Figuring Out “Stuff That People Like” – My Little Experiment
So, this whole “stuff that people like” thing, right? Everyone’s chasing it. I figured, why not give it a shot myself? See what all the fuss is about. I wasn’t aiming to be some big shot, you know, just wanted to make something, put it out there, and see if anyone actually cared, for real.
I decided to try my hand at making those short, snappy videos. You’ve seen ’em. Quick cuts, whatever music is big at the moment, the whole nine yards. Seemed like that’s the “stuff” these days. My brilliant idea? To film myself trying to fix old, broken electronics. I thought it’d be pretty neat – a bit of old-school cool, some hands-on tinkering, maybe a few of those satisfying moments when something clicks back to life.
Getting Started: The Grand Plan (Or So I Thought)
First off, I needed gear. Didn’t have any fancy camera. Just my old phone. I propped it up on a pile of books. Super professional setup, let me tell you. Then I spent ages, and I really mean ages, watching other people’s videos. Trying to figure out their secret sauce. What makes one video blow up and another one, well, get the kind of views mine did?
- I tried to learn about lighting. My desk lamp basically became my spotlight.
- Attempted to get my head around “hooks.” Those first three seconds are apparently make-or-break.
- Downloaded some free video editing app. Man, that was a steep learning curve for a guy like me.
My very first project was an old radio I found in my grandpa’s attic. It was just sitting there, collecting dust. Perfect victim. I filmed myself wrestling with screws, getting a little shock (just static, nothing serious, thankfully!), and mostly just talking to myself. The editing part took forever. And finding “copyright-free” music that didn’t sound like it belonged in a cheap elevator? That was a whole adventure on its own.
The Big Unveiling and The Sound of Silence
Finally, after all that, I uploaded my supposed masterpiece. Then I just sat there, hitting refresh on the page like a crazy person. I was expecting… well, something. A comment? A like? Maybe, just maybe, a new subscriber? What I got was pretty much nothing. Zilch. Okay, maybe not total zilch. My wife watched it. She said it was “nice.” You know what “nice” means in that tone. It’s like a pat on the head for trying.
I didn’t throw in the towel immediately. Made a few more videos. A busted toaster. An old game console that wouldn’t turn on. Each time, I tried to be a bit more “engaging,” or whatever they call it. Used faster cuts. Threw in some silly text on the screen. The view count hardly moved. Got a few pity views from friends I practically begged to watch.
What I Reckon I Learned (Or Maybe I’m Just Bitter)
Here’s the deal with “stuff that people like,” as far as I can tell. It’s not always about what you think is cool. Or even what’s genuinely well-made or interesting. Sometimes it just feels like winning the lottery. Or maybe you’ve got to sell a tiny piece of your soul, jump on every ridiculous trend that comes along, or just be incredibly lucky. Or all of the above.
I’d see people doing the absolute dumbest things getting massive attention. Dancing badly, doing those “prank” videos which are mostly just them being annoying to strangers, or just looking good while pointing at some text on screen. And there I was, actually trying to create something, to fix something real. Guess that just wasn’t the “stuff” people were looking for from me.
Maybe I was the problem. Maybe I’m just not cut out for that world. My “authentic self” is probably just plain boring to most folks. Or perhaps the algorithms just decided they didn’t like my face. Who really knows?
So, What’s the Plan Now?
I still mess around with old electronics. It’s genuinely fun for me. But I stopped filming it for the internet. It was starting to suck the joy out of it, turning a hobby I loved into a frustrating chore, a desperate hunt for a thumbs-up. Now, if I manage to fix something, I just enjoy that quiet little win for myself. No likes or shares needed.
This whole little adventure, it actually reminds me of this one time at an old job I had. We poured months, literally months, into developing this brand-new feature for our main software. Everyone on the team, myself included, was convinced it was going to be a game-changer. “This is exactly what the users want!” we kept telling each other, patting ourselves on the back. We put in so many late nights, sat through endless meetings, drank enough coffee to float a battleship. We were absolutely certain it was going to be a massive hit. And then, when we finally launched it… crickets. Almost nobody used it. All that hard work, all that belief, for a feature that just gathered digital dust. That was a really tough pill to swallow, man. It really made me understand that sometimes, you can be so stuck in your own little world, so sure you know what “people like,” but the real world has a funny way of surprising you. It’s a humbling thing, that’s for sure. Makes you doubt your own instincts. A lot.
So yeah, “stuff that people like.” It’s a bit of a puzzle. Or maybe it’s just not something worth chasing too hard if it ends up making you feel crummy. That’s just my take on it, for what it’s worth. Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an old tape deck that’s been calling my name. And this time, the only audience is going to be me, and maybe the cat. He seems to have good taste, or at least he doesn’t judge my editing skills.
