Tag: YouTube

Stories

by MAÔ, posted in Story

The way in which we consume and process story has changed over the past 15,000 years, but not so very much. Big Fish Presentations gives a brief rundown of storytelling, but what I was thinking about was how YouTube – that incessant time waster – is just another receptacle for story. Sure, the sheer number of stories on YouTube is overwhelming. But, it has itself become a sort of ceremony.

Like early neanderthal, sitting around the fire and grunting out tales of hunts or avoiding death, and paintings on the cave walls showing these endeavors, we now turn to a new media cave wall, where the images are painted more clearly, though the grunting sometimes remains the same.

In an odd form of synchronicity, this story on Michelle Phan hit my inbox this week. Early digital influencer left the public life, but released a new video last week. Her third in two years.

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Targeted marketing

by MAÔ, posted in Economy

There’s always a moment of disquiet when an ad pops up, or a brief commercial shows before a YouTube video, which is targeted to something that I’ve just researched. The Volkswagen Electric Bus; passive income streams; buying and selling put and call  options; NaNoWriMo (yeah, it’s nearing that time again).

Sometimes I bite the hook, like when I saw a concoction of ashwagandha and turmeric – two supplements I take daily. Sometimes I ignore it. But the fact remains that what we put out comes back in a way meant to entice us to spend money.

This can be good, for instance if our life will genuinely be enriched by purchasing what is being advertised – I think specifically of researching medication options and perhaps a new treatment is shown that you can ask your doctor about.

This can be bad – do you really need another set of pans? Or, in my case, a Honda CR-V? No, I don’t.

I don’t know that there is a way to combat this. Only that we must remain diligent and think rationally when it comes to online enticements.

Creating content

by MAÔ, posted in Art

Where does content come from? There is so much being published in the internet. One hour of video is uploaded to YouTube every second. Blogs, podcasts, artwork – all flying around digitally.

How do you sort?

As a consumer, what are the important pieces?

As a creator, are you reaching your audience?

No matter how much you’re creating, or posting, or consuming, it all starts one at a time.