Good morning, gerbil nation! Another late night. Harper and I have been watching “Haven” the series from the 2000s. And catching up on Styxhexenhammer666 who covers politics in a most entertaining and enlightening way.
Evidently, we can’t get to sleep before dawn this morning….
Another fun-filled day of JimCo admin excitement has already begun!!1!
While I’m grateful that we have work and opportunities for more, I kinda need a break. Hoping I’ll be able to take advantage of the coming long weekend in the form of a few days of slug-dom.
What the hell is going on? Is anybody in charge of this situation? Or are we just left with the governor and his talking-head brother arguing on CNN about which of the two Ma loves best? (Who cares?)
In late April, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp defied experts by opening his state. The Atlantic magazine, once a serious publication that should now come with a stick of stale bubblegum, accused him of engaging in “human sacrifice.”
You want to guess what happened? Guess, come on, take a guess. Instead of the predicted spike in deaths, the number of cases of coronavirus and associated deaths declined.
We should always consider that we are led by idiots, as one of my friends likes to remind me. Cuomo and de Blasio have no plan. There is not a single question about when New York can get back to normal to which they have a straight answer. Not one. They cash their taxpayer paychecks while immiserating the rest of us.
Sure Happy It’s Thursday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, dv8, Fatwa, and Sven!
dv8 -- sleep well.
Fatwa -- happy paperworking!
Sven -- every day’s a blessing when you work at Teh Bestest Place Ever!
I called up a former cow-worker yesterday late afternoon to see if she’s interested in jumping ship. She’s interested, but needs to think it over. It would be a pay cut, but her commute costs would go to zero and she’d be able to drop off and pick up her kids from school. We’ve had lots of hits on our online ad, but none meet the basic qualifications (minimum one year of teaching in a virtual environment).
First, let me say that I don’t consider myself a content creator. I don’t have a regular upload schedule, and lately, I only stream sporadically.
But, I want to share some thoughts I had about content creators since I started making edited videos from time to time.
Since making, editing, and uploading a few produced videos, I’ve had kind of an epiphany regarding the incredible people who entertain us all:
First of all: If they are independent creators, they must be incredibly self motivated.
Every time I make a video, I realize that I should be making another one right away--or at least, the next day--if… I were taking this seriously. If I really want to entertain, educate, inform, or otherwise engage people on a regular basis, I really need the motivation to keep producing.
That made me realize that all our favorite creators are just one upload away from disappearing forever.
And… If they are financially successful, they could… even… have more reason to take it easy or even quit if they wanted to.
How does Pewdiepie upload every single day for 10 years without taking a day off?
You know: We, as viewers… as consumers of content… we… get used to our favorite creators’ upload schedules. Once they have produced a number of videos in a row, we kind of take it for granted that there is some kind of momentum involved--that maybe… they are “on a roll.”
Well, what making a few videos has taught me, is that every new video is like starting over from scratch. And whereas some financial success might be a motivating factor to keep producing, it’s, by far, not the main contributor to making the next video.
Pewdiepie has hinted at this in a number of videos he has done… where he’s touched on the creative process. His point is mostly that you really have to WANT to make the content. He always just wanted to make videos. It had nothing to do with money or making a living.
He produced content for years, and even met his future wife long before he ever made a penny on youtube. Yet he was making a name for himself. He did this by ALWAYS making the next video. In the beginning he made several a day. Back then, he did all the editing also. And, while it’s true that, back then, there was less editing and videos were much more like live streams, it was still a lot of work.
The reason we clap… the reason why we applaud musicians, actors, speakers and other performers… is because they have chosen to do what they do FOR US.
A great musician could very well decide to stay home and do what he does only for his loved ones.--for people he truly cares about. But such people go the extra mile and say: “I want to produce a stage show… a concert… a video… and make it available to anyone.”
Now… I have a few thoughts about Hollywood Actors… and Musicians that are signed by a label:
They sometimes can give over their motivation to others. Choosing to mostly use their talent and ability to create… but letting their handlers set the agenda for the style and scope of their performances.
Such people often feel guilty about their success. I believe this is because, once they give over their will to others, the motivation is no longer theirs. They feel more like a pawn in someone else’s game--even if they are making the lion’s share of the profit.
They are a cog in a much greater machine… and… because the motivation comes from outside themselves, they can feel as though they don’t deserve the success that that enjoy.
I believe they are wrong to feel that way, but… as the saying goes… you can’t gain something without giving up something else--or rather every action has consequences.
If you give up your agency to others, you will become… or at least feel like… a cog in someone else’s machine. You may start to feel like a fraud. Like you don’t really deserve the success that you clearly, by any and all measures, have earned.
But this… is why I appreciate independent creators all the more: It’s ALL them. They bring everything. It’s all or nothing.
So when I make a video like this… I realize… it’s all me. I have to finish it. Upload it. I have to make another one. If people come to expect my content daily, or weekly, there is pressure on me to keep it all up.
Now, on an aside. I think that’s where streaming comes in. I think streaming is basically NON-content. I can sit here and do anything, or nothing. It’s not high quality stuff. It can be very boring, or at times very fun. It’s hardly planed.
It can be a safety valve, a ploy to create the illusion of more regular content, but it can also be a trap.
Because… just sitting down and doing what you would already be doing, more or less, just turning the camera on. Is not really creating much of anything.
I have seen talented creators switch to mostly streaming and get very few viewers or views on their archives. SlightlyImpressive comes to mind. His WoW Machinima garners him massive views, but his streams maybe only a few hundred. And he has fallen away from making quality, produced, content. I believe it’s partially because it’s not his living--he has a regular job elsewhere, I believe. So content creation is only a hobby. But still, he does produce consistent content and has a dedicated, albeit small, following.
Personally, I wonder what it feels like to go from 500K views to only 500. I may never know, personally, unless I reach some level of viewership.
In any case, it’s been a revelation to me, having made a few produced videos… that your favorite creator is ever only one upload away from disappearing forever. Pewdiepie, JonTronShow, Leafyishere, SlightlyImpressive…. Some have disappeared and come back. Leafy most recently.
We are all grateful for the content they leave behind… when they do decide to quit--or even just take a break.
But we are all the more grateful and appreciative of them if…
and when… they come back….
Good morning, gerbil nation! Another late night. Harper and I have been watching “Haven” the series from the 2000s. And catching up on Styxhexenhammer666 who covers politics in a most entertaining and enlightening way.
Evidently, we can’t get to sleep before dawn this morning….
So it goes.
Mornin’, Wheelizens!
Hi, dv8!
Another fun-filled day of JimCo admin excitement has already begun!!1!
While I’m grateful that we have work and opportunities for more, I kinda need a break. Hoping I’ll be able to take advantage of the coming long weekend in the form of a few days of slug-dom.
BBL.
Sad photobucket pic.
Hi, Fatwa -- hand in there. Sleep well, Dv8. Good morning, GN!
It’s back to the grind.
Hi, Sven!
Here’s a pretty good rant about the COVID clusterfark in NYC:
https://nypost.com/2020/05/20/end-new-york-citys-lockdown-now/
Good rant. No surprise that the author works for The Federalist.
Sure Happy It’s Thursday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, dv8, Fatwa, and Sven!
dv8 -- sleep well.
Fatwa -- happy paperworking!
Sven -- every day’s a blessing when you work at Teh Bestest Place Ever!
I called up a former cow-worker yesterday late afternoon to see if she’s interested in jumping ship. She’s interested, but needs to think it over. It would be a pay cut, but her commute costs would go to zero and she’d be able to drop off and pick up her kids from school. We’ve had lots of hits on our online ad, but none meet the basic qualifications (minimum one year of teaching in a virtual environment).
Another story:
Okay… so let’s talk about content creators…
First, let me say that I don’t consider myself a content creator. I don’t have a regular upload schedule, and lately, I only stream sporadically.
But, I want to share some thoughts I had about content creators since I started making edited videos from time to time.
Since making, editing, and uploading a few produced videos, I’ve had kind of an epiphany regarding the incredible people who entertain us all:
First of all: If they are independent creators, they must be incredibly self motivated.
Every time I make a video, I realize that I should be making another one right away--or at least, the next day--if… I were taking this seriously. If I really want to entertain, educate, inform, or otherwise engage people on a regular basis, I really need the motivation to keep producing.
That made me realize that all our favorite creators are just one upload away from disappearing forever.
And… If they are financially successful, they could… even… have more reason to take it easy or even quit if they wanted to.
How does Pewdiepie upload every single day for 10 years without taking a day off?
You know: We, as viewers… as consumers of content… we… get used to our favorite creators’ upload schedules. Once they have produced a number of videos in a row, we kind of take it for granted that there is some kind of momentum involved--that maybe… they are “on a roll.”
Well, what making a few videos has taught me, is that every new video is like starting over from scratch. And whereas some financial success might be a motivating factor to keep producing, it’s, by far, not the main contributor to making the next video.
Pewdiepie has hinted at this in a number of videos he has done… where he’s touched on the creative process. His point is mostly that you really have to WANT to make the content. He always just wanted to make videos. It had nothing to do with money or making a living.
He produced content for years, and even met his future wife long before he ever made a penny on youtube. Yet he was making a name for himself. He did this by ALWAYS making the next video. In the beginning he made several a day. Back then, he did all the editing also. And, while it’s true that, back then, there was less editing and videos were much more like live streams, it was still a lot of work.
The reason we clap… the reason why we applaud musicians, actors, speakers and other performers… is because they have chosen to do what they do FOR US.
A great musician could very well decide to stay home and do what he does only for his loved ones.--for people he truly cares about. But such people go the extra mile and say: “I want to produce a stage show… a concert… a video… and make it available to anyone.”
Now… I have a few thoughts about Hollywood Actors… and Musicians that are signed by a label:
They sometimes can give over their motivation to others. Choosing to mostly use their talent and ability to create… but letting their handlers set the agenda for the style and scope of their performances.
Such people often feel guilty about their success. I believe this is because, once they give over their will to others, the motivation is no longer theirs. They feel more like a pawn in someone else’s game--even if they are making the lion’s share of the profit.
They are a cog in a much greater machine… and… because the motivation comes from outside themselves, they can feel as though they don’t deserve the success that that enjoy.
I believe they are wrong to feel that way, but… as the saying goes… you can’t gain something without giving up something else--or rather every action has consequences.
If you give up your agency to others, you will become… or at least feel like… a cog in someone else’s machine. You may start to feel like a fraud. Like you don’t really deserve the success that you clearly, by any and all measures, have earned.
But this… is why I appreciate independent creators all the more: It’s ALL them. They bring everything. It’s all or nothing.
So when I make a video like this… I realize… it’s all me. I have to finish it. Upload it. I have to make another one. If people come to expect my content daily, or weekly, there is pressure on me to keep it all up.
Now, on an aside. I think that’s where streaming comes in. I think streaming is basically NON-content. I can sit here and do anything, or nothing. It’s not high quality stuff. It can be very boring, or at times very fun. It’s hardly planed.
It can be a safety valve, a ploy to create the illusion of more regular content, but it can also be a trap.
Because… just sitting down and doing what you would already be doing, more or less, just turning the camera on. Is not really creating much of anything.
I have seen talented creators switch to mostly streaming and get very few viewers or views on their archives. SlightlyImpressive comes to mind. His WoW Machinima garners him massive views, but his streams maybe only a few hundred. And he has fallen away from making quality, produced, content. I believe it’s partially because it’s not his living--he has a regular job elsewhere, I believe. So content creation is only a hobby. But still, he does produce consistent content and has a dedicated, albeit small, following.
Personally, I wonder what it feels like to go from 500K views to only 500. I may never know, personally, unless I reach some level of viewership.
In any case, it’s been a revelation to me, having made a few produced videos… that your favorite creator is ever only one upload away from disappearing forever. Pewdiepie, JonTronShow, Leafyishere, SlightlyImpressive…. Some have disappeared and come back. Leafy most recently.
We are all grateful for the content they leave behind… when they do decide to quit--or even just take a break.
But we are all the more grateful and appreciative of them if…
and when… they come back….