-=If you want to just read about the plan, skip to paragraph 5-= First, a little about me. I find myself in a place where I have a pretty good vision of my future. An average life, boring job, and reasonable stability. Nothing to shout about, but “good enough”. I’m perfectly willing to settle for a job that doesn’t particularly interest me, as I find myself in a position where I am not passionate about much. I am reasonably intelligent and articulate, but with no desire to perform well in college, and as a result will likely end up at a mediocre university at best, if I even end up going.
I’m not a particularly social person, preferring to spend a night in on my own, rather than going out and getting drunk in some noisy club. That stuff just doesn’t interest me. As a result, looking at my life from the outside, I seem fairly dull and sad. I’m reasonably happy, but nothing special.
However, one thing that I am passionate about is sharing my views. I love debate and argument, and writing and performing speeches in front of an audience gives me a thrill that isn’t matched elsewhere. I believe if I could get in front of the right people, I could make a life of it, and I think that now is the perfect time for me to try.
I am in my last few years of life with my parents, and only have a small amount of time left before I have to get a job and survive on my own. I want to take advantage of this time to try to take a chance to make something of my wish. I have no idea if people will actually find me entertaining, but I might as well take a chance and give it a go.
So here is my plan, heavily influenced by the Day[9] Dailies, and LethalFrag’s challenge: I intent to create a Youtube channel from scratch, where I will make a video every day, around 10 minutes long, covering a political or social issue that is relevant at the time. I will also have spent a great deal of time researching the issue, so that I can present an informed opinion on the matter. I have a great interest in politics, and believe that my personal knowledge on the subject will allow me to give an insightful commentary on why certain policies are being unveiled, or speeches made. Bar any technical issues, or personal emergencies, these video’s will be uploaded daily without fail, with occasional uploads of long form, heavily opinion based content. I hope that over the course of 6-9 months I will find out if this is something people are interested in, and will adapt my content to suit.
If it all goes terribly and in 9 months I find myself with no real core viewership, then I will have failed, but I believe that I should give it a good chance, and see how it goes. Perhaps over that time I will gain a small loyal viewer-ship, who knows. I don’t know what my dream scenario is, but even if it is just a case of me getting practise at this kind of broadcast content, it will be something.
This plan will begin sometime during the next week, where my equipment to begin broadcasting will arrive, and I would really appreciate any time you’re willing to give my channel, if only to see the first few attempts at making this kind of content.
I watch a lot of YouTube, so I picked up a few things over the years. There are a few things that you should keep in mind.
First, it is very difficult to become successful. This is because YouTube sponsors channels with lots of subscribers and views. Since you are starting from the very bottom, it is very hard to get a following. Even if some individuals search for a topic you discuss, YouTube will most likely display results from other channels.
Second, you need to be passionate and have fun with YouTube. It should be a hobby. Based on what I read above, you seem to already have that mindset.
Third, it takes time to get a following. Do not be discouraged if only 10 people watch your first video. Over a period of a few months to a year, you could get a couple hundred views per video. If you make a viral video (100,000 plus views) or if you consistently make genuinely good videos, you may even get a few thousand views per video.
Fourth, if you want to be successful, make sure you have a good recording set. I absolutely hate it when I listen to videos that are very quiet or have static. If you just want to do it for fun, at least make sure people can hear you clearly.
Fifth, make sure you interact with your audience. When people comment on your videos, respond back to them. Be polite and thoughtful--especially in the beginning. You want to get a loyal following, and showing interest in your subscribers helps create that following. At the end of your videos, make sure to remind your viewers to like/comment if they enjoyed the video. It helps get your content noticed.
Finally, and most importantly, use social media to your advantage. Start a Twitter, Facebook, and Google plus page for your channel. Go to other social media sites and talk about your channel. You want your channel to get as much exposure as possible. Using social media sites gets you that exposure.
I hope this advice helps you out. Good luck with everything.
best of luck! you need to find a way to seperate yourself from all the other youtubers too. maybe post some video response to more popular videos initially would be a great way to attract new viewers?
One of the people I'm subscribed to for video game news is Force Strategy Gaming. Idk if you're familiar, but he does a fantastic job at giving news on upcoming games, current events, and what-not. He's got 300k subscribers and has a medium production value for his videos, usually focusing on him talking to the camera and showing short clips of video games with his voice-over. That might be too much for a daily video as you seem to be wishing to do, but it sure makes him stand out. Without those clips to show the viewer what game he's describing, I don't think his videos would be as popular as they are (although he does have a great personality for just plain talking to the camera and giving information).
So anyways, just something to make your videos stand out better. I'm not so sure that having a daily video with low-production value would be as successful as you editing your video and releasing a single high-production value video either every few days or every week.
On January 17 2014 12:00 Najda wrote: Just to spur some discussion a bit: Why should I watch your channel instead of one of the many other YouTube news source channels?
This is actually a very good question. Especially when it comes to something like politics where everyone and their mother are constitutional experts and move to canada when a bill gets passed they don't agree with, laymen opinion tend to have very little value.
Nonetheless, this is a good step in the right direction. Settling for mediocrity is for last men, and spending your life doing something that you don't much care about is a waste. It's just not a very good life, regardless of whether or not you feel happy (as there is more to the good life than feeling happy). I hope this project, for what it's worth, is going to motivate you enough to try and pursue academically and professionally the things that you are good at and find interesting - there is plenty of opportunity for public speaking. Refine your skills, educate yourself, become awesome. Get to it!
This is a great idea, but are you sure you can do one video a day? I don't know how much time you have on your hands, but after preparing your presentation, recording the video, and editing it, you are left with very little time to actually research the topic. I would advise weekly videos at the start and see how it goes from there.
If you do decide to go ahead with it, I'll be sure to tune in.
On January 17 2014 12:00 Najda wrote: Just to spur some discussion a bit: Why should I watch your channel instead of one of the many other YouTube news source channels?
It's a good question, and part of my answer will also provide a response to another of the points made: First off, I hope to have to production values that most new youtube channels don't have, I don't intend for my first few episodes to be test runs on my iphone, they will all be well presented, with high quality audio and content (Hopefully) As for why I will have anything of interest to say; I am hoping that following my research, I will be able to present a story in a way in which people that have just read a headline, for example, may now have thought of. I will focus on why a story has appeared. For instance, why is it that George Osborne, the Chancellor of the UK has just announced plans to increase the minimum wage, some 4 days after he warned against it? EDIT: And it ain't gonna have my face flapping around on the screen the whole time, those video's annoy me x.x
Honestly though, if I find myself in a situation where I am unable to provide interesting enough content about politics, it is possible I will move the focus of the channel toward a different direction, depending on feedback.
10 minutes of content a day on different topics represents a tremendous amounts of research, I'm talking 2-3 hours a day at the very least if you don't know much about the topic from the start. That is, if you intend to have well-researched content with facts cross-checked with many sources which inevitably have varying information.
It doesn't seem like much but 10 minutes in an interesting and dynamic youtube video (rather than a tedious and rambly one that no one is going to watch) is enough time to cram a LOT of information in. Your channel is called PoliticsInDepth which means that maybe the 10 minutes setting is fine. I would consider doing 5 minutes a day instead, and make them mini series (cut the topics in 3x 5 minutes videos.) That said, I think you should just lower the quantity of content to maybe 3 times 10 minutes every week.
Also, your channel's description says the following: "My views and insights into the goings on in and around UK politics." I mean no offense, but nobody's going to watch that if it's what you're limiting yourself to. If you'll talk about your own country too much, there's a good chance you'll just be giving your opinion (or you'll come off that way). Plus, there just isn't that much that's interesting about the UK and its surroundings to make 7 videos a week and 30 videos a month for a total of 5 hours of talking in a month, plus video editing, plus the takes that you'll screw up.
This video is dated, but you could perhaps take notes. And you know a lot of research went into this 7 minutes. Cheers and good luck.
On January 18 2014 00:25 Djzapz wrote: 10 minutes of content a day on different topics represents a tremendous amounts of research, I'm talking 2-3 hours a day at the very least if you don't know much about the topic from the start. That is, if you intend to have well-researched content with facts cross-checked with many sources which inevitably have varying information.
It doesn't seem like much but 10 minutes in an interesting and dynamic youtube video (rather than a tedious and rambly one that no one is going to watch) is enough time to cram a LOT of information in. Your channel is called PoliticsInDepth which means that maybe the 10 minutes setting is fine. I would consider doing 5 minutes a day instead, and make them mini series (cut the topics in 3x 5 minutes videos.) That said, I think you should just lower the quantity of content to maybe 3 times 10 minutes every week.
Also, your channel's description says the following: "My views and insights into the goings on in and around UK politics." I mean no offense, but nobody's going to watch that if it's what you're limiting yourself to. If you'll talk about your own country too much, there's a good chance you'll just be giving your opinion (or you'll come off that way). Plus, there just isn't that much that's interesting about the UK and its surroundings to make 7 videos a week and 30 videos a month for a total of 5 hours of talking in a month, plus video editing, plus the takes that you'll screw up.
This video is dated, but you could perhaps take notes. And you know a lot of research went into this 7 minutes. Cheers and good luck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5suNtLwbBw
Yeah, I've had a ton of thought about the UK side of things. I'd love to talk about UK politics every day, but it simply isn't realistic, so I have plans to broaden that. I am also pretty aware of the amount of time that it will take to research this stuff, and I totally plan to try to put that much time in. I have a couple of friends who have said they're willing to help source check and the like, and so at least initially I'm going to try and do the daily content, if I find myself unable, then I will adapt the channel accordingly. Overall, the channel is going to change and grow a lot over the first month or so, following comments and ideas that I hear from people, so I guess I will be playing it by ear.
Your target audience sounds to be in the UK, as thats where you are from and that is perhaps where you have good thoughts and input in. Consider that though. Your target audience is the UK. I for one have nearly no interest in what's going on in UK politics, and I assume that daily or nearly daily videos of UK politics will not have any world shattering changes going on regularly.
Consider also that it is extremely difficult to sell the idea of politics to the masses. The way you present it must be really informative and entertaining at the same time somehow, and that is probably really difficult to do unless you have an amazing, comedic personality. (Or maybe not, but I just have trouble imagining it!)
But even with all this said, I still think that you should always keep close to where YOUR passion lies, and what you could consider doing as a hobby instead of work. If UK politics (or whatever the topic) is where you have a lot of input and passion, then do just that. If your work truly stands out and gives input that others do not, eventually you will get attention regardless of WHAT you are talking about.
On January 18 2014 05:14 Ahzz wrote: Your target audience sounds to be in the UK, as thats where you are from and that is perhaps where you have good thoughts and input in. Consider that though. Your target audience is the UK. I for one have nearly no interest in what's going on in UK politics, and I assume that daily or nearly daily videos of UK politics will not have any world shattering changes going on regularly.
Consider also that it is extremely difficult to sell the idea of politics to the masses. The way you present it must be really informative and entertaining at the same time somehow, and that is probably really difficult to do unless you have an amazing, comedic personality. (Or maybe not, but I just have trouble imagining it!)
But even with all this said, I still think that you should always keep close to where YOUR passion lies, and what you could consider doing as a hobby instead of work. If UK politics (or whatever the topic) is where you have a lot of input and passion, then do just that. If your work truly stands out and gives input that others do not, eventually you will get attention regardless of WHAT you are talking about.
Yeah, I've widened the topic base as to discuss politics and social issues worldwide too. I'm not hoping for any massive audience, my preference would be filling a niche with a fairly stable core viewership.
I recently started posting a song of mine per day on Youtube. (I've written over 800, end of brag.) And yes, getting noticed is damn hard. I will definitely check out your channel, once you start putting up content consistently, because I kinda like the idea. The two most important things are to have fun and to keep going, even if nobody seems to watch your videos. Every person only has a limited amount of time to consume media, and we're living in a time where the sheer amount of media is overwhelming. I wish you the best of luck!
On January 18 2014 10:35 virpi wrote: I recently started posting a song of mine per day on Youtube. (I've written over 800, end of brag.) And yes, getting noticed is damn hard. I will definitely check out your channel, once you start putting up content consistently, because I kinda like the idea. The two most important things are to have fun and to keep going, even if nobody seems to watch your videos. Every person only has a limited amount of time to consume media, and we're living in a time where the sheer amount of media is overwhelming. I wish you the best of luck!
Agreed, if you wanna pm me your channel I'll make sure to check you out too ^.^ <3
On January 19 2014 02:31 Zealos wrote: About to upload my first video, an introduction. Not sure about it, but we'll see ^.^
I think it's promising. You're articulate and your voice is good. It's very ambitious which could very well turn out to be a good thing. Good luck
Yeah, I'm fairly happy with it, but feel it should be a little louder, which is down to the awkward first experience of talking to myself : D It's also gonna be a whole different thing when I have to actually talk about a subject that isn't the channel !
On January 19 2014 02:31 Zealos wrote: About to upload my first video, an introduction. Not sure about it, but we'll see ^.^
I think it's promising. You're articulate and your voice is good. It's very ambitious which could very well turn out to be a good thing. Good luck
Yeah, I'm fairly happy with it, but feel it should be a little louder, which is down to the awkward first experience of talking to myself : D It's also gonna be a whole different thing when I have to actually talk about a subject that isn't the channel !
Not having an annoying nasal voice is a good talent toi have. I teach a political science class to new university students and it's surprisingly hard for me to be articulate and coherent for 15 minutes, and when I started giving this class 2 years ago, it took me some practice and a few classes to stop stuttering and getting lost in my thoughts.
You could be able to use a script though, I don't know if you intend to or if you did. You might not even need one. But I think one of the challenges of making those videos might be the density of the information. You'll probably be giving out a lot of information in a very limited amount of time, which calls for efficiency.
On January 19 2014 02:31 Zealos wrote: About to upload my first video, an introduction. Not sure about it, but we'll see ^.^
I think it's promising. You're articulate and your voice is good. It's very ambitious which could very well turn out to be a good thing. Good luck
Yeah, I'm fairly happy with it, but feel it should be a little louder, which is down to the awkward first experience of talking to myself : D It's also gonna be a whole different thing when I have to actually talk about a subject that isn't the channel !
Not having an annoying nasal voice is a good talent toi have. I teach a political science class to new university students and it's surprisingly hard for me to be articulate and coherent for 15 minutes, and when I started giving this class 2 years ago, it took me some practice and a few classes to stop stuttering and getting lost in my thoughts.
You could be able to use a script though, I don't know if you intend to or if you did. You might not even need one. But I think one of the challenges of making those videos might be the density of the information. You'll probably be giving out a lot of information in a very limited amount of time, which calls for efficiency.
While I'm talking I have a list of bullet points that I've planned in advance, and I recorded myself in chunks when I realized I wasn't able to do a full 6 minute speech without stuttering too much : D
The video is actually really good, it contains the information I really need to have as far as I can tell, which is awesome. Your opinion is nuanced and intelligent, and your analysis seems reasonable (although I'm not hugely familiar with the topic, obviously).
I'm very surprised that my only real criticism has to do with the density of the information, which is undoubtedly one of the hardest parts of the exercise. It may be a personal preference, but by the end there, in the last few minutes, you had basically said what needed to be said and you rambled a little bit. It's no big deal really, like I said it was excellent. That said, if you can work on your delivery and hand out the information just a little bit faster, it might be better.
Also there are a few typos in your videos. It sounds silly but your serious audience will notice those things.
Overall though, props! You at least give me the initial impression that you're probably credible! Cheers.
On January 20 2014 09:44 Djzapz wrote: The video is actually really good, it contains the information I really need to have as far as I can tell, which is awesome. Your opinion is nuanced and intelligent, and your analysis seems reasonable (although I'm not hugely familiar with the topic, obviously).
I'm very surprised that my only real criticism has to do with the density of the information, which is undoubtedly one of the hardest parts of the exercise. It may be a personal preference, but by the end there, in the last few minutes, you had basically said what needed to be said and you rambled a little bit. It's no big deal really, like I said it was excellent. That said, if you can work on your delivery and hand out the information just a little bit faster, it might be better.
Also there are a few typos in your videos. It sounds silly but your serious audience will notice those things.
Overall though, props! You at least give me the initial impression that you're probably credible! Cheers.
Yeah, I had gotten back a little late, and so I felt I could have got a little more information to avoid the rambling. I'm pretty shit and spelling, sadly, so I'll have to go through it with someone to check it for me each day I think ^.^
You have pretty good information but the way you do it it feels more like a presentation. In youtube, people have short attention spans so you need to grab them from the start.
On January 20 2014 09:44 Djzapz wrote: The video is actually really good, it contains the information I really need to have as far as I can tell, which is awesome. Your opinion is nuanced and intelligent, and your analysis seems reasonable (although I'm not hugely familiar with the topic, obviously).
I'm very surprised that my only real criticism has to do with the density of the information, which is undoubtedly one of the hardest parts of the exercise. It may be a personal preference, but by the end there, in the last few minutes, you had basically said what needed to be said and you rambled a little bit. It's no big deal really, like I said it was excellent. That said, if you can work on your delivery and hand out the information just a little bit faster, it might be better.
Also there are a few typos in your videos. It sounds silly but your serious audience will notice those things.
Overall though, props! You at least give me the initial impression that you're probably credible! Cheers.
Yeah, I had gotten back a little late, and so I felt I could have got a little more information to avoid the rambling. I'm pretty shit and spelling, sadly, so I'll have to go through it with someone to check it for me each day I think ^.^
I would help but I'm le French Canadian, thanks to you oh merciful lord.
On January 21 2014 02:15 Kingsky wrote: You have pretty good information but the way you do it it feels more like a presentation. In youtube, people have short attention spans so you need to grab them from the start.
Alright, just finished my episode for today, but I understand where you are coming from, and will try to apply it for tomorrow. Any idea's for how to grab attention, while still being informative and giving the information needed?
A small note for "selling" your channel. You should look into getting thumbnails for your videos. I didn't notice your new video because it looked just like the previous one so I assumed it was the same thing. It's just a force of habit thing.
On January 22 2014 04:45 Ljas wrote: Thumbnails come with a partnership deal with Youtube, I think. It's not something a startup channel just gets that easily.
Well I'm allowed to pick a moment of the video that shows up. Anyways.
On January 22 2014 04:45 Ljas wrote: Thumbnails come with a partnership deal with Youtube, I think. It's not something a startup channel just gets that easily.
Anyone can get a partnership deal now. I'm a partner. I'll address this issue hopefully tonight when I upload my next video, if not at the weekend.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to upload yesterday, where I had family business, but uploads will resume normally as of tonight. Furthermore, in future, I will retain one or two "Backup" video's to upload if I am unable to make a video that day.
Gosh : D I wasn't convinced with my Euromaidan episode, was finishing it at 1 in the morning, and I wish I had more time to edit and look things up. Hopefully it was still reasonably interesting though ^.^
I'm trying something new with the video that I'm uploading in a few minutes, with less narration and more analysis, making the video's a little shorter but just as interesting. This is coming from feedback that I have received, but if you guys have any other thoughts, it'd be appreciated if you'd let me know ^.^
EPT
