to draw attention to the problems here in Groningen caused by gas drilling. The people here have been fighting politics for years. There have been several earthquakes in in the province, which damaged many houses. At first nobody believed that the tremors were caused by the gas drilling. We had to fight for years to get this recognized and the homeowners to receive compensation.”
So initially, around 2016, “Buitengebieden” was, paradoxically, an account full of anger, frustration and bad news – and that’s exactly why van den Berg began occasionally sharing animal photos or videos with his followers between serious posts. “To cheer up the people who were already following me,” explains the 41-year-old. “Shortly after, one of my videos went viral and I was discovered by famous American basketball player Rex Chapman, who is now a good friend of mine. He liked my posts and shared many videos on his own timeline.” And so “Buitengebieden” began to grow – but the new fans now mainly wanted to see animal videos.
“I’ve always loved animals”
No problem for animal lover van den Berg: “I grew up with dogs as a child. My parents live on a farm and keep sheep, dogs and chickens as hobbies. I’ve always loved animals, they’re just cute and funny. Nowadays I have two cats, already for 14 years: Doepy and Muis.” He is now almost always looking for suitable clips on the web that he can share. “I watch videos all day long. There are great platforms outside of Twitter for sharing videos, like Reddit. Of course, you can also find a lot of good stuff on Instagram and TikTok these days. If a video makes me feel good , I share it. I have to like it myself first.”
However, he never expected so many people to follow him, says the Dutchman. “I never thought this account would get this big. I still can’t believe I have so many followers. Every day it surprises me that my posts are so popular. For me it’s just the same Channel I started years ago just got a few more followers It also baffles me because the account name doesn’t say anything about the content I post and it’s hard to pronounce for a lot of people around the world It amazes me that so many people choose to follow me.” There are now almost 800,000 people who want to see his warm-hearted posts on Twitter.
Van den Berg does not earn anything from the account
“I always try to find the original source of a video, unfortunately that’s often no longer possible. If I find the creator, I mention them on Twitter and ask them if it’s okay if I share the video on my channel” , says the Dutchman. “People are always happy if you ask them beforehand. If you have permission, you don’t get in trouble.” Operating the successful account brings him nothing. At least financially.
“I don’t make any money with it,” says Sander van den Berg. “I have a Link to my PayPal account in my profile, for people who want to support my work. Then nothing. Several companies have asked me to work with them, but I’ve always ignored it. Money is not why I’m active on Twitter and other platforms.” Instead, he just wants one thing: “Spread a positive vibe and take people’s mind off this crazy world for a few seconds.”
At first he also shared funny fail videos, but he would have left that again quickly. Other people on the net could do it better anyway, says van den Berg, and his followers are no longer interested in something like that. He wants pure positivity. “People need a break when they’re scrolling through their timeline. They want to share that with their friends, too. It helps them remember how beautiful the world actually is and that humanity still exists. Modern life is so stressful and hectic, it’s easy to forget that the world is bigger than the internet.”
More and more people want to follow him
Especially during the pandemic, he noticed how good his postings were for people. “Before the pandemic I had 130,000 followers, now it’s more than 750,000,” says Sander van den Berg. “The reactions I’ve gotten have also changed in the last year. I often hear: ‘This is a bright place in this dark world’, or ‘I needed this today’.” He says he has given himself a mission: “I want to be a positive part of Twitter, without politics or negative issues. We all know that right now Twitter is often a negative platform where everyone has an opinion. But during the pandemic people don’t always want to read negative things, they just want to watch innocent and funny videos to take a short break from everyday life.”
Sander van den Berg receives tons of messages from grateful followers. “The one that touched me the most was the one I got last year. “A mother always shared my tweets with her children. She passed away late last year and one of my tweets was the last message she sent to her children. It was a firefly that took off for flight. I cried when I read the message from one of her children.”
Many parents write to him that they regularly show their children the animal videos and that everyone enjoys it. “As a single father, it’s sometimes hard to read something like that because I don’t have my kids here with me every day anymore. I really miss those moments when you can share something beautiful with the kids.” But then he thinks that his work can bring moments like this to other families. And then he continues.
Sander van den Berg’s account: “Buitengebieten”