So here we are, once again, I wrote about this in a Strange Log but I felt like this needed to be a much longer article since this is an increasing issue, at least for me and that is feedback. Feedback on what? Well, everything pretty much. Here's the thing, I've hand-drawn and written over 60 graphic novels, all of which are 60 to 100 pages long, and I made them strictly for the consumption of myself and my family, those were not meant for the public because I wrote them for me, for my pleasure, therefore I don't require feedback on those, I know they're good because they're for me. However, when I do put something out there, something that I am making for the public to enjoy, a little feedback would be nice, since the blight has plagued our land and lands abroad I've been contemplating several projects I could take on, and each one I've replied back to myself "But it won't get attention.". I'll elaborate more. Here we go.
I've never been one for "views" or "clicks" or whatever the kids are calling it these days, I've always been a fan of just getting the word out there and letting the chips fall where they may, for example, my favorite Youtube video I ever produced was my (forcibly removed) breakdown of "Southland Tales", I didn't care about the interaction on that video, I merely wanted the information available to anyone who wanted it and lo and behold, people wanted it. But that was an informational video, something that I wanted to exist because it didn't exist, "be the change you wanna see" and all that, right? HOWEVER, when I create something for public consumption, something that I hope will generate views or interest I get crickets or outright disregard and I'm not talking about Youtube specifically, I'm speaking on all fronts.
Let's discuss Youtube, one of the reasons I quit Youtube was because the engagement was not worth the effort, those were videos I made for public consumption, and sure they were for my own pleasure too in helping me hone my skills as a filmmaker, but I made them because I didn't wanna be just another schmo in front of a camera yaking about movies and since Youtube started putting the squeeze on using content that was not yours (ie clips and audio, etc., etc.) I figured one way to keep an audience engaged and to stand out from the pack was to integrate a storyline, an episodic story that coincided with the topic I was discussing in the video. I designed each storyline to appeal to aspects of Internet culture that I found interesting and funny, namely The Inglip Mythos, Creepypastas, and specifically The Holders Mythos. I found message boards and Reddit forums where those communities were present and dropped my videos there hoping that might garner some engagement....nope.
Instead, those videos are within the least viewed of my catalog, the most viewed video of mine was my "Cabin In The Woods" review and that was because I managed to review the movie a month BEFORE it came out and passed out the script like free candy (THUG LIFE!). Now that was an exclusive but I can hardly be expected to break exclusives on a consistent basis? And don't get me wrong, I'm not angry that that video is among my most viewed, after all, I made it for the public and the public enjoyed it but for videos that I put forth an actual effort...nothing. Not even a nibble from communities that would be interested, nothing at all? Yeah, nothing at all. And maybe this was bad on my part but I tried to include as many tags as I could that would allow people to find my videos should they search for any related material. But since my channel is small potatoes, I doubt I appeared in anyone's search feed.
And maybe I did appear in someone's search feed, I've been told that my voice is offputting for some and has caused people to turn the video off, fair enough, I've turned videos off for not being able to bare the sound of someone's voice but I certainly wouldn't share that information with them and try to pass it off as constructive criticism, I am not going to use a fake voice every time I upload a video, I cannot change my voice. All of my editing tricks and use of footage have been stripped away so I can't engage people with visuals, so in an attempt to make my content interesting I relied on my strength, my ability to tell a story, and nothing came of it. So why bother? I've produced 5 seasons' worth of storylines, 1/2 of which no one has watched or will watch since the majority of Season 2 cannot be uploaded because of copyrighted material and no one is going to read Season 2 in a text format. The communities and people who would be interested in my material are not interested and I'm at a loss for how to get those videos out there if not even the communities they're meant to appeal to aren't interested. Do my storyline videos suck? I don't know, no one has told me, no one told me anything.
Let's go to my graphic novels, I know he's not reading this so I can discuss this openly, but a while back I was an editor for a friend's comic book. While the story at hand wasn't exactly my cup of tea (it was a supernatural coming-of-age story, I love the supernatural but coming-of-age stories always bore me) I gave my feedback and read draft after draft of the story. Curious, I asked if he'd be interested in taking a gander at some of my work to which he declined in spectacular fashion stating point-blank he wouldn't read it. Not that he didn't have time to read it, or hadn't read it, but that he WOULD not read it, as it was a force of will rather than an issue of convenience or forgetfulness. I remember being stunned thinking how rude it was I had stayed up nights with him helping him with his work and yet he couldn't be troubled to take a gander at something I wrote? Apparently not. He stated that the artwork was poor and therefore I'd be a task to read, a sentiment shared by someone else who found my artwork so terrible that it was distracting. I'd like to point out that while my artwork isn't on the level of Bruce Timm or Jourd4n (who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite online artists) it is FAR less distracting than the artwork of Ted McKeever (whose artwork looks like vomit)...I'll let you be the judge...but again, I doubt you'll look at this, anyway...
Even this blog is a victim of lack of engagement, my most commented-on article was a "Dexter" article regarding Hannah McKay, and that article struck at the right place, at the right time, which was lightning in a bottle, a consistent flow of engagement came from my "Pretty Little Liars" reviews but Guga hasn't commented since and I have no clue if she's still reading this blog or not. I don't even know if people are actually on this blog since NO ONE COMMENTS, not on a consistent basis anyway, and rarely on an inconsistent basis, just silence. And the sad reality is since I rarely have time to write articles on a consistent basis, I'm starting to wonder what's even the point of these articles? What's the point? Who's reading? Who's out there picking up what I'm putting down, who's nodding their to my arguments, who's linking my articles and posting them, who's sharing them? No one is.
And what you can't say is that I've done a bad job promoting it, it being this blog, I've left relevant links to my blog in comment sections, dropped links in forums where I was active, told friends and family about it, posted consistently, posted inconsistently, posted about current events, posted about previous events, posted things I like, posted things I wanted to discuss, and YET I YEILD NO RESULTS. Why bother? Who am I writing these for? Well I'm writing them for you whoever is reading this, I'm writing this for you o comment and tell me I'm full of sh*t or that I'm on the right track or that I'm funny or that I'm not funny, or that I'm the dumbest person alive or the smartest person they've ever read, or my opinion is one they've never heard until today or that my opinion was exactly their opinion. I want interaction, I want engagement, I wanna discuss ideas and passions with like-minded people. That's what I want. But I'm not getting that, and despite the minimal effort of writing these blogs (hell of a lot easier than making a video) I'm starting to not see a point. If I wanted this to be a journal, it'd be one, it's not a journal, it's a blog, an entertainment blog and it's meant to be for the public, but nobody's reading...I'll come back to this article in a week and there will be no comments. No engagement and it'll just prove my point. I hope I'm wrong, I hope my friends reading this will tell me they're reading but I doubt it. Catch you guys next week...
2-12-2021: No comments.
5-18-2023: No comments.
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