We have made it to December. That doesn’t seem like a huge accomplishment, but it is. I’ve come to find out some of the older hockey guys I know and have played with are barely alive. One guy had (and might still have) cancer while another had knee surgery. I also found out that one of the figure skating coaches for our area (that I had known through working at the ice rink) committed suicide this year.
I don’t know why he did what he did. I don’t know how he did what he did. Knowing the details wouldn’t make me feel any better. When I found out, I was shocked. At first, I wasn’t bothered by it because I was trying to keep my mind off it by working. Then emotions hit me like a brick wall. While I only casually knew this person, his suicide affected me. I don’t want any to ever commit suicide. The fact that I knew someone who did it just makes me feel awful. Suicide is worse than death for me. Death is sad because you never get to interact with that person again. Suicide is worse because that person killed themself.
His suicide has affected my mental health recently. We just got out of “Movember”. Movember is a movement about men’s health. The movement is primarily about mental health. I talk about my mental health on occasion in these update blogs. I think mental health is something that other people need to know. If no one else knows then no one can help. Movember made this video about one of the Humboldt Broncos survivors. If you don’t know about the Humboldt Broncos and the tragedy that struck them click here. The video about the Humboldt Broncos survivor is well done and something that everyone should see.
What Happened in November
On a lighter subject, here’s what happened in November. I started a new job. I am working two jobs now. I went from working 30 hours a week to 70 hours a week. That doesn’t give me a lot of time for content creation. I had planned to release 4 blogs in November. I missed the deadlines for a few of them. It’s too late now to release them. I will be working on getting better with deadlines in December. Deadlines are something that I have always struggled with and something that I think I will always struggle with.
One of the reasons I haven’t made all of the videos I want too is because YouTube is making some changes. One of the biggest changes YouTube is making is being compliant with the FTC and the COPPA. COPPA will change the landscape of YouTube starting on January 1, 2020. Honestly what’s happening with the FTC scares me as a creator. However, it’s too much information to talk about in this blog. Here are some videos about it:
In trying to be compliant with YouTube and the FTA I have been making my videos for kids or not for kids. It took me about two weeks to go through all 3 of my channel’s videos (which is over 400 combined videos). That’s part of why I haven’t been creating videos. I am somewhat trying to see how this plays out before I move forward. There is a more immediate threat that I am worried about just as much. Starting December 10, 2019, if a YouTube channel is not commercially viable then YouTube can delete it. While my content on YouTube can be commercially viable, in its current state it is not. This is a way YouTube has created to delete any channel they want to. I can see that as a good thing because it saves them from lawsuits when they delete channels that are bad for the site. Like channels that only upload low-quality Family Guy clips. There is some panic as there is the possibility that anyone who isn’t making YouTube money will be deleted.
This brings me to my backup plan. I don’t have one. Unfortunately, YouTube is the unrivaled king of online video creation. I don’t think that the content I create will work on another platform that I am currently on. Twitter and Instagram won’t work. Videos on twitter are usually no longer than a few minutes except for being live videos. Instagram won’t allow users to upload more than a 30-second video. While Reddit is a good place to upload certain content, Reddit doesn’t want self-promotion. Meaning that they don’t want people to just post their content. Facebook seems like the strongest alternative. I think Facebook would only work in the short term. People don’t use Facebook like YouTube. While uploading videos is similar, Facebook users don’t go to Facebook to watch a 20-minute video or just to watch videos. I think that if my channel gets deleted that I will upload videos to Facebook until I find an alternative.
What to expect in December
I am not working on expanding too much right now. I don’t have a lot of time to create content. I am waiting on that December 10, 2019, deadline to see if my channels are deleted. If that happens then I don’t have to worry about the FTC or COPPA in January because I will have changed platforms. I have something like 7ish blogs planned out as of right now. I have a lot of content planned but for now, I am mostly waiting to see what happens on December 10, 2019.
I missed the original deadline for my Thank You Fans video. It’s taking me a lot longer to make than last year’s video. I will have it out before January 1, 2020. Along with that video, I do want to make a few compilation videos. Those being best of Truckee, the Battle Born Brigade and the Douglas Alley Renegades.
I have GoPro hockey videos that I am creating. The first one of this season should be out by the time this blog comes out. We have a hockey group. We are playing on Fridays. Join us on Facebook.
I am working on some Nerf gameplay videos. I did join a local Nerf group. I did go to their November event. I did record gameplay footage. I want to do a video for each gameplay type. That video will be accompanied by a blog right here on this website. The videos will probably be unlisted on YouTube. The reason for that being that the videos don’t fit into music, hockey or soccer.
That’s all I have for this blog. Expect another update blog around December 10 that will talk about YouTube and being commercially viable. Thank you for reading through this. Follow me on social media to never miss what is going on.
Zac Electrifly 