Bent's Channel

[Cheese]

To be clear, I'm not against anyone making money as long as it's legal money and the Utube thing appears to be in keeping with that theme. I just have a knee-jerk reaction to folks that simply purchase a Dewalt sander and a Shopmate vac, make a few videos and then go on to proclaim they know woodworking inside and out....and then they get financially rewarded for their vapid videos simply because of the number of  "HITS" on their utube channel.  [huh]

When the "Influencers" commercial success is based upon flooding the zone with multiple lengthy videos...along with the number of likes and the number of "thumbs up" and not on the quality of the video content itself...ya...that's when I have a problem with the situation.

Like I said, the metal working folks seem more altruistic and seem less likely to whore out their craft and they also seem more genuine about spreading factual information and helping people with their journey as opposed to simply chasing the $$$ like the woodworking segment.

This ultimately makes me feel bad...because among other disciplines, I am a woodworker.  [sad] [sad] [sad]

 

[Svar]

Like I said, the metal working folks seem more altruistic and seem less likely to whore out their craft and they also seem more genuine about spreading factual information and helping people with their journey as opposed to simply chasing the $$$ like the woodworking segment.
This ultimately makes me feel bad...because among other disciplines, I am a woodworker.  [sad] [sad] [sad]

Metalworking is a niche hobby. Or rather a trade with fewer hobbyists. Woodworking is much more popular because it is tied with remodeling and home improvement. I made half the furniture in our house with most basic tools, and it's better than store bought stuff. I can't think of many useful things I could have made as a metalworking hobbyist. Some fitting here and there? Not gonna turn replacement crankshaft for my car. Not much use for a metal lathe for an average homeowner. Hence, woodworking is much bigger market for consumer grade tools and all the negatives and grift that come with that.

 

[woodbutcherbower]

The "over the top" headlines and/or thumbnail pics are just there to get clicks.

This ^^^^^^^ is the exact reason why I don't watch YouTube videos. I've been burned way too many times.

 

[luvmytoolz]

For my job I often need to research obscure software/hardware faults, and it's very frustrating that 99% of the relative info on Youtube is usually not much more than wild guesses, or inconclusive results along the lines of "I held my finger this way and it worked". So I treat it simply as a data aggregator most of the time, taking the average as a rough guide.

Having said that, I do love chilling occasionally with a beer or three, and zoning out with anything from smelting, metalworking and resin/woodworking. For the latter especially Ishitani Furniture, Blacktail Studio, Foureyes Furniture, and Darrell Peart, etc.

For those into metalworking Oxtoolco is great along with Abom79, Keith Fenner, and of course TubalCain, and Clickspring is a special delight!

Most of the time I don't care if I'm learning anything, as even seeing how well or badly someone is using a tool, or doing something, is still somewhat a learning experience.

And I don't really care what tools or machines are used, as I enjoy watching the processes people come up with, and it's always good to help build up a meaningful idea of how useful a particular tool will be. I watched practically every video there was on the Zeta, to determine how good a fit it would be before buying one. Happy to say it's well exceeded my expectations.

Some though I really struggle with, almost anything with Sedge despite his obvious skills and experience is unfortunately in that category for me. I just can't warm up to the likes of videos like that.

 

[Mini Me]

Some though I really struggle with, almost anything with Sedge despite his obvious skills and experience is unfortunately in that category for me. I just can't warm up to the likes of videos like that.

Ditto, I don't know why but I can't stand the man or is it his style?

 

[peter halle]

I have nothing against those who attempt to make a living shooting videos except when they purport to be experts and they aren't.  Just disclose clearly that your opinions and the way you do things may be altered by the fact that you have a sponsorship or advertising deal with xxxx and I'm ok with that.  Make your disclosure in the video or video description and don't make me click to go to your website (so as to increase website traffic.). Don't do the clickbait thing.

I will not participate in Patreon.  I didn't go to my customers and ask for financial support so that I could gear up to make money as a contractor.  Actors have long had a history of working another job while they were working at establishing themselves in their chosen profession.  And just like actors and anyone in the entertainment industry, they better have a plan "B" for when things don't go their way because it will happen to them sometime because all it takes to be out is a change in marketing direction or even marketing personnel at the sponsor.

Peter

 

[simonh]

It's sadly the state of YouTube regardless of what niche you are in.

I somewhat agree the metalworking fields isn't as commercial as the woodworking scene. More recently there are lots of videos where if you don't have a Furick Tig cup then as a newcomer you'd wonder how could you possible weld. It does seem a field with less gadgets than woodworking and maybe that's a good thing.

I did like a lot of the guy buys run down cabin/chateau in remote place and does it up / lives the alternative lifestyle. However, these soon get take over by the sponsors. And the representation of life is not real as its supported by a healthy YouTube/Instagram career rather than man in the street who'd have to work or odd job or hunt or whatever to support their activity. Kris Habour is still my favorite as he keeps it more real and make electrohydro stuff on the side to support himself.

Bradshaw joinery is well worth a watch. It's his business so not all arty production stuff but if you really want to learn to do traditional joinery (windows/doors/pegola).

 

[krudawg]

For my job I often need to research obscure software/hardware faults, and it's very frustrating that 99% of the relative info on Youtube is usually not much more than wild guesses, or inconclusive results along the lines of "I held my finger this way and it worked". So I treat it simply as a data aggregator most of the time, taking the average as a rough guide.

Having said that, I do love chilling occasionally with a beer or three, and zoning out with anything from smelting, metalworking and resin/woodworking. For the latter especially Ishitani Furniture, Blacktail Studio, Foureyes Furniture, and Darrell Peart, etc.

For those into metalworking Oxtoolco is great along with Abom79, Keith Fenner, and of course TubalCain, and Clickspring is a special delight!

Most of the time I don't care if I'm learning anything, as even seeing how well or badly someone is using a tool, or doing something, is still somewhat a learning experience.

And I don't really care what tools or machines are used, as I enjoy watching the processes people come up with, and it's always good to help build up a meaningful idea of how useful a particular tool will be. I watched practically every video there was on the Zeta, to determine how good a fit it would be before buying one. Happy to say it's well exceeded my expectations.

Some though I really struggle with, almost anything with Sedge despite his obvious skills and experience is unfortunately in that category for me. I just can't warm up to the likes of videos like that.

So now we are going after Sedge?  Holy Cow, who's next?  Vince the Sham-wow pitchman? Come on guys, leave Sedge alone; he is the face of Festool and I really like his videos

 

[peter halle]

Hey, Sedge is just being Sedge.  He has a very serious side and in conversation will try to explain how to do something at the level of the asker.  In other words he will listen then give advice.  When you get him in front of a crowd he gets excited doing demoing and teaching and is like a Labrador puppy.  Except he doesn't get so excited that he pees on the floor.  He does believe that learning should be fun and he tries to practice that.  He does not believe droll presentations.  I wish that in person training would make a come-back so that more people could meet Sedge and also Brent in person and pick up the tidbits of info that come out naturally when in person.

Peter

 

[jeh]

Hey, Sedge is just being Sedge.  He has a very serious side and in conversation will try to explain how to do something at the level of the asker.  In other words he will listen then give advice.  When you get him in front of a crowd he gets excited doing demoing and teaching and is like a Labrador puppy.  Except he doesn't get so excited that he pees on the floor.  He does believe that learning should be fun and he tries to practice that.  He does not believe droll presentations.  I wish that in person training would make a come-back so that more people could meet Sedge and also Brent in person and pick up the tidbits of info that come out naturally when in person.

Peter

From his voice I am all but certain he is from New England. The one like him who carry the strong accent come across as gruff and abrasive to some not used to it. Nothing to do with his skills or presentations. It is no different than those who have problems with people from the south who speak slowly. It is very trying for some to wait for a sentence to be completed.

 

[squall_line]

Hey, Sedge is just being Sedge.  He has a very serious side and in conversation will try to explain how to do something at the level of the asker.  In other words he will listen then give advice.  When you get him in front of a crowd he gets excited doing demoing and teaching and is like a Labrador puppy.  Except he doesn't get so excited that he pees on the floor.  He does believe that learning should be fun and he tries to practice that.  He does not believe droll presentations.  I wish that in person training would make a come-back so that more people could meet Sedge and also Brent in person and pick up the tidbits of info that come out naturally when in person.

Peter

It is no different than those who have problems with people from the south who speak slowly. It is very trying for some to wait for a sentence to be completed.

Sedge reminds me of a few guys I used to teach motorcycle safety classes with.  Some were very dry and dull and/or rough and matter-of-fact, but some just had a love of motorcycles and teaching that really came out when they were in front of a group.  I miss that energy in person.

The Project Farm videos are pretty good when I need to get a comparison of different items that I'm looking to buy, but boy howdy did it take me a few videos to get used to his speaking style / volume.

The beauty of YouTube is that for the Southern Drawl channels (and, quite frankly, others that are being deliberate and paced in their presentations, which is a good thing), I can usually crank the speed up to 150, 175, or even sometimes 200% and still follow and understand everything that is being presented.  I'm not sure I've ever really made it higher than 125% consistently with Sedge on his earlier Festool Live videos.

 

[ChuckM]

Watching any technical videos requires certain skills that not everyone knows. Speeding up is one trick to deal with long-winded presenters, but if a YouTuber unknown to you like the one below who deliberately fills their videos with self-promotion and fillers (do longer videos bring more money?), you need another trick.

Scan the first several comments to see if someone complains about where you should start. In the case below, 6:12:
=MIxFYsYdjsq1TKIP

Whoa, this YouTuber added 6 minutes of material (maybe more because the video is 9 mins long) to bore his viewers to death?!!!. I spent less than 1 min. on this video. Needless to say, I'll avoid his clips if they happen to pop up again.

 

[woodferret]

Min length for ads.

 

[ChuckM]

Is that what it was? No wonder people enjoyed the early days of YouTube.

 

[simonh]

I must admit I find myself hitting the FF or using the timeline in videos a lot more these days to shorten them down.  I'm not wanting #shorts or TikTok but I am getting less patient with YouTube stuff.

I have enjoyed Christopher Schwarz never sponsored substack.  I did think that maybe a swing back to the written form with no ads or gifted maybe the future.  I even fancied the idea of a starting a substack myself to document stuff or review things without any commercial aspect. The problem is 99% of us can't write with anything like the captivating skill of Schwarz!

 

[Packard]

But I guess I'm no longer their target audience.  Makes me wonder who is?

The advertisers. They keep an eye on several metrics, […}

I think advertisers need to be mindful of their responsibility.  When they advertise on a site, they are, in effect giving a subtle (or not too subtle) endorsement of the video.

If I see a Festool ad as a preface to a video, I make a unconscious assumption that someone at Festool has watched the video and the video does not promote any unsafe or risky techniques. 

I occasionally see negative notations like “SuperTool does not approve or endorse any techniques shown in this video.  Observe safe tool practices at all times.”

That falls short of what I think the advertisers’ responsibility lies.  Something like:

“Delta’s manual calls for unplugging the saw when changing blades.  This video does not show that.  Make sure you understand the risks involved when deviating from the owners’ manual’s recommendations.”

 

[Cheese]

For those into metalworking Oxtoolco is great along with Abom79, Keith Fenner, and of course TubalCain, and Clickspring is a special delight!

To that metalworking list I'd add Tom Lipton @ Oxtoolco, Robin Renzetti @ Robrenz, Spencer Webb @ Kinetic Precision and the earlier Adam Booth videos @ Abom79 before he decided to monetize everything including his very existence.  [tongue]

 

[squall_line]

If I see a Festool ad as a preface to a video, I make a unconscious assumption that someone at Festool has watched the video and the video does not promote any unsafe or risky techniques. 

This would be a good time to free yourself from this cognitive model.  Advertisers such as Festool do not vet the videos that they have their ads attached to any more than Pepsi or Ford do.  The only possible exception to this is a sponsored video, but even then, the sponsor rarely has direct input to the output.

Do Ford, BMW, or Hyundai explicitly endorse or not endorse the content of an NFL football game?  No, they care about the demographics who are viewing it, not the program itself.

 

[jeffinsgf]

This thread has dredged up the memory of when an "expert" was someone who had the chops (both in their area of expertise and in communication skills) to sell themselves to a publisher...and then follow up publication with an acceptable level of book sales.

James Krenov, Frank Klaus, Sam Maloof and Tage Frid for examples.

 

[HighlandMarine]

Hey, Sedge is just being Sedge.  He has a very serious side and in conversation will try to explain how to do something at the level of the asker.  In other words he will listen then give advice.  When you get him in front of a crowd he gets excited doing demoing and teaching and is like a Labrador puppy.  Except he doesn't get so excited that he pees on the floor.  He does believe that learning should be fun and he tries to practice that.  He does not believe droll presentations.  I wish that in person training would make a come-back so that more people could meet Sedge and also Brent in person and pick up the tidbits of info that come out naturally when in person.

Peter

This. ^^^^

Sedge is one of the most kind, patient, and humble human beings you could meet.

Also, definitely agree with Cheese on old Abom79 from his OG shop, Saturday Night Specials were always a good time.