The United Arab Emirates and Thailand as well as Vietnam and a couple of African countries have recently joined the CBO audience: welcome.
Since the whole Marvel re-boot of the Cold War...no. No, that wasn't Marvel Comics, was it? Anyway, since everyone (politicians) decided to start making the world slightly scarier again, the one thing I noticed is that views ebb and flow on CBO. Still very high but I thought it was just me. It seems that other bloggers have experienced the same problems, however, they are panicked about letting people know view numbers have dropped. Why? It seems that they MUST speak about high view numbers and not decreased numbers. CBO still gets 2000 or so a day which is a drop of 50% (2000 is still 800-900 more than those panicking about falling views).
There is also another factor that I am becoming more aware of and that is Google/Blogger not accepting views from certain operating systems. The Peoples Republic of China/Hong Kong does not register any more yet I know CBO is being viewed there. It all comes down to "you use the systems we 'recommend' (demand) or you do not exist".
I have no idea why some bloggers do not display their stats or lie about them. One blogger told me he got around "500 views a day" and coincidentally his brother emailed me about something and I was told "He doesn't understand why he only gets 100-125 views a day". Ahem.
But this happens with You Tubers. Okay, they do -some of them- start to think they are TV stars and I often laugh when they gush about how they were "recognised" by someone who watches their "show". But with great ego comes great pissyness. One decided (he had reached video #100) to do a give-away recently but only to subscribers of his channel who commented on his watching the first video he ever made ("Oh gosh I was sooooo amateur back then -look at my hair!") BUT while watching the first video in the lower section of the screen he babbled and rambled on about non-related things. Honestly, I gave up 10 minutes in. Yesterday I checked out his new video. Ooooh, was he in a strop! It seems "only 1700 people watched that video!" He has 7,560+ subscribers. He really let people know how angry he was.
Travis Bierwagon only has 1,773 but he is far more entertaining -and no ego!
A lot -in fact a great many "Toy Hunters" have patreon support or PayPal donations. Seriously, 'hunters' -they are going out looking to buy toys. All this "I got together with the guys at the weekend and went on a hunt to see what we could find in the wild. Scope it out and pull the trigger on it and bring it back to the man-cave" is making me pee my pants with laughter. Big SUVs with 3-5 men turn up and they have cameras (watching 5 try to each record their own videos while video bombing the other or complaining about the noise from one of the others is...comical. Even sadder is when they complain that they -the You Tube celebrity- has to sneak footage in stores because they are not allowed to film (shops are private property and there are other people around and it's called "invasion of privacy") or where they can film they complain about "noisy kids -I'm trying to film!"
3-5 guys in SUVs dressed "under casually" turn up at toy stores with cameras...sounds suspicious. One of the pack goes missing -panic stations!
Seriously, the videos can be entertaining and not all toy buyers are like that. If you have the income that allows you to indulge your love of action figures or old toys -go for it. But,please, you are NOT "hunters"! There is no tracking or scoping out or pulling the trigger and "took this big boy down" (I am not going to ask how big their penises are -last time I asked one that in a toy store the police were called...and his wife). You like and buy/collect toys...often following crazes until popularity falls on those crazes then you sell and buy another toy-line. That's it.
If you have enthusiasm for a subject then people will watch or read what you have to say. Here are a few examples of why I think audiences of blogs and videos just do not give a damn so loong as they get something (entertainment) for free.
You Tuber videos
How many watched How many liked
93 22
431 31
1,340 136
2,533 297
7,642 92
15, 873 225
63,664 396
You see how that goes? If you "Like" a video it helps the person making the video know you appreciate the effort and it helps them in other ways on You Tube.
"Dislikes" tend to be ignored because it is widely known that there are certain people and even little groups who spend their free time trawling You Tube to just click the dislike button. Before a comic forum banned me a few years back for taking these "long time members" to task over this, I read how one "...get home. Have a bite to eat and then get onto You Tube. I set myself a number of videos to dislike in an hour. Click on video. Click dislike. Click next video and so on..." Then there was the "So-and-so just put up a new video -lets all give it a thumbs down!" You see, the cowards will not comment because one YT comic community member after another has learnt how to track down these 'anonymous' cowards -one was asked whether he wanted his wife and two kids to know the disgusting remarks he had repeatedly made at a female You Tuber -he vanished quickly. These people tend to be psychologically unwell.
But here is the point: 63,664 people watched a video (no dislikes) but only 396 said "Thank you. I watched your video and it entertained me for 20 minutes" by clicking that "Like" button. The others were unable about to fight their way through the titanic obstacles that repeatedly forced their cursor away from the "Like" button. That is pure disrespect for someone's efforts that you have watched. Does clicking the "Like" button send you into brain-blasting convulsions or does it turn you on to watch and then go. Or are you just ignorant as a pile of pig shit?
Even if I think someone is an ass if I watch their video I "Like" automatically because I know some effort goes into making these videos or researching subjects then uploading them (uploading can be a painful experience at times!) and whatever I think of the You Tuber it entertained me. Seriously, I have never once had a near death experience from putting the cursor onto the Like button and clicking it!
I have seen audio podcasts get just under a million listeners -300 click Like.
Now, with my Face Book Black Tower page I can see how many have viewed it. How many clicked "Like" or "Share" -those last two things help the Face Booker no end and help to promote their page and books, or whatever. I know two people who "Like" items as posted regularly. No one Shares.
On CBO the easiest way to show support is to Google+, re-Pin (Pinterest), re-Tweet or + on Google + itself. Some do and I THANK you for that. But last month there were over 18,000 views of CBO now imagine how great that would be if 50% or even 25% of those viewers actually did this post sharing!
I know a lot of you follow Kanye West and like he said he never trusts books that have those word things in them -so I do not expect you to actually type comments I would never ask you to do anything so time consuming and bloody dangerous as type a few words!). Ahem.
But imagine you do a lot of research and spend hours writing a post or making a video and then have to edit before posting/uploading and you see people are viewing it but no "Likes" or comments. What do you think that feels like? This work does not take 30 seconds you know. There is also the trend of what are being termed "mentally deficient" commenters -they will make comments such as "How did I get here" followed by "I only came here for----" or the ones who just type "First" or "FIRST!!" because they left the first comment. That's it. Most of us doubt they even watch the videos they just trawl You Tube to find a new or old video no one has commented on to just type "First" (even that is probably cut and pasted from somewhere else".
I was recently told about an Independent film maker's experience a few years back. This was in the United States and no names no embarrassment. He and his friends made a horror film. Low budget but very good I hear and they had struggled for a year to scrape the money for production together. They decided that, after having a local cinema offer to show the movie, that they would make the first night free so word could spread. Cinema was packed out. People were raving about the movie. It was decided that because they would need to pay something to the cinema owner they would make the first week half price entry and after that full price.
Come the second night, the team are outside the cinema handing out leaflets and two men walk up. Very smartly dressed and they had parked a rather expensive car just along the road.
Man #1: "Is it free entry?"
Film maker: "No, that was for the premiere night -this week it's just half price entry"
Man #2: "Our friend said it was a great film but he never paid to get in"
Film maker: "No,guys, that was for the premiere night -this week it's just half price entry"
Man #1: "Our friend told everyone is was great but he got in for free so why do we have to pay?"
At this point the film-maker and a colleague explained how much it had cost to make the movie and hopw much time and work they had put into it. The two men shrugged and pointed out (again) that their friend had raved about the movie and got in for free.
Film-maker: "Sorry, guys -that was premier only"
Man #1: "But we have to pay to get in. Can't be that good a movie"
They then walked off. The film-maker and his colleague looked at each other. At first they thought it was a joke but if it was "they were better actors than some in the movie!" The same thing happened two more times -"It ain't for free? Can't be that good".
Do not blame the internet or anything else. This is solely and purely down to people. "I want! I want!!" but they do not support people who create in any way, shape or form. Why should they -even if they get something for nothing.
Remember that it takes time and a lot of effort whether its blogging, video making or even making Indie films so if you watch or read do not be an ignorant self centred pig (apologies to pigs) and please show support by Liking -or whatever.
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