I think it comes as no surprise to the people who swing by here that I’m VERY obsessed with youtube lately.
I’ve been in the digital space for many years, starting with a fairly successful website back in 2000.
However, my digital pursuits have always been in some kind of written way and never in regards to video.
So, what has shifted? A few things that I’ll mention below.
1. Video is where the eyes are. I can put a video up on my youtube page and within a day have a similar amount of views to a similar blog post, but the difference is it’s aggregate. That video builds views and viewership over time. More so than my blog posts really ever did.
2. It’s where the ads are. Who wants more ads? I certainly don’t. In fact, I haven’t even turned on the ads feature within my youtube channel because it would be pointless at this stage. However, ads means there are eyes on the platform. Ads are often how things in the digital space monetize and THAT is interesting to me.
3. It’s still storytelling. It’s a different type of storytelling, but it’s storytelling nonetheless. Truth is, making a youtube video that’s decent takes me FAAAARRR longer than whipping up a blog post. First, I come up with an idea, then I write a script, then I shoot it with the Wifesy, and then I edit the friggin’ thing. And you thought blogging took up a lot of time?! But, even with all of that…the platform holds an allure for me that I can no longer deny. The pathways to creating have also decreased in astounding ways. To give you an idea – I shoot EVERYTHING on my frickin’ phone! Imagine even attempting that a few years ago.
4. The process has evolved for me. Whenever I start something, I usually suck at it. It happened with blogging, comedy, and now video. It’s not until the 2nd, 3rd, or sometimes even 4th attempt at a thing that I ever seem to get a handle on it. It was definitely like that with blogging. I started by editing other peoples’ funny stuff. Then I wrote funny emails. After that I had a tumblr blog that reeked of horrible for .05 seconds. Followed by a “comedy business” blog that faired okay. The last attempt was “Sweet Mother” – what you’re reading right now. It certainly took a while for me to get it right. If you look at my youtube trajectory, it has been similar. First I made crazy animal videos and whatever else I could drum up that day, then I made a car vlog, then a how to/ inspiration sort of vlog, finally landing where I am now – a show with the Wifesy called, “The Pet Project.” Lord knows I’m not having ANY kind of success yet, BUT I will say that I like this new idea. For me, that’s part of it. The idea has to feel right, which is why I start and then drop so many ideas so quickly. I suppose it’s all part of my process. Once I have that feel-right idea, the project seems to stick. Pet Project feels this way. That doesn’t mean it started off like any kind of award winning project. I mean, at one point the Wifesy and I were trying to do comedy-ish things in front of hanging, pet-print, fabric! (Thankfully, we’ve come to our senses on that one.)
Here, at Sweet Mother, I’ve always analyzed things whether it be life, a new social platform, or a quirky guy I met in a parking lot. I believe I’ll be doing the same as I embark on this weekly youtube process. It helps me to tease things out and lay them bare before you. It makes my theories more solid. Hopefully, it will help you in some small way too.
As always, thanks for reading…and now, thanks for watching!
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Sweet Mother 