So I've had a real blast doing my youtube channel. It's allowed me to meet some really incredible people, help folks out, and it just gives me a chance to "jibber jabber" about stuff I love. I've been slacking in a major way this summer what with personal responsibilities and increased work load, but the bug is in me to get back in it after having some good talks with folks about hunting. Fall is coming!
I also enjoy writing, and have been blessed with the opportunity to get my name in a few publications. And people have asked me and I've tossed around and asked you guys about thoughts on a podcast. It's all a lot of fun and very humbling. Usually, the people I interact with on a daily basis would love for me to SHUT UP ALREADY about hunting. My boss would probably pay to have that nugget of my brain removed, lol. It's great to be able to interact with like-minded weirdos. I've met wonderful, smart, talented people who have made my life mo'better, and not just with regards to deer hunting.
But, real talk. Video equipment isn't free. Gear to play with isn't free (Usually. A huge thank you to everybody who has allowed me to opportunity to get hands on awesome gear without having to steal my wife's credit card or sell my soul.
) Software isn't free. And recent events have made me realize my time isn't free to do what I want all the time.
Most entertainment content is paid for, ultimately, by people who buy gear (you and me). Usually, a corporation sponsors a content creator, who in turn puts the corporations products in their material in order to get it in front of a group of people the corporation views as a target market. Money in exchange for advertising, basically. I have looked into this option in order to get the money necessary to make more content. I have a few qualms about it. With regards to gear reviews, are you really an impartial reviewer if you were given the product or financially reimbursed? I know that I personally take anything written by somebody who didn't pay for the product with a grain of salt, even though i know and love a lot of guys with that "vendor" or "prostaff" icon in their profile on here. In a way, it turns the content consumers into a product. Google and youtube is a PRIME example of this. I signed up for monetization once I got big enough, and I still feel weird about it. Youtube and Google use the information they glean from my viewers to grow their analytics business, and they get funding from companies who buy the advertisements that show up on my videos. I get a cut for "feeding the beast."
Please note that I don't necessarily condone the way this system works. I know a lot of awesome folks at all levels of it, and I think it can be a good thing. I don't fault folks trying to go about it that way. I just don't know that I love it. It introduces a little grain of grit into an otherwise very enjoyable activity for me, and I'm not alone in that I think. There seems to be a trend of a lot of larger youtubers and other content creators trying to cut out the advertising aspect and just have people pay the monkey for his dancing. Seems more direct in my mind and similar to how the rest of the market usually operates. Especially regarding gear reviews, it solves the bias issue because the people who want to see the product reviewed are paying for the product and the guy who does the reviewing. The creator isn't creating for the product manufacturer anymore, but for the end-user. I like that.
So with all that said, I'm interested to hear how folks feel about something like Patreon or some other way of donating. I'd love to be able to review every new thing that came out in the industry, and be honest if I thought it sucked and you'd be crazy to buy it. I'd love to be able to buy a 4k camera, and take an unpaid day off my 9-5 in order to learn how to use an editing software to make a better video. I'd love to buy a microphone so people could stop commenting to "speak up." I'd love to be able to send a fruit basket to John Eberhart to thank him for being on a video/podcast. I'd love to host a get-together or 2. I'd like to sell out to maybe go from losing money on this little hobby to breaking even or maybe being able to tell my wife, "Do you mind, I'm working here?" when she complains about me filming a video in a yard that hasn't seen a mower in two weeks.
I'd basically rather "sell-out" to the community I love instead of whichever company will give me a dollar in exchange for pushing their stuff. I'm open to any thoughts as to how to how to make that attractive to the folks who have supported my jibber-jabbering. Maybe doing give-aways of gear once it's been tested? Some way to make it easier for folks to request topics they are interested in?
I'm open to ideas, suggestions, folks with experience at it, or people who think I'm being silly and should just be quiet already.
TLDR; who will pay cash money to watch NutterBuster swing from a pole for them?
I also enjoy writing, and have been blessed with the opportunity to get my name in a few publications. And people have asked me and I've tossed around and asked you guys about thoughts on a podcast. It's all a lot of fun and very humbling. Usually, the people I interact with on a daily basis would love for me to SHUT UP ALREADY about hunting. My boss would probably pay to have that nugget of my brain removed, lol. It's great to be able to interact with like-minded weirdos. I've met wonderful, smart, talented people who have made my life mo'better, and not just with regards to deer hunting.
But, real talk. Video equipment isn't free. Gear to play with isn't free (Usually. A huge thank you to everybody who has allowed me to opportunity to get hands on awesome gear without having to steal my wife's credit card or sell my soul.
) Software isn't free. And recent events have made me realize my time isn't free to do what I want all the time. Most entertainment content is paid for, ultimately, by people who buy gear (you and me). Usually, a corporation sponsors a content creator, who in turn puts the corporations products in their material in order to get it in front of a group of people the corporation views as a target market. Money in exchange for advertising, basically. I have looked into this option in order to get the money necessary to make more content. I have a few qualms about it. With regards to gear reviews, are you really an impartial reviewer if you were given the product or financially reimbursed? I know that I personally take anything written by somebody who didn't pay for the product with a grain of salt, even though i know and love a lot of guys with that "vendor" or "prostaff" icon in their profile on here. In a way, it turns the content consumers into a product. Google and youtube is a PRIME example of this. I signed up for monetization once I got big enough, and I still feel weird about it. Youtube and Google use the information they glean from my viewers to grow their analytics business, and they get funding from companies who buy the advertisements that show up on my videos. I get a cut for "feeding the beast."
Please note that I don't necessarily condone the way this system works. I know a lot of awesome folks at all levels of it, and I think it can be a good thing. I don't fault folks trying to go about it that way. I just don't know that I love it. It introduces a little grain of grit into an otherwise very enjoyable activity for me, and I'm not alone in that I think. There seems to be a trend of a lot of larger youtubers and other content creators trying to cut out the advertising aspect and just have people pay the monkey for his dancing. Seems more direct in my mind and similar to how the rest of the market usually operates. Especially regarding gear reviews, it solves the bias issue because the people who want to see the product reviewed are paying for the product and the guy who does the reviewing. The creator isn't creating for the product manufacturer anymore, but for the end-user. I like that.
So with all that said, I'm interested to hear how folks feel about something like Patreon or some other way of donating. I'd love to be able to review every new thing that came out in the industry, and be honest if I thought it sucked and you'd be crazy to buy it. I'd love to be able to buy a 4k camera, and take an unpaid day off my 9-5 in order to learn how to use an editing software to make a better video. I'd love to buy a microphone so people could stop commenting to "speak up." I'd love to be able to send a fruit basket to John Eberhart to thank him for being on a video/podcast. I'd love to host a get-together or 2. I'd like to sell out to maybe go from losing money on this little hobby to breaking even or maybe being able to tell my wife, "Do you mind, I'm working here?" when she complains about me filming a video in a yard that hasn't seen a mower in two weeks.
I'd basically rather "sell-out" to the community I love instead of whichever company will give me a dollar in exchange for pushing their stuff. I'm open to any thoughts as to how to how to make that attractive to the folks who have supported my jibber-jabbering. Maybe doing give-aways of gear once it's been tested? Some way to make it easier for folks to request topics they are interested in?
I'm open to ideas, suggestions, folks with experience at it, or people who think I'm being silly and should just be quiet already.
TLDR; who will pay cash money to watch NutterBuster swing from a pole for them?
