YouTube and Motivation
“If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.” Thomas J Watson
Conversation w/ a friend:
I just, I was talking to a couple bigger youtubers about stuff at the library yesterday. One of them was just kind of like "Well, you're already doing it wrong. You're taking things way too seriously. Just have fun with it." typical advice, but advice I always say I agree with, but never actually follow. From the rest of that conversation and that weird realization (of me even telling myself I follow that advice, but don't) I've been thinking about it again.
[8/27/2012 6:38:51 PM] LDShadowLady: also best not to set yourself goals
[8/27/2012 6:39:00 PM] LDShadowLady: aim to please the viewers you already have
[8/27/2012 6:39:05 PM] LDShadowLady: if more join, that's great too
[8/27/2012 6:39:12 PM] LDShadowLady: aim for milestones just before you hit them
[8/27/2012 6:39:20 PM] LDShadowLady: then you dont spend ages waitiiing
[8/27/2012 6:42:57 PM] LDShadowLady: Yeah mann
[8/27/2012 6:43:06 PM] LDShadowLady: but you're taking it wayyyy too seriously
[8/27/2012 6:44:08 PM] LDShadowLady: but seriously.....
[8/27/2012 6:44:11 PM] LDShadowLady: you're i dunno....
[8/27/2012 6:44:17 PM] LDShadowLady: you're not doing it right man...
[8/27/2012 6:49:47 PM] LDShadowLady: you're aiming too high
[8/27/2012 6:49:47 PM] LDShadowLady: 10k is a lot.
[8/27/2012 6:49:57 PM] LDShadowLady: and aiming wayyy too far in the future
[8/27/2012 6:50:06 PM] LDShadowLady: just aim to make better videos
[8/27/2012 6:50:09 PM] LDShadowLady: if you make better videos
[8/27/2012 6:50:12 PM] LDShadowLady: the people will come.
[8/27/2012 6:50:21 PM] LDShadowLady: and the offers will come in
Took a look back at my videos from the end of 2011 and start of 2012 on tehD3M0L1SH3R, ones even BBKDragoon referenced saying they were better and I was enjoying them more, and looking around at my other videos - things are drastically different. Not just the views, but the content, my stratedgies with the content, and even my enjoyment level, which is obvious in the videos. I started a couple series that people seemed to really dig (Minecraft, DBZ UT, and later Skyrim) and kept those going, recording when I wanted to, and having fun with them, posted whenever I managed to record a video. I would come up with topics every now and then to make Halo commentaries with. I'd try new series (as with Half-Life) but if they didn't get a decent response, then I did not continue with them. I was doing first impressions videos of games (interestingly one of the first types of videos **** really seemed into us doing together, yet we haven't done yet ><) and making funny/entertaining videos from that, and having fun finding new games with it. I would make random little music video montages of game clips that were pretty funny and entertaining and I had a great time editing. PLus the occasional unboxing videos & tutorials for fun and discovery views.
The consistency of the videos, the views, and my enjoyment is so completely obvious, it's almost painful to me.
I completely lost that. I actually gave that up for doing this for the wrong reasons, and I almost cannot believe it. The one thing I've always preached against, and hell, thought I'd escaped, I went and did.
Scroll forward to EposVox videos now. I had my Pokemon Liquid Crystal series, which I was having a whole lot of fun with, and got pretty good consistent views. (People have actually asked for that back.) I tried a couple new series, like LP Warhammer Space Marine, but dropped it off cause I didn't enjoy it as much and no one wanted to watch. I still had some good and enjoyed/enjoyable unboxings. I was still doing some tutorials as well. I was doing a couple Minecraft mod videos, we started our first impressions stuff with Rule of Rose, Baldur's Gate, and I was still doing the music videos stuffs for some games and our adventures together. The usual, maybe a little better.
But that changed, I'm guessing it was right around when I decided to fully leave tehD3M0L1SH3R and thought I'd make it big on EposVox. Around when I started having those original major crises about YouTube and such with C****. I felt I was running out of time, that I was doing it wrong and it was my job to do anything and everything. I tried LP-ing every game I could, (XMen, Prototype, Guild Wars), I stopped making videos because I had fun with it. I just up and decided commentaries were no good to me anymore. Completely dropped my old series I had fun with on tehD3M0L1SH3R. Going through them, it honestly seems C** were the only thing keeping me tied to how I was making videos, how I SHOULD have been making them. The Chest Survival with C*** and J*** - that series was great, fun, and people loved it. The Halo tournament forced me back to Halo, which was good for all. The Skyrim montage from when we played, which resembled my first one I made. Etc.
However, I've completely pulled away from all that. I don't know if it was my sudden desire I had gotten to become a dedicated Let's Play-er, some weird feeling of time running out because I had a shitton of games I wanted to play and felt I wasn't making it on YouTube quick enough, or what, but I feel like I've completely screwed over my channel. I know it's fixable, I know if I can make it back to doing things for fun, like I was, like we were (I'd still like to do those first impression videos of those games on PS2 and such with C***), then if nothing else, I can build from there and keep things going. But the realization and understanding of how far off I've gone almost makes me want to try to find something else, but similar to do. I don't know. It's a strange feeling. When I said I had to get nomz, I was literally having a panic attack. Just from looking at a list of uploads. Kinda pathetic xD
So if I want to repair, then I literally just need to cut everything off for a week. Transfer my files to another computer and start completely fresh. Poke around for things I might enjoy. I think my Alan Wake series could be a good one for me to have running. Find some things I'd like to talk about and play some Halo again. I really wanna do those impressions videos with C**. I'd love to play/record some Portal 2 with C****, and maybe just cut some of it together, not a formal series. Then maybe from there, the other 'junk' video making I've been wanting to go through, I go through on live streaming with. It fits more there, anyway. And my videos with Limbo and stuff were a very good move back towards that direction. Something to keep going with.
And part of all this was also it being the summer and me losing my job. I had so much time on my hands, all I had to do was make videos. So I did that, 24/7, where-as before I barely had the time to focus on making the great videos I wanted to and enjoyed the most. That's why I said that school starting would hopefully bring the better change back to my channel.
“6. The beauty of digital marketing means you can re-evaluate” Dave Katz, managing director, Ybrant Digital UK