So I made a YouTube video and a TikTok video about the same thing. The YouTube video got 1,000 views, the tiktok got 42,000 views The TikTok got me 120 followers within like 2 days, from one 30 second clip that I put together in less than an hour. The YouTube video has gained me 10-20 subscribers. On paper, the tiktok did a lot better, and I should be focusing on that, but I really don't want to. Even though I got 42,000 views, nothing has changed, other than I can get a little bit more clout from saying it. If I got 42,000 views on a YouTube video, I'd likely be monetized, possibly in talks for a small brand deal, and have an audience that follows me. That's not the case with tiktok. In fact it's not even close. I know people who have thousands of "followers" on TikTok, have some videos with millions of views, and yet they can't make ANY money from it. Like they technically have a following, but they just lack the "influence". It's easy to get distracted by the low hanging fruit that is TikTok views, but in reality they seem to mean very little. In general, the shorter your content is, the easier it is to get views, but also the less a view is worth. From a feature movie, to a youtube video, to a tiktok.

I was setting up to film. Lights. Camera. Aaah sh**...my camera....I accidentally knocked it over and it smashed on the floor. In the midst of the sadness and grief I was experiencing, I remembered a quote (which I'll paraphrase): "How you do anything is how you do everything." I realised that how I react to this event - which is out of my control and very unsettling - is how I'll likely react to other situations that trigger the same emotions. Why is this relevant to you releasing content? Well, there are many factors that are out of your control when you release content which can be unsettling: - You may get zero views and no engagement. - Nobody may like it. - You may receive criticism and ridicule But what's important is how you choose to respond to these uncertainties that will make (or break) all the difference to everything in your life. Be open, life is more enjoyable that way. https://youtu.be/ssoT3q_cw9w

If you didn't know already, there is currently a 90 free trial for final cut pro. It's a perfect time to try it out if you haven't already. I felt overwhelmed while going through the learning process, but ultimately I am glad I tried it. Here is the final result. https://youtu.be/_PX-gb8p9rk

I believe this community is a super powerful resource. But there are stretches of time where I don’t log on or interact with the rest of you folks. So I came up with a weekly plan to help stay engaged in the group. It’s quite simple (and _sort of_ similar to the 6 week challenge). Each week, all I have to do is create one original post and comment on 5 other posts/comments. Having this goal helps me stay on top of reading through the feed, leaving meaningful feedback on other’s posts, and contributing new useful content to share. In the near future, I might want to add reaching out to one new person, or scheduling another call/chat with someone I’ve met before. Some people are already good at responding/posting content here, but for those like me, this could be an interesting thing to try! –––––––––––––––––– EDIT BELOW –––––––––––––––––– Sometimes it is hard to come out with an original piece of content to post here each week. Would hate to burden anyone with something of little value and make the feed noisy. So I've come up with a solution. If I can't come up with an original post worth sharing, I will just double up my comment contributions from 5 to 10.

I've essentially only made "talking head" videos. They are easy to film and conceptualize. But it was hard to get my personality to fully break through on camera. I had some friends say that I come across as too serious in my videos (I'm quite a jokester in real life). So I tried a completely new format– a mini sketch! It's pretty embarrassing– my acting is not so good, but it was a BLAST to make. Plus, it helps me introduce more play into the video. I've seen folks like Captain Sinbad mess around with different comedy sketches, and it's a fun way to spice up the channel and attract new audiences. We'll see how well it performs. But more importantly, I broke past some fears of mine, and really tried to find more of my voice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXSUNZ7qtdo