3 ms·

I just want to read about/see things created by people who like what they are doing and who aren't chasing fans/subscribers/patrons. The most interesting stuff

by floren 5y ago

I just want to read about/see things created by people who like what they are doing and who aren't chasing fans/subscribers/patrons. The most interesting stuff on the Internet, to me, is when a person puts up a crappy HTML page with 5 years worth of notes about using a particular hiking backpack. The presence of a single affiliate marketing link makes anyone's opinion instantly suspect. A link to a Patreon page invalidates the very "authentic" feeling they were striving for.

kasey_junk 5y ago
Do you feel the same way about the music, shows and movies you watch or listen to? I certainly like the occasional homemade passion project and community theater but I’d really hate it if that was the totality of the entertainment offerings available.
- fullshark 5y ago
  Well there is entertainment that exists in order to get you spend money on the product itself. Don't mind that, as presumably the goal is to produce great entertainment. But there is entertainment designed to get your spend money on something else (product placement, kids movies that are actually toy advertisements, talk shows that are actually advertisements for whatever the guest is promoting, etc). Those I find quite annoying. The only exception I can think of is the TV show Shark Tank, which has interesting investment dicussions surrounded by countless advertisements for products within the entertainment itself. So a blog post where the guy teases his next entry -> don't mind. A blog post where the guy constantly intersperses affiliate links with ad copy -> irritating.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
exdsq 5y ago
Feels like everyone nowadays plays video games to try and become rich/famous rather than just for fun too. Try play Apex Legends or Warzone and everyone has 'TTV' in their gamertag trying to push people towards their streams. Even my mum asks me if I'm going to monetise my hobbies of hydroponics. "Hustle culture" has taken over and I hate it so much.
- floren 5y ago
  "You're so creative, you should sell this stuff on Etsy!" "Wow, this pie is incredible, you should open a bakery!" I think Californians might be worse about it than most, too. Maybe it's all the pressure of keeping up with insane cost of living, plus the feeling that there's just so much stupid money sloshing around that surely you should be able to scoop some of it up...
  - exdsq 5y ago
    Yep - I live in Palo Alto and mentioned I was training for a half Ironman. Someone asked if I was blogging my journey and what my ad strategy was to bring in revenue.
tootie 5y ago
That's really harsh and will prevent anyone from ever committing to what they're doing. There's loads of independent creators who are doing sincere, authentic work but they can't do it for free. And if you're consuming creator content on a platform like YouTube, they're getting ad dollars just by dint of being on the platform without saying a word. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for support to do something that others are deriving value from. It's like people will gladly pay $15/mo for Netflix with the expectation that it's commercial content, but get mad when someone who makes great content with no upfront price suggests their work is worth something.
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  I agree, the "problem" is on the consumption side not the production side. I don't expect my bricklayer or cabinet maker for coder to enjoy their job. I buy what they are making. The fact is that there is and always will be a market for consumerization Hobbies. People who would rather watch someone play a game then play a game, watch a band than play in one. Yes, more people try to be creators than will be successful at it. So what? Unless they try to socialize the costs of their experiment, good for them. Life is an adventure and you are free to make mistakes.
- PeterisP 5y ago
  But that's kind of the whole point - just as the parent poster implies, I very much like content from people who are not "creators", for whom that project is a side hobby and their primary identity is not as the creator of these things, where they're doing it for themselves and not for an audience or me. If some or most of them can't commit to that as a profession, that's fine, there's far too much content anyway, and if most of the content-makers quit and only the "hardcore hobbyists" remain, those who would do that even if they had to pay for it, that's an okay outcome which still leaves more than enough content, and the good stuff does not get drowned out by fake garbage manufactured by those who want "random content creation" to be a profession. We have far too many independent creators who are motivated by money as that money pushes the "market" towards bullshit, so we need fewer of them and need to push some of them out. Less money flowing for views of that content is a way to achieve that.

by floren 5y ago

kasey_junk 5y ago

Do you feel the same way about the music, shows and movies you watch or listen to? I certainly like the occasional homemade passion project and community theater but I’d really hate it if that was the totality of the entertainment offerings available.

fullshark 5y ago
Well there is entertainment that exists in order to get you spend money on the product itself. Don't mind that, as presumably the goal is to produce great entertainment. But there is entertainment designed to get your spend money on something else (product placement, kids movies that are actually toy advertisements, talk shows that are actually advertisements for whatever the guest is promoting, etc). Those I find quite annoying. The only exception I can think of is the TV show Shark Tank, which has interesting investment dicussions surrounded by countless advertisements for products within the entertainment itself. So a blog post where the guy teases his next entry -> don't mind. A blog post where the guy constantly intersperses affiliate links with ad copy -> irritating.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

exdsq 5y ago

Feels like everyone nowadays plays video games to try and become rich/famous rather than just for fun too. Try play Apex Legends or Warzone and everyone has 'TTV' in their gamertag trying to push people towards their streams. Even my mum asks me if I'm going to monetise my hobbies of hydroponics. "Hustle culture" has taken over and I hate it so much.

floren 5y ago
"You're so creative, you should sell this stuff on Etsy!" "Wow, this pie is incredible, you should open a bakery!" I think Californians might be worse about it than most, too. Maybe it's all the pressure of keeping up with insane cost of living, plus the feeling that there's just so much stupid money sloshing around that surely you should be able to scoop some of it up...
- exdsq 5y ago
  Yep - I live in Palo Alto and mentioned I was training for a half Ironman. Someone asked if I was blogging my journey and what my ad strategy was to bring in revenue.

tootie 5y ago

That's really harsh and will prevent anyone from ever committing to what they're doing. There's loads of independent creators who are doing sincere, authentic work but they can't do it for free. And if you're consuming creator content on a platform like YouTube, they're getting ad dollars just by dint of being on the platform without saying a word. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for support to do something that others are deriving value from. It's like people will gladly pay $15/mo for Netflix with the expectation that it's commercial content, but get mad when someone who makes great content with no upfront price suggests their work is worth something.

s1artibartfast 5y ago
I agree, the "problem" is on the consumption side not the production side. I don't expect my bricklayer or cabinet maker for coder to enjoy their job. I buy what they are making. The fact is that there is and always will be a market for consumerization Hobbies. People who would rather watch someone play a game then play a game, watch a band than play in one. Yes, more people try to be creators than will be successful at it. So what? Unless they try to socialize the costs of their experiment, good for them. Life is an adventure and you are free to make mistakes.
PeterisP 5y ago
But that's kind of the whole point - just as the parent poster implies, I very much like content from people who are not "creators", for whom that project is a side hobby and their primary identity is not as the creator of these things, where they're doing it for themselves and not for an audience or me. If some or most of them can't commit to that as a profession, that's fine, there's far too much content anyway, and if most of the content-makers quit and only the "hardcore hobbyists" remain, those who would do that even if they had to pay for it, that's an okay outcome which still leaves more than enough content, and the good stuff does not get drowned out by fake garbage manufactured by those who want "random content creation" to be a profession. We have far too many independent creators who are motivated by money as that money pushes the "market" towards bullshit, so we need fewer of them and need to push some of them out. Less money flowing for views of that content is a way to achieve that.