For me, youtube used to be an entertaining way of seeking practical information.
And to live life vicariously through the experiences of others. If you're not in a position to buy a broken down sunken wreck of a trawler to turn into a floating palace....see someone else do it, video by video, from the comfort of your computer screen, while they do the hard yards and you sip a coffee.
I've always reckoned that handyman as I am, there are countless smarter people than me on the planet, and I can learn from them.
So I turn to youtube for everything from how to assemble solar panels on a boat, to replacing a usb charging port on a mobile phone to the merits of a MPPT solar charger over a PWM.
Now, once upon a time, without further ado, as soon as you clicked "play", up would come moving pictures of the installation or repair in progress. Yeah, the camera work was--and still is-- all over the place, swish pans, jerky movements darting about to and from whatever is being described...
But at least we saw what was being described, right?
Now, everyone is under some 10 seconds of fame delusion that he or she is a television presenter.
You click play, and up comes the said person, talking "Hello, Youtubers, today I'm going to talk to you about...."
And talk they do. Instead of showing it, they talk about it, with their face front and centre for most if not all of the duration.
Or you have people from commercial companies standing behind a bench talking, talking, talking and not showing, showing, showing.
It's an unfortunate downside of the internet age, where fame has become the aspiration and motivation. After all, you don't go on Married At First Sight because you are ugly and lovelorn and desperate to find a spouse....
You go on there because you are good looking and believe it will enhance your career.
Sad, but unfortunately true.
And to live life vicariously through the experiences of others. If you're not in a position to buy a broken down sunken wreck of a trawler to turn into a floating palace....see someone else do it, video by video, from the comfort of your computer screen, while they do the hard yards and you sip a coffee.
I've always reckoned that handyman as I am, there are countless smarter people than me on the planet, and I can learn from them.
So I turn to youtube for everything from how to assemble solar panels on a boat, to replacing a usb charging port on a mobile phone to the merits of a MPPT solar charger over a PWM.
Now, once upon a time, without further ado, as soon as you clicked "play", up would come moving pictures of the installation or repair in progress. Yeah, the camera work was--and still is-- all over the place, swish pans, jerky movements darting about to and from whatever is being described...
But at least we saw what was being described, right?
Now, everyone is under some 10 seconds of fame delusion that he or she is a television presenter.
You click play, and up comes the said person, talking "Hello, Youtubers, today I'm going to talk to you about...."
And talk they do. Instead of showing it, they talk about it, with their face front and centre for most if not all of the duration.
Or you have people from commercial companies standing behind a bench talking, talking, talking and not showing, showing, showing.
It's an unfortunate downside of the internet age, where fame has become the aspiration and motivation. After all, you don't go on Married At First Sight because you are ugly and lovelorn and desperate to find a spouse....
You go on there because you are good looking and believe it will enhance your career.
Sad, but unfortunately true.

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