It's a delicate balance when you involve yourself so much into one thing that you like for the sake of views and content. I binged one game series for content, but after a good chunk, it was hard to want to play much more of that game. I still love it, but the need to step away from it was strong, cause I knew if I did anymore, I'd have this taste of distain for it. And such is the trouble of making what you love into your content, too. You may be fixated on this thing (video game videos, TTRPGs, anime, embroidery, what have you) but an audience is fickle. If they come to you for one video game and suddenly you're playing something so polar opposite, they're bound to just bounce off, unsub and never see them in the channel again. It's one of the reasons I've yet gone "full content creator", cause I know my tastes and desires for what I do are too damned eclectic to be known to just doing ONE thing, despite being "GameMaster Darius" (In the sense of TTRPGs).
This is a simple issue with a simple solution that people put too much focus on. You either make things for yourself, or for others. This is also true with content. When making something for yourself, it's a passion, it's your creation that you mold and shape to the design that you want. Your aesthetic, your beliefs, your desires. This drives people to further want to create this route because it feels more like a therapy and ambition than a chore. Unburdened by all except the prospect of feeling like it's inadequate, or that you can't make it more than a hobby because it's not sustainable enough for income. This is what art is, your passion and creativity cleansed of all outside influence and judgement. The tradeoff is how it becomes a product. It's made for others, as entertainment or a service and needs be molded to their liking in order maintain relevancy. But with more restrictions, and demands, it becomes a burden, you lose the fire, and it becomes less of the thing you wanted to do in the first place. This is true with content because you can be stuck in a rut where people will leave your community if you branch off into other topics and themes, so people will choose to be a "one trick pony" when it comes to those things to keep numbers and profit. But it's no longer art, it's a product for others. Both sides are a sacrifice. Most have chosen to take the route of profit because it gives them an alternative opportunity for employee and income. However, this drains the soul from things and makes it more focused on user attention to keep those magic numbers. The path always forks, do you do this for yourself, or for others? No matter how well it works for you, the question will be ever present and you can't avoid it. People will either make demands, or leave should you chose your focus over theirs. And, as time's gone on, everything has become more product and material based over moral and sentimental. You'll have to make a choice someday. Personally, I'd rather make for myself and enjoy what I'm doing with the limited time I have because at the end of the day I can say it's mine, and it will always have soul. You just need to decide what's important to you when that time comes.
Spent some time thinking over what you had said, and yeah, you are right. Its a sacrifice and/or choice we all need to make, its one of the hardest ones you can do. I actually do appreciate this level of insight.
It's a delicate balance when you involve yourself so much into one thing that you like for the sake of views and content. I binged one game series for content, but after a good chunk, it was hard to want to play much more of that game. I still love it, but the need to step away from it was strong, cause I knew if I did anymore, I'd have this taste of distain for it.
And such is the trouble of making what you love into your content, too. You may be fixated on this thing (video game videos, TTRPGs, anime, embroidery, what have you) but an audience is fickle. If they come to you for one video game and suddenly you're playing something so polar opposite, they're bound to just bounce off, unsub and never see them in the channel again. It's one of the reasons I've yet gone "full content creator", cause I know my tastes and desires for what I do are too damned eclectic to be known to just doing ONE thing, despite being "GameMaster Darius" (In the sense of TTRPGs).
This is a simple issue with a simple solution that people put too much focus on. You either make things for yourself, or for others. This is also true with content.
When making something for yourself, it's a passion, it's your creation that you mold and shape to the design that you want. Your aesthetic, your beliefs, your desires. This drives people to further want to create this route because it feels more like a therapy and ambition than a chore. Unburdened by all except the prospect of feeling like it's inadequate, or that you can't make it more than a hobby because it's not sustainable enough for income. This is what art is, your passion and creativity cleansed of all outside influence and judgement.
The tradeoff is how it becomes a product. It's made for others, as entertainment or a service and needs be molded to their liking in order maintain relevancy. But with more restrictions, and demands, it becomes a burden, you lose the fire, and it becomes less of the thing you wanted to do in the first place. This is true with content because you can be stuck in a rut where people will leave your community if you branch off into other topics and themes, so people will choose to be a "one trick pony" when it comes to those things to keep numbers and profit. But it's no longer art, it's a product for others.
Both sides are a sacrifice. Most have chosen to take the route of profit because it gives them an alternative opportunity for employee and income. However, this drains the soul from things and makes it more focused on user attention to keep those magic numbers. The path always forks, do you do this for yourself, or for others? No matter how well it works for you, the question will be ever present and you can't avoid it. People will either make demands, or leave should you chose your focus over theirs. And, as time's gone on, everything has become more product and material based over moral and sentimental.
You'll have to make a choice someday. Personally, I'd rather make for myself and enjoy what I'm doing with the limited time I have because at the end of the day I can say it's mine, and it will always have soul. You just need to decide what's important to you when that time comes.
Spent some time thinking over what you had said, and yeah, you are right.
Its a sacrifice and/or choice we all need to make, its one of the hardest ones you can do. I actually do appreciate this level of insight.