The State of the Mechanical Keyboard Hobby | Keyboard Thoughts EP. 1 ft. Theremingoat

Today we are going to be talking with a more seasoned creator Theremingoat and getting his honest thoughts on various different topics, but they all sort of connect to whether or not the mechanical keyboard scene is dying/dead. Hope you enjoy :D
Amiro's original video: • The keyboard hobby is ...
Theremingoat's Content: www.theremingoat.com/
Sorry for the delay in uploads this one definitely took me a bit longer to make lol
Note: This is my first time ever doing content like this so the video topics and thoughts might be a bit scatter-brained sorry!
- I got tired of hearing my own voice after editing this lol
- Added Timestamps for easier viewing! Tried my best to make them as good as possible :D (located at the bottom of description)
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0:00 Intro
0:23 Main Reason for this Conversation
0:54 "Do you think the Keyboard Scene is Dying/Dead?"
- Theremingoat Introduction
- How/When I entered the hobby
- The hobby exploding due to the Pandemic
6:04 "How was the Hobby before it exploded?"
- The building blocks of the Hobby (geekhack, etc.)
- Standout Pre-Pandemic Keyboards
10:24 The Origin of Group Buys & Their Purpose
- Shining the light on only the negatives
- The hobby was not developed
17:15 "Do you think that the Market has become Oversaturated?"
- Is Creativity Blooming?
- Zero Blueprint for how to run a Keyboard Company/Group Buy
- Lack of Creativity is due to Pushback against Group Buys
- Less Group Buys = Less Risks taken
25:31 "What kind of Innovation would you like to see?"
- Group Buy innovation
- PayPal issues with Group Buys
- PayPal request refund scams
- Keyboard Companies going bankrupt
38:35 "Whos fault is it Company or Manufacturer?"
- Too high of expectations?
- Theremingoat's Hot Take?!
47:28 Sound, Design, and Feel of a Keyboard
- Sound & Looks don't matter as much as feel
- More care and detail put into keyboards
- more unique classy/futuristic designs
54:31 Unique and new ideas, but nobody seems to care?
- Specifically for switches
- ball bearing switches?!
- Keyboard companies suck at marketing their products
59:38 Content Creator issues
- reflecting on my issues
- Why did I come back to making content
- create content because you enjoy it
1:05:03 Content Creators are different than Regular Consumers
- some creators don't truly care about keyboards
- creators highjacking the hobby to grow their channel
- new content creator tips
- create content out of your enjoyment
1:15:00 Final Thoughts
- Answering the main question at hand
- Summary of everything
- Outro of this very enjoyable convo :D

[@PrestonsThoughts]

Detailed Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:23 Main Reason for this Conversation
0:54 "Do you think the Keyboard Scene is Dying/Dead?"
- Theremingoat Introduction
- How/When I entered the hobby
- The hobby exploding due to the Pandemic
6:04 "How was the Hobby before it exploded?"
- The building blocks of the Hobby (geekhack, etc.)
- Standout Pre-Pandemic Keyboards
10:24 The Origin of Group Buys & Their Purpose
- Shining the light on only the negatives
- The hobby was not developed
17:15 "Do you think that the Market has become Oversaturated?"
- Is Creativity Blooming?
- Zero Blueprint for how to run a Keyboard Company/Group Buy
- Lack of Creativity is due to Pushback against Group Buys
- Less Group Buys = Less Risks taken
25:31 "What kind of Innovation would you like to see?"
- Group Buy innovation
- PayPal issues with Group Buys
- PayPal request refund scams
- Keyboard Companies going bankrupt
38:35 "Whos fault is it Company or Manufacturer?"
- Too high of expectations?
- Theremingoat's Hot Take?!
47:28 Sound, Design, and Feel of a Keyboard
- Sound & Looks don't matter as much as feel
- More care and detail put into keyboards
- more unique classy/futuristic designs
54:31 Unique and new ideas, but nobody seems to care?
- Specifically for switches
- ball bearing switches?!
- Keyboard companies suck at marketing their products
59:38 Content Creator issues
- reflecting on my issues
- Why did I come back to making content
- create content because you enjoy it
1:05:03 Content Creators are different than Regular Consumers
- some creators don't truly care about keyboards
- creators highjacking the hobby to grow their channel
- new content creator tips
- create content out of your enjoyment
1:15:00 Final Thoughts
- Answering the main question at hand
- Summary of everything
- Outro of this very enjoyable convo :D

[@J7T800]

I think the hobby just boomed during a time when almost everyone was at home. It's hard to even bring up what happened in 2020-2021 because of just how bad it got, but one of the few silver linings was the upward trend of custom mechanical keyboards being introduced to a bigger audience. Everyone in the hobby was glued to what's coming next, then the hype slowly died down when the prices became more competitive.
I'm all for the idea of letting everyone get a stab at custom keyboards, but at some point, interest just wasn't as lucrative given that the feeling of novelty wasn't there anymore. You have so many affordable keyboard kits out there, that what's even the point of innovating and changing the mold? Innovating means cutting into profits, and at the end of the day, all of the mainstream companies value money. Keyboards got so good to a point where there's no reason to buy the really high end experimental stuff unless you're a long term enthusiast or you have a hole burning in your pocket.
The hobby isn't dead or dying. It's just going back to a more "cult-like" state again.

[@Sean1647]

Really cool to see the GOAT himself and hear his thoughts on this

[@PrestonsThoughts]

Agreed 😎😎

[@DvineDragoon]

Wtf i thought Goat was Asian

[@haybail7618]

I don’t like how theremingoat is making it seem like feel is the only valid part of keyboards to be interested in

[@PrestonsThoughts]

thats the beauty of the hobby! Nobody is really right or wrong it is just personal preference :D

[@Callsign-Dingo-7]

I think Theremingoat was more so speaking to his personal preference and the overall trend of the time when he was starting out prioritized feel over sound.
By all means, I like looks and sound as much as the next person, but my personal impression of the feel that he was speaking to was more so to functional aspects of different keyboards like macro keys on the side, extreme southpaw layouts, goofy 40s and ergodoxes, etc etc. Just some food for thought.

[@haybail7618]

@@Callsign-Dingo-7 "I think people should care a ton less of what their keyboards look like. I think sound aesthetics, I think design aesthetics, are dumb. Full stop."
I think saying this in the opening of his answer could be problematic to newcomers because they could misinterpret it as not being real hobby enjoyment if it is not feel that you are tinkering with

[@PrestonsThoughts]

Well he did start by saying "I think" so it's just his own opinion