A Return to Blogging - Sort Of

Hello Old Friends!

It's been three years since I last posted anything.  I stopped writing for two reasons.  First, I didn't have much to say.  Second, the rise of video blogs on YouTube pretty much killed written blogs here.

But now I'm back.  And, ironically, YouTube is the reason.

After spending years watching many hundreds of coming out videos - and noticing how dramatically their tone has changed since 2010 - I got the itch to contribute my own story.

The thing about YouTube is that it is not the open platform it once was.  The algorithm that directs users to content strictly controls what is seen, thereby leaving users at the mercy the YouTube Gods.
I knew this in advance, yet I was determined to persevere.

Using a new Google account, I created a channel and uploaded some videos.  Very quickly I came to feel like a grain of sand on a very large beach.  My viewership expectations were pretty low but I figured, if I was still getting 500 page views here a month after not posting for years (probably 98% bots), it would be reasonable to get half of that on YouTube.  Nope!  800 views in 15 months.  Even the bots couldn't find me.

For most of those 15 months I didn't post anything new.  Why bother?  And for most of that time, the strong impulse I had to tell my story by video was sated.  But here I am...starting again.

I keep asking myself WHY....why do I want to post my story on YouTube?  Honestly, who really gives a shit about my messed-up life?

The answer: because YouTube is full of young people giving each other advice and, when it comes to relationships, they often don't know WTF they're talking about.  There isn't a lot of meaningful real-life content out there, especially stories that draw you in and develop over a long period of time.  Of course I might be delusional, but I believe there is an audience for what I have to share.  I just need the Blessing of the Algorithm to find it.

Which is where this old blog and the four of you who are real people come in.

My next post on this blog will be an embedded video from YouTube.  If you would be so kind as to go to YouTube, let the video play its full-length, watch it 100 or 1,000 times (always until the end), as well as comment multiple times and subscribe using both your and your dog's YouTube accounts, I would be grateful.

That said, please keep your expectations low for the quality of the content.  Very low.  Compare it to watching an 11 minute video of a young gay couple living together where one guy pranks his boyfriend by ignoring him for 45 minutes.  104,000+ views in 9 days for that one.  Can I do better?  Absolutely not.  But I'll still greatly appreciate your dog's subscription...and yours too.

I hope life has been good for you?  Let me know by commenting below on YouTube.