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Hello! I hope you have all been doing well. I just wanted to give those of you who care an update on this channel. I am NOT giving up. But I did take a week completely off of YT—no stats, no posts, just keeping YT off my screens. In that time, I have been reading, job hunting, and of course writing a LOT. I have two mostly completed scripts for the next two videos and a long list of exciting ideas for the future. 

I will be refining my scripts this week and am planning to shoot and edit the next video next week. I am also taking a new approach to handling new uploads. I will NOT be looking at the views, likes, comments, or stats for at least 1 week after posting, and in most cases (where I can control my impulses), I will only look at the previous video performance once the next one is uploaded. I get too sad when I log in to see 10 out of 10 on every video I upload. 

Thanks for all of your support and I hope you all don't mind the week off. 

Okay, this actually hurts! My last SEVEN videos have barely broken 500 views (less than I have subs), and the last several have positively TANKED with 37 views on my latest. I am definitely going to take a break here, and maybe I will be DONE with YT. As I have said before, I don't care if I make money or get "famous," but I do care that NO ONE seems to like my content. Obviously, the more I care about the subject, the LESS the internet cares since all the worst performing have been "passion projects."

Add to this that I am currently actively looking for a new job and hoping to publish my debut novel, and there are just WAY too many rejections in my life at the moment. Unfortunately, YT is the ONE place I can control this by simply walking away. I am NOT saying I give up completely here, but I will be taking at least a few weeks off to get my head right.

If you want me to come back get some people to watch my latest video😉:  https://youtu.be/wtbe8f52Nwg 

Surprise! I was able to finish my next video during the day today. That means the world won't have to wait until next week for the latest Xennial Philosopher creation. This one explores why so many of us are  #anxious  and  #worried  today and how we can cope with the constant barrage of stuff to worry about.

I took steps to change the formatting and limit the use of stock footage in this video. You will see a lot more of my face, but this might be a better and more straightforward approach. If you like it, let me know, and I will keep moving in this direction.

Hope you all enjoy it. 

While I am working on the next video (which will be done next week), here's some awesome advice from Keanu Reeves on enjoying all of life. Keep this in mind while you enjoy the end of the week and your weekend. 

I am still making good headway on this next video. However, I had a procedure on Monday that has kept me out of commission until today. Now that I am feeling better, I will jump into filming the next video. Now, just this morning, I watched a good podcast from  ‪@TheAdamConover‬   where he interviewed an author who talked about how the  #algorithm  is harming us all and our art. 

It got me thinking about Herman Melville and Van Gogh because both of them are considered some of the greatest artists of their time NOW. At their time, they were failures, Melville sold less than a dozen copies of Moby Dick before he died, and Van Gogh never sold a painting. If you think about that, they would have had no likes on social media, and if they had been ruled by inhuman algorithms like we are today, neither of them would have made a mark on the future. With this in mind, I am going to keep making the videos I feel like I NEED to make and keep putting out the messages I feel are important regardless of how the algorithm reacts.

My goal is to keep making content I am VERY proud of (like all my stuff so far) and ignore those likes, views, and other "metrics." I will instead keep going with the belief that when the time is right, the world will see my art.

If you are interested, check out the latest video on Adam's channel; it's worth a listen. 

Hello, Xennial Philosopher community! I hope you all had a great weekend. I want to give you another update on the changes I am working on to improve my content. I did several "test shoots" this weekend to see what I can realistically film outside and what other adjustments I can make.
 
I have come to a few conclusions, and you will all see the results as soon as I post the next video.
 
First, I, sadly, cannot cancel my stock footage membership, even though I will be using far less stock footage in future videos (I hope you all like my face). I, however, realized that I use title templates, backgrounds, and even sound effects from them, so they keep getting my money.
 
Secondly, I CAN'T reliably film all my videos outside. Several factors, like unpredictable weather and extremely crowded open spaces in Colorado, would cause the videos to take WEEKS longer to make, as opposed to using the studio I worked so hard to set up and streamline.
 
So, what you can expect is still, OF COURSE, plenty more thoughtful content about philosophical questions all of us have. I will also be doing segments (when possible) outside to break up the monotony of the talking heads. I am still researching how to present this new format and building some processes.
 
If all goes well, my next video, "Why Are We Always So Afraid," will be late this week or (more likely) early next week.
 
Thank you for your input and patience as I adjust fire to give you all the best possible art I can make.
 
Thank you,
John (Xennial Philosopher)
 
P.S. In the meantime - watch my videos on Perspective and Robin Hood; people seem to have missed those. 

Compared to this reality, we probably don't need to worry so much. 

Today, I did some testing. I walked into the woods, found a pretty spot, and set up. Then, I quickly learned I needed to plan this a little more if I wanted to film these outdoors (besides knowing what I wanted to say). First, for a Thursday afternoon, it was crowded, even back in the woods, off a little dirt trail. 

Then I found myself standing there on the side of the creek, by a little waterfall and realized I was going to need to talk...to my camera .... like it's you all. I needed to be my normal, confident, and clear-spoken self. But, have you ever tried talking into a camera lens with conviction, when random people and their dogs are walking by and a vagrant is fishing across the creek from you? I can tell you now that it is NOT the same as doing that in my enclosed, controlled, and private office. I wasn't confident I was centered in my frame. I needed to know if the lighting was good. And I had no idea if my audio would be useful until I got back home.

The ironic thing is I am doing this next video on Fear and why it is so prevalent today. Well, my own fear, my fear of looking dumb, my fear of failing, and my fear of confrontation all conspired to stop me from getting anything very useful. 

I'm not scrapping the concept or the idea; this could be something really special and a LOT closer to my vision once I get past these hurdles. So, I will be going to a different greenspace tomorrow and see if I can get it closer to working.

Thanks for all of your support, and I can't wait to share what this video becomes very soon. 

Over the last few days, I have thought about what changes I can make to the format to improve my Xennial Philosopher videos. I have some ideas, and they will let me stretch my creative wings further and enjoy the process even more. I will go to a nearby Front Range park tomorrow to do some camera and audio tests to see how well I can do this alone and without the prompter crutch.
 
My plan is - and I'd love any feedback you all have for me - as follows:
--  I will no longer use stock footage; I will still use relevant images and clips from WikiCommons and helpful clips from TV and film (I am a child of media, after all), but otherwise, it will be my face or outdoor b-roll.
-- I will be shooting much of - if not all - the talking head in more interesting locations (e.g., local Colorado parks, of which there are literally hundreds within an hour of me). I can even do "pick-ups" in the woods or lake behind my house.
-- Because I plan to shoot outdoors, I will not use a teleprompter for the videos. This will force me to "narrative-ize" the content a little more and give me more freedom to organically be myself.
-- Finally, my primary creative skill - AFAIK - is writing, and I love to write fiction (in fact, I have written a novel that I will be releasing in the coming year or so). I plan to adjust my approach to these abstract and complex topics I talk about to frame each video inside of a short story I will write for that video.
 
The final result of these changes will be better, more authentic, and exciting content for all of us. However, I will tell you now that this process will not be as quick as what I do now, so my videos may get released at less regular intervals. If they take too long, I have to alternate between the "studio" and the outdoors. But the art will be considerably more elevated, assuming I can get it to work out. I hope you are all on board! 
 
Thank you,
John (Xennial Philosopher) 

I have been thinking since I looked at the Xennial Philosopher stats this morning, and I need feedback to figure out the best possible changes to make. For example, should I completely eliminate the use of "stock footage" using either just my talking head or creative commons/fair use images? Would you all prefer I film my part more "interestingly" - something more like Life of Riza where my "talking head" is in various more cinematic locations? I do live on the Front Range in Colorado, so I have access to a LOT of beautiful locations. 

Let me know, please! Should I plan my talking head more and do it in various outdoor locations? Do I even need stock footage? Or is my content too complicated and needs the stock footage and heavy graphics? I am going to play with some outdoor filming ideas for the next video, but I will most likely take a couple weeks off to get the new style sorted out. I am very much looking for any input or ideas from YOU, my loyal community.