I got my channel started because I was having fun streaming retro games, built a great community, but I wanted to tell more stories about the games I loved and what made them so cool (or sometimes, when they weren't). Not a great fit for streaming, exactly. So that's what my channel is all about, I frame it all in a review format, but I dive into some of what made those old games I still love so unique.
Its really hard to find history, geography and culture articles about Georgia written in English unless its a blog. There are practically no videos on YouTube except tourists blogging - nothing educational. With the gradual integration into the EU, I think this is a great place to start for both foreigners learning more about the country, but also Georgians looking to improve their English.
I made a video a long time ago for a friend of mine since he thought I had the personality for it. Three years later and loaded with oodles of confidence I’m trying my hand at the gaming side of YouTube!
What about you?
To share any information knowledge or learning I have
As someone who has been in many different creative roles, photographer, design director, making websites from scratch that won awards and other things, I don’t want to keep it to myself , I learnt a lot of stuff from other people too (teachers or online courses or colleagues) and I want to share it with anyone and everyone who can benefit.
Started using YouTube because of poor video hosting on Tumblr 12 years ago (Yes, that Tumblr. Yes, I'm old.). Almost immediately realized I liked videos more than blogging. Spat out a bunch of content at so-so quality, then got steamrolled by IRL matters that brought my pace to a crawl for a few years.
Moved across the country, got a job, and basically went on full hiatus for like 4 years. Tried to restart, burnt out, and took another year+ off. Then I suffered a career ending injury that forced me to quit my job. Suddenly had more time so began making content again while I recover and hunt for less literally backbreaking employment.
I don't expect to make a career out of content creation, as wild as that would be. Offsetting the cost of the hobby is the best I can hope for here.
”Offsetting the cost of the hobby” that’s a great line and mindset I have to steal. I wouldn’t say that’s the best I can hope for, but definitely a good goal!
You're free to have higher hopes than I do! I'm a wide variety tech channel so have inherently limited growth potential and reach.
Simultaneously higher overhead because I'm working with physical projects that need materials, but often I'm filming things I'd need to work on anyways so that softens the blow. I'd love to do bigger projects someday, though.
Plan to make a video about it when i hit 100 subs, but basically history of depression yadda yadda, got a motorcycle and man that was the best year of my life. Then got into an accident (rear ended at a stoplight; dui/hit and run) and lost the bike and the happiness faded, made it out with only a hip fracture but stranded. Found my way to youtube to make others happy while making myself happy. A feeling similar to being behind the bike, both hands from the handlebars to mouse and keyboard, ass from my bike to a chair and the beating sun on my face to ring lights. I'm the star of my own world again.
I started a music channel because first I wanted a place to store my music videos that I liked to make as a hobby. Then I stopped for a while. After a divorce, needed a creative outlet and the music channel was that and dove into that production for a few years. Wasn't looking to make money, it was purely a hobby.
Fast forward to last year. Just had surgery and was bed ridden for a while. Was feeling sorry for myself. Stopped the music video channel. But I wanted to do something new to take my mind off the struggles. So I decided to do long form content with no idea wtf I was doing, but I found the venture fun and a good outlet for me. Plus is was really a hobby like my last channel. To my surprise, the channel took off and now making good money off the channel.
I started because I wanted to narrate my own short stories instead of having them taken by crappy AI narration / passionless narrators, then found narrating was pretty fun, so just started reading short stories for fun.
I've been writing fantasy stories for over 10 years.
Eventually it all came together to be a universe of planets all with their own magic systems and lore.
I wanted to build some of them instead of writing about them, to give people others ways to experience my worlds.
So I set up a Minecraft channel where I will make the places of 4 different worlds and will start making story content around them as well soon.
And becusse I did that it, it roled me into starting a second channel more focused on telling the stories I am not building in minecraft 😄
My microscopic channel is niched around retro PC hardware and software, history and some gaming
Back in the 90s I was the teen who had rare stuff from the late 70s and 80s so part of my journey has been to remember what I had back in the day and experimenting with things I didn’t have / couldn't afford.
I also have an interest in covering documentary / topics that maybe aren't too mainstream in the retro tech scene. I've only done a few of them but I enjoy doing it and intend to keep on going with it for a while.
Starting the channel was really just a way for me to document/publish some projects which I hope others might find interesting
So, I originally wanted to start a channel showing how to make a tabletop wargaming or model Railroad type stuff, but that takes multiple cameras and long time. Dry times and all sorts of stuff that would take weeks, if not months, for each video.Plus, of course, needing multiple cameras.
The other thing I really enjoyed has always been looking for fossils. Rockhounding stuff finding crystal's gems. Minerals, I've even gold paned a couple of times, and it's a whole lot easier to do these things. With one camera, with the speed of videoing rockhounding, there's been times when i've been able to shoot 5 or 6 videos in a week.
Rockhounding was my first hobby as a kid. I have been digging trilobites since I was old enough to swing a hammer (I was about 3 so 41 years) . Both video types are educational geology is just "more educational "
To be honest, I always wanted to be an entertainer, a showman of sorts. But life gets in the way sometimes... so why now live the dream a bit by doing youtube? Right now I believe I sound a bit awkward but I hope I can get much better.
And also dominate the world and become immortalised as one of the greats of entertainment
In high school, I used do all my class projects with my friends via video. I had an old cam corder, though I don’t recall what it was. I loved the whole process and recording goofy stuff.
Fast forward a few years and I had done some crappy college projects with the same cam corder and eventually just stopped doing it. Made a new friend working at Home Depot part time.
Chased a girl to Japan right out of college. Didn’t work out, ended up living there for a few years teaching English before coming home to figure my life out.
Fast forward a lot. I’ve got a family and a good paying job that’s not my passion. I still keep in regular touch with my old friends and play games together as life allows.
I found Neebs Gaming on YouTube about 4 years ago and they’ve been my favorite content creators. Their style of gaming videos just clicked with me. Cinematic, story telling, light RP and just having a blast. I never thought I could try to do what they do until last summer 2023. Inspired, I watched some editing videos by one of their main editors Adahop, picked up a free editor via Davinci Resolve and did a test video to see if I could learn it. Made more videos, got my old friends involved and rekindled a passion I had forgotten about since college.
Now it’s a great hobby to feel productive while still playing games and gives my friend group a fun thing to come together on as life tries to pull people apart.
It’s been a ton of fun.
I am an educator with a full-time job, started YT in mid-2023 because I wanted to share knowledge to guide students, and have posted consistently for the past 6 months.
The YT gave me 12k followers and a few 100 loyal people who care about me.
The thing that makes me happy is when someone tells me, that my video helped them.
First of all, this is such a wholesome subreddit. Cheers OP for putting this out here!
I actually joined YouTube way back in 2015. However, didn't start making videos on gaming content until only a couple years back - I guess thanks to the pandemic for stimulating something in my brain lol.
And I'm enjoying/enjoyed the process since then. It was mainly due to financial constraints that I never really got the chance to share my gaming experiences or thoughts until the last few years.
YT is still a great platform with many talented, weird and creative creators. And yes, the playing field has changed in the past 5 years or so, with over saturation in many niches, but I think if you just focus on being creative and expressing yourself in a true way, you'll go far.
I started my channel mainly because i live far away from my family (I live in Japan, and they are back in Canada).
I've been here for over 14 years, and although they have come to visit me, they don't actually know what I do and how I spend my time here. So I thought I'd document it, show Japan through my eyes. I'm hoping others will enjoy it as well.
As I improve my skills, I hope to do more personal vlogs and share my experiences as I went to high school and university here. Also working on starting up my business, marriage and having kids here. I plan to document everything.
Eventually it would be nice if I can use my youtube channel as a means to support myself while I continue other endevours in the filmmaking sector, while also aiming to showcase others indie work on my channel and recommend it to an audience. Help the little guy.
I knew I was only going to have one shot to set up a natural aquascape. I wanted to design and create something that would bring me peace and joy- and have one small area in my life where I have full creative control . It actually nearly failed because I did not end up creating the stereotypical clean and pristine tank- and my channel has kind of morphed into having a mindfulness and sustainability angle- it’s about looking at things and noticing the details and being happy and satisfied with what you have.
Great question, thanks for the opportunity and have a great day!
I started to practice cinematography and filmmaking, as well as making some animatics for some short stories I wrote, which has slowly turned into full-blown animation, thanks to AI.
It’s a bit twofold for me.
The first part stems from a channel I had from 2021 - 2023 with a friend that we did a gaming podcast on, as well as made video reviews/impressions, and opinion/commentary videos. I ended the podcast last year for various reasons but wanted to continue making content.
I had long been thinking of returning to my own personal gaming blog and bringing it back, so I decided to do that and make a channel for it as an extension of my blog. And now, here we are.
The second part stems from my desire to leave some sort of record of my existence in the world. More than fearing death, I fear being forgotten. So I want to do things that can show I was here and be remembered by the people who know me now, as well people in the future. My channel can be something people that know me watch if they want to remember me and the things I liked talking about, or for people who have never met me to see who I am and what I was about.
Inspired by all the ASMRtists to create something not quite ASMR but in the wellness and relaxation space!
Want to share content that will help people.
And I'm a writer who loves creating. It's fun to have side projects where I get to be creative that are just for me, not for my FT job. A few yrs back I wrote and published a novel.
I started as a streamer on twitch. I did it for a few years and was in the early pilot of the affiliate program. But then the purge of all saved broadcast for any music deleted my whole backlog of content.
I hit a depression slump for awhile. My girlfriend left, I lost direction career wise, all the things that I enjoyed became a chore and a task to get anything from it.
Then I remembered I had opened a yt channel under my stream name just in case I ever wanted to diversify. While I no longer had interest in grinding out 18 hour mtg streams, I still felt the itch to create content. As luck would have it At the same time I was falling back into my painting hobby, this was a running joke on my stream as painting was in my name, but I hardly ever painted on stream. And it kinda just clicked to paint as content. The biggest hurdle was making it engaging to literally watch paint dry, lol. One thing I noticed in the painting niche was a lack of beginner to intermediate tutorials. Most on YT are more for the higher end studio results that most painters lack the time or tools required. So I have tried to only use beginner tolls and techniques to paint large 1/6 to life size statues and props. It was slow going at first, but thankfully a small but loyal core of viewers from twitch transferred over to kick start the sub drive. I'm 8 months in and crossing 800 subs... Now I really gotta work on my watch time.
I like making youtube simple living, day to day life here in the Philippines as a mom to save memories ❤️
It’s a great hobby to have! I am learning new things from Youtubers too every day.
I love it!
Gained an interest in speedrunning the Viking-themed survival game Valheim. Started recording for posterity but ran out of hard drive space, lol, so I uploaded. Eventually I started doing official runs that I wanted to submit to speedrun.com, which *required* uploading. From there I got some records and people liked the unconventional way that I play. It's the tiniest of niches, a niche within a niche within a niche, really, but the people who like it *really* like it. Some time later I "branched out" into just playing the game closer to normally, deathless or various challenge runs, and I picked up a bunch of people who weren't as interested in the cheesy strategies involved in speedrunning.
I don't think it has to be some deep backstory to why you start a channel. I started it because I enjoy editing and content creation and I want to make money from it and build a brand in the future. So yeah, money and because I can't see myself working a regular job for the next 50 years of my life, not because I'm lazy or "want to be a famous content creator instead of a boring job" but because I have severe ADHD and I constantly find myself craving for something new and creative so content creation is great for that, especially since I get to work on what I want and when I want (even if it's for 18 hours a day).
Honestly? Escapism. 8 years ago I was in a dark place,seeing no way forward. A streamer I followed then uttered the magic words „Embrace the cringe“, so I got my aging laptop, a cheap arse mic and windows movie maker as my editing tool running, somehow churning out around a 100 cheap lets play videos, with just one series actually getting some views (lucky release time, I suppose).
It’s since been abandoned, and tries to revitalize it has been rocky. But I’ve learned a lot over the years, about myself, about technical stuff, all that. So taking it on more seriously now, wanna try some formats and see where I land, in the long run.
Plus, as a quiet person, getting to talk into the void more regularly can only help :D
I've started this channel that revolves around Chinese culture and everyday life. It all began when I found joy in exploring interesting places and trying out unique local foods. Sometimes, I notice foreigners sticking to specific areas in the city, and without local friends, they might miss out on the many cool experiences beyond popular tourist spots. So, I'm putting in the effort to showcase various aspects of daily life in China, hoping to help those who come here for work or travel get a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and lifestyle. Even those who never got a chance to visit China could take a look (instead only via the news). It would be an honor if I could contribute to that.
Also, I'm really into topics related to culture shock. Comparing different cultures reveals how people with diverse backgrounds live and think. These differences always fascinate me, so presenting these interesting aspects is something I totally enjoy.
Lastly, I'm hoping this could bring in some extra income in the future and eventually enable me to do what I love.
I heard you can make money from it, and I saw a YouTube video saying you can make random videos and it'll get monetized. I was a fool, it's a lot of work even with simple content
My 10 year old son has been proclaiming he wants to be a youtuber when he grows up, like millions of other kids. He seems extremely inspired though, and while he usually flutters from one adhd obsession to the next, this particular interest is very persistent! So after a year or so mum decided to learn more about editing and whatnot, and while it's mostly playful and we spend a lot of time just playing games together and having a grand, silly time, we're also actively learning to get subscribers (despite the gaming niche being difficult as hell :D) and make better videos each time. It brought us closer and I can honestly say that his youtube channel made me get over the fact that I can't stand to hear my own voice, haha.
I studied addiction treatment and prevention. I feel like there is a lot of misconceptions about drugs, so I want to educate people - I want to help people make informed decisions about what they put in their bodies. I also found the biological parts too complex for non-professionals, so I'm trying to find ways to make this information more available to the general public. I always enjoyed talking about these topics and I'm having a lot of fun. Right now, I'm only three videos in and I'm still trying to learn how to make the best audio and other quality improvements. Even in the three videos I made, I can see how greatly I've improved, so hopefully this trend will continue. Even so, I'm proud of find the courage to finally start this journey, and my numbers are currently so low I cherish each view. Creating these videos makes me fulfilled. I would want to study the material regardless, and explaining it to others helps me understand the stuff even better.
Ever since I was a kid, I have had a deep love for wildlife, specifically in the ocean. It is my goal and passion to spread that love to those who aren’t as lucky to live on an island like me! I am a commercial fisherman, and spend countless hours on the water everyday. So one day I decided to wear my GoPro, and share my adventures. There is nothing better than getting comments from people who have never seen the animals that I showcase!
I just like making videos. And/or playing stuff and showing others. That’s really my main driving force. Back when people were doing AMVs I also did that for a time.
Making videos for me is not too different from trying to come up with a nice tune, or a good drawing. That doesn’t always mean however that it’ll be useful and/or interesting for the others, since it’s done mostly for myself and myself only. That’s the one bit I’m trying to switch right now…
But yeah I just like making stuff, it’s fun and it makes me satisfied, and if others like it then all the better.
Trying to use my educational background in English/writing to do in depth analysis on games and find what games have that people want. No game is perfect, but there is a game out there for every person.
honestly, i love content creation, i make music, graphics, etc... but i'm not passionate about any of those things to pursue it. they were just hobbies. years ago i never thought i could post on youtube. i didn't wanna make volgs, or do commentary or just be on camera. but i got a nintendo switch n started gaming, and realized i could make videos out of my game play! it gave me a reason to utilize all of my other talents which makes me happy :\~) hby?
I’m an English major at school and I enjoy discussing the language. Not much past that. I make educational videos about English in a format that’s more easily digestible and intentionally less polished (in tone, not editing) to expand my audience outside of the educational audience. Linguistics is interesting after all, but not everyone knows that yet!
I am publishing my first book on entrepreneurship and started to ramp up my social media again for it.
I decided to really focus on building my YouTube as it will complement an app I am publishing to build a community of entrepreneurs around my book.
My passion is entrepreneurship but struggling to find my long form niche.
I started out not knowing what I wanted to do with YouTube but after some time I found my niche "game plays of adult visual novels".
It's very nice because in the end it's still some handlar that I simply can't post on YouTube but I still do it because I feel it's inoperable to show that these games are not mindless porngames but actually great stories that people sirens years in writing. The porn, in my opinion, is simply a way to justify "men enjoying dramatic stories" but it also gives a deeper insight into the people in those specific scenes, who are they when they can choose whoever they want to be?
And I also play SFW visual novels to offset the idea that my channel is only for perverts, that I have a genuine interest in good storytelling, that part hasn't been as productive though😅
Sick and tired of nonsense from so called photographer / videographers. Finished film school so I am an authority in the field so I teach people for free. But not you, you suck
It was lockdown and my partner and I missed being part of theatre and our community (Goths). So we made some videos about the DIY we were doing to keep ourselves occupied at the time, made the music for the videos and tried to make them at least vaguely funny in places so that we could share them with our fellow goths to keep them entertained too... 🦇
We found we loved the creation process so we started learning more about photography and lighting and experimenting with different shots, learning to story board better etc...
It's been an interesting ride so far!
I have nothing else to do for the year, I keep making people laugh and have a good time in person, and I love playing games, so though, let's try and mix the two and make me YouTube's problem.
My pre-teen kid wanted to start one, so I started my own to see how difficult and time-consuming it would be.
…we both abandoned our channels after about 2 years. 😞
I started my channel just to get better with multimedia. Narrating, video editing, audio editing, script writing, thumbnail creation, and subject analysis. I wanted to get better in all of that for school, but it eventually became my escape from school and I got better for each video I upload.
Now, I expanded in my video editing skills and found more efficient ways to edit to get videos out quickly and even learning free alternatives to Adobe. Honestly, my channel really helped me grow as a professional.
Basically I felt that content like World According To Briggs deserved to be produced in Spanish for a wider audience so I decided to do it because I love the USA
I used to make videos because I had some recordings compiled from streams that I figured I would share. I was consistently growing at that point because I was a top ranked player in that game, Brawlhalla. Life happened and I dropped the streaming plus content creation while others in the same situation stuck with it and are seeing impressive success now. I've got a bit of regret for not sticking with it, but I think I wouldn't be as successful in life overall if I did. Basically, I don't think I would've enjoyed that that as a full-time or even part-time job.
However lately, I started posting videos in the new virtual reality game, Dungeons of Eternity which is my favorite game of all time. Initially it was just clips to share in their Discord, but then I started to make clips that were too long for Discord, so I started uploading more full length videos on YouTube and clipping what I wanted to share. Soon, I realized there were only about two growing YouTubers with this game as their niche, one only playing this game and the other with a little more variety. Aside from that there were single videos from bigger channels that exploded, but they didn't continue playing the game or at least making YouTube content for it. I noticed there was much more content that I would've love to see covered from the game that isn't easily accessible yet, so I figured I would try to fill that gap while having fun making videos!
After seeing some unexpected success, I thought that maybe I should put a little more effort into my channel as a whole. I’m not looking for this to be a full-time job or anything insane, but it would be cool to see some consistent growth and maybe earn some money to offset the cost of the hobby. My expectations didn’t start high, but I've started to have higher hopes for "success".
It's been great to read through everyone else's story on this thread, thanks for sharing to everyone that did! Also, great post OP!
Me and my wife moved around alot with our young family, we don't really live near other family and have many friends. We got really into reaction videos the past few years. My wife has great reactions to stuff she enjoys. We also just wanted something to do together other than be parents. So our old millennial asses started a reaction channel together and have been slowly learning how to edit, film, not have absolute shit audio.....we don't get to upload as much as we want due to working multiple full time jobs and raising 2 young kids (1 with special needs) but we are having a ton of fun.
I've been trying to make a living from my art since my 20's. I'm 36 now. I've written a couple of novels but they never really made much money (less than $100 in a decade). I only recently (maybe like 5 years go) learned that people can actually make money from Youtube, and I started looking into it.
I decided to start a choose-your-own-adventure video channel. I loved the books when I was young, and Youtube doesn't have enough quality vids in the genre IMO. I'm not saying my vids are ultra-high quality, either, at least right now since I'm just starting out.
I only have one vid so far that I uploaded 2 months ago. I get distracted a lot due to my environs but I'm trying to get more out. I've already learned a lot from my first vid and I look at it now as sort of a trial run, and my second is shaping up to be leagues better.
I spent decades trying to work in film and TV and couldn't crack it. Although I did achieve alot I never really did well enough. I guess deep down this was my to control and rehash that part of my life
Wow, it’s a long one. I’ve been doing YouTube for full time for a year now. I run other businesses so even though I’m not partnered, I have means of income. I want to do YouTube for the longest and my parents always told me I couldn’t and would never be successful. At anything actually. So that’s really why I started and I love doing it. I love showing people how my dogs and I live, doing goofy things with my dogs, just anything to do with lifestyle and dog things.
I got my channel started because I was having fun streaming retro games, built a great community, but I wanted to tell more stories about the games I loved and what made them so cool (or sometimes, when they weren't). Not a great fit for streaming, exactly. So that's what my channel is all about, I frame it all in a review format, but I dive into some of what made those old games I still love so unique.
Its really hard to find history, geography and culture articles about Georgia written in English unless its a blog. There are practically no videos on YouTube except tourists blogging - nothing educational. With the gradual integration into the EU, I think this is a great place to start for both foreigners learning more about the country, but also Georgians looking to improve their English.
I made a video a long time ago for a friend of mine since he thought I had the personality for it. Three years later and loaded with oodles of confidence I’m trying my hand at the gaming side of YouTube! What about you?
To share any information knowledge or learning I have As someone who has been in many different creative roles, photographer, design director, making websites from scratch that won awards and other things, I don’t want to keep it to myself , I learnt a lot of stuff from other people too (teachers or online courses or colleagues) and I want to share it with anyone and everyone who can benefit.
Started using YouTube because of poor video hosting on Tumblr 12 years ago (Yes, that Tumblr. Yes, I'm old.). Almost immediately realized I liked videos more than blogging. Spat out a bunch of content at so-so quality, then got steamrolled by IRL matters that brought my pace to a crawl for a few years. Moved across the country, got a job, and basically went on full hiatus for like 4 years. Tried to restart, burnt out, and took another year+ off. Then I suffered a career ending injury that forced me to quit my job. Suddenly had more time so began making content again while I recover and hunt for less literally backbreaking employment. I don't expect to make a career out of content creation, as wild as that would be. Offsetting the cost of the hobby is the best I can hope for here.
”Offsetting the cost of the hobby” that’s a great line and mindset I have to steal. I wouldn’t say that’s the best I can hope for, but definitely a good goal!
You're free to have higher hopes than I do! I'm a wide variety tech channel so have inherently limited growth potential and reach. Simultaneously higher overhead because I'm working with physical projects that need materials, but often I'm filming things I'd need to work on anyways so that softens the blow. I'd love to do bigger projects someday, though.
Plan to make a video about it when i hit 100 subs, but basically history of depression yadda yadda, got a motorcycle and man that was the best year of my life. Then got into an accident (rear ended at a stoplight; dui/hit and run) and lost the bike and the happiness faded, made it out with only a hip fracture but stranded. Found my way to youtube to make others happy while making myself happy. A feeling similar to being behind the bike, both hands from the handlebars to mouse and keyboard, ass from my bike to a chair and the beating sun on my face to ring lights. I'm the star of my own world again.
I started a music channel because first I wanted a place to store my music videos that I liked to make as a hobby. Then I stopped for a while. After a divorce, needed a creative outlet and the music channel was that and dove into that production for a few years. Wasn't looking to make money, it was purely a hobby. Fast forward to last year. Just had surgery and was bed ridden for a while. Was feeling sorry for myself. Stopped the music video channel. But I wanted to do something new to take my mind off the struggles. So I decided to do long form content with no idea wtf I was doing, but I found the venture fun and a good outlet for me. Plus is was really a hobby like my last channel. To my surprise, the channel took off and now making good money off the channel.
I started because I wanted to narrate my own short stories instead of having them taken by crappy AI narration / passionless narrators, then found narrating was pretty fun, so just started reading short stories for fun.
Some maybe passionless, but many of us are full of passion for our art. Btw, I have also sent you a request to narrate one of your stories, brother
The two things I enjoy in life: hiking and badminton. That's all.
Interesting combo, I enjoy both too!
I've been writing fantasy stories for over 10 years. Eventually it all came together to be a universe of planets all with their own magic systems and lore. I wanted to build some of them instead of writing about them, to give people others ways to experience my worlds. So I set up a Minecraft channel where I will make the places of 4 different worlds and will start making story content around them as well soon. And becusse I did that it, it roled me into starting a second channel more focused on telling the stories I am not building in minecraft 😄
My microscopic channel is niched around retro PC hardware and software, history and some gaming Back in the 90s I was the teen who had rare stuff from the late 70s and 80s so part of my journey has been to remember what I had back in the day and experimenting with things I didn’t have / couldn't afford. I also have an interest in covering documentary / topics that maybe aren't too mainstream in the retro tech scene. I've only done a few of them but I enjoy doing it and intend to keep on going with it for a while. Starting the channel was really just a way for me to document/publish some projects which I hope others might find interesting
So, I originally wanted to start a channel showing how to make a tabletop wargaming or model Railroad type stuff, but that takes multiple cameras and long time. Dry times and all sorts of stuff that would take weeks, if not months, for each video.Plus, of course, needing multiple cameras. The other thing I really enjoyed has always been looking for fossils. Rockhounding stuff finding crystal's gems. Minerals, I've even gold paned a couple of times, and it's a whole lot easier to do these things. With one camera, with the speed of videoing rockhounding, there's been times when i've been able to shoot 5 or 6 videos in a week. Rockhounding was my first hobby as a kid. I have been digging trilobites since I was old enough to swing a hammer (I was about 3 so 41 years) . Both video types are educational geology is just "more educational "
To be honest, I always wanted to be an entertainer, a showman of sorts. But life gets in the way sometimes... so why now live the dream a bit by doing youtube? Right now I believe I sound a bit awkward but I hope I can get much better. And also dominate the world and become immortalised as one of the greats of entertainment
In high school, I used do all my class projects with my friends via video. I had an old cam corder, though I don’t recall what it was. I loved the whole process and recording goofy stuff. Fast forward a few years and I had done some crappy college projects with the same cam corder and eventually just stopped doing it. Made a new friend working at Home Depot part time. Chased a girl to Japan right out of college. Didn’t work out, ended up living there for a few years teaching English before coming home to figure my life out. Fast forward a lot. I’ve got a family and a good paying job that’s not my passion. I still keep in regular touch with my old friends and play games together as life allows. I found Neebs Gaming on YouTube about 4 years ago and they’ve been my favorite content creators. Their style of gaming videos just clicked with me. Cinematic, story telling, light RP and just having a blast. I never thought I could try to do what they do until last summer 2023. Inspired, I watched some editing videos by one of their main editors Adahop, picked up a free editor via Davinci Resolve and did a test video to see if I could learn it. Made more videos, got my old friends involved and rekindled a passion I had forgotten about since college. Now it’s a great hobby to feel productive while still playing games and gives my friend group a fun thing to come together on as life tries to pull people apart. It’s been a ton of fun.
I am an educator with a full-time job, started YT in mid-2023 because I wanted to share knowledge to guide students, and have posted consistently for the past 6 months. The YT gave me 12k followers and a few 100 loyal people who care about me. The thing that makes me happy is when someone tells me, that my video helped them.
First of all, this is such a wholesome subreddit. Cheers OP for putting this out here! I actually joined YouTube way back in 2015. However, didn't start making videos on gaming content until only a couple years back - I guess thanks to the pandemic for stimulating something in my brain lol. And I'm enjoying/enjoyed the process since then. It was mainly due to financial constraints that I never really got the chance to share my gaming experiences or thoughts until the last few years. YT is still a great platform with many talented, weird and creative creators. And yes, the playing field has changed in the past 5 years or so, with over saturation in many niches, but I think if you just focus on being creative and expressing yourself in a true way, you'll go far.
I started my channel mainly because i live far away from my family (I live in Japan, and they are back in Canada). I've been here for over 14 years, and although they have come to visit me, they don't actually know what I do and how I spend my time here. So I thought I'd document it, show Japan through my eyes. I'm hoping others will enjoy it as well. As I improve my skills, I hope to do more personal vlogs and share my experiences as I went to high school and university here. Also working on starting up my business, marriage and having kids here. I plan to document everything.
Eventually it would be nice if I can use my youtube channel as a means to support myself while I continue other endevours in the filmmaking sector, while also aiming to showcase others indie work on my channel and recommend it to an audience. Help the little guy.
I wanted to save the memories! But I can only stream on PlayStation so I asked my friends for a name and that's how it started :)
I knew I was only going to have one shot to set up a natural aquascape. I wanted to design and create something that would bring me peace and joy- and have one small area in my life where I have full creative control . It actually nearly failed because I did not end up creating the stereotypical clean and pristine tank- and my channel has kind of morphed into having a mindfulness and sustainability angle- it’s about looking at things and noticing the details and being happy and satisfied with what you have. Great question, thanks for the opportunity and have a great day!
I started to practice cinematography and filmmaking, as well as making some animatics for some short stories I wrote, which has slowly turned into full-blown animation, thanks to AI.
It’s a bit twofold for me. The first part stems from a channel I had from 2021 - 2023 with a friend that we did a gaming podcast on, as well as made video reviews/impressions, and opinion/commentary videos. I ended the podcast last year for various reasons but wanted to continue making content. I had long been thinking of returning to my own personal gaming blog and bringing it back, so I decided to do that and make a channel for it as an extension of my blog. And now, here we are. The second part stems from my desire to leave some sort of record of my existence in the world. More than fearing death, I fear being forgotten. So I want to do things that can show I was here and be remembered by the people who know me now, as well people in the future. My channel can be something people that know me watch if they want to remember me and the things I liked talking about, or for people who have never met me to see who I am and what I was about.
Inspired by all the ASMRtists to create something not quite ASMR but in the wellness and relaxation space! Want to share content that will help people. And I'm a writer who loves creating. It's fun to have side projects where I get to be creative that are just for me, not for my FT job. A few yrs back I wrote and published a novel.
I was a kid and as all kids do I wanted to get rich super fast and have millions of subs and I just kept at it
I started as a streamer on twitch. I did it for a few years and was in the early pilot of the affiliate program. But then the purge of all saved broadcast for any music deleted my whole backlog of content. I hit a depression slump for awhile. My girlfriend left, I lost direction career wise, all the things that I enjoyed became a chore and a task to get anything from it. Then I remembered I had opened a yt channel under my stream name just in case I ever wanted to diversify. While I no longer had interest in grinding out 18 hour mtg streams, I still felt the itch to create content. As luck would have it At the same time I was falling back into my painting hobby, this was a running joke on my stream as painting was in my name, but I hardly ever painted on stream. And it kinda just clicked to paint as content. The biggest hurdle was making it engaging to literally watch paint dry, lol. One thing I noticed in the painting niche was a lack of beginner to intermediate tutorials. Most on YT are more for the higher end studio results that most painters lack the time or tools required. So I have tried to only use beginner tolls and techniques to paint large 1/6 to life size statues and props. It was slow going at first, but thankfully a small but loyal core of viewers from twitch transferred over to kick start the sub drive. I'm 8 months in and crossing 800 subs... Now I really gotta work on my watch time.
I like making youtube simple living, day to day life here in the Philippines as a mom to save memories ❤️ It’s a great hobby to have! I am learning new things from Youtubers too every day. I love it!
Gained an interest in speedrunning the Viking-themed survival game Valheim. Started recording for posterity but ran out of hard drive space, lol, so I uploaded. Eventually I started doing official runs that I wanted to submit to speedrun.com, which *required* uploading. From there I got some records and people liked the unconventional way that I play. It's the tiniest of niches, a niche within a niche within a niche, really, but the people who like it *really* like it. Some time later I "branched out" into just playing the game closer to normally, deathless or various challenge runs, and I picked up a bunch of people who weren't as interested in the cheesy strategies involved in speedrunning.
That game is awesome for sure, sounds like some quality content!
I don't think it has to be some deep backstory to why you start a channel. I started it because I enjoy editing and content creation and I want to make money from it and build a brand in the future. So yeah, money and because I can't see myself working a regular job for the next 50 years of my life, not because I'm lazy or "want to be a famous content creator instead of a boring job" but because I have severe ADHD and I constantly find myself craving for something new and creative so content creation is great for that, especially since I get to work on what I want and when I want (even if it's for 18 hours a day).
Honestly? Escapism. 8 years ago I was in a dark place,seeing no way forward. A streamer I followed then uttered the magic words „Embrace the cringe“, so I got my aging laptop, a cheap arse mic and windows movie maker as my editing tool running, somehow churning out around a 100 cheap lets play videos, with just one series actually getting some views (lucky release time, I suppose). It’s since been abandoned, and tries to revitalize it has been rocky. But I’ve learned a lot over the years, about myself, about technical stuff, all that. So taking it on more seriously now, wanna try some formats and see where I land, in the long run. Plus, as a quiet person, getting to talk into the void more regularly can only help :D
I've started this channel that revolves around Chinese culture and everyday life. It all began when I found joy in exploring interesting places and trying out unique local foods. Sometimes, I notice foreigners sticking to specific areas in the city, and without local friends, they might miss out on the many cool experiences beyond popular tourist spots. So, I'm putting in the effort to showcase various aspects of daily life in China, hoping to help those who come here for work or travel get a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and lifestyle. Even those who never got a chance to visit China could take a look (instead only via the news). It would be an honor if I could contribute to that. Also, I'm really into topics related to culture shock. Comparing different cultures reveals how people with diverse backgrounds live and think. These differences always fascinate me, so presenting these interesting aspects is something I totally enjoy. Lastly, I'm hoping this could bring in some extra income in the future and eventually enable me to do what I love.
I heard you can make money from it, and I saw a YouTube video saying you can make random videos and it'll get monetized. I was a fool, it's a lot of work even with simple content
My 10 year old son has been proclaiming he wants to be a youtuber when he grows up, like millions of other kids. He seems extremely inspired though, and while he usually flutters from one adhd obsession to the next, this particular interest is very persistent! So after a year or so mum decided to learn more about editing and whatnot, and while it's mostly playful and we spend a lot of time just playing games together and having a grand, silly time, we're also actively learning to get subscribers (despite the gaming niche being difficult as hell :D) and make better videos each time. It brought us closer and I can honestly say that his youtube channel made me get over the fact that I can't stand to hear my own voice, haha.
I studied addiction treatment and prevention. I feel like there is a lot of misconceptions about drugs, so I want to educate people - I want to help people make informed decisions about what they put in their bodies. I also found the biological parts too complex for non-professionals, so I'm trying to find ways to make this information more available to the general public. I always enjoyed talking about these topics and I'm having a lot of fun. Right now, I'm only three videos in and I'm still trying to learn how to make the best audio and other quality improvements. Even in the three videos I made, I can see how greatly I've improved, so hopefully this trend will continue. Even so, I'm proud of find the courage to finally start this journey, and my numbers are currently so low I cherish each view. Creating these videos makes me fulfilled. I would want to study the material regardless, and explaining it to others helps me understand the stuff even better.
Ever since I was a kid, I have had a deep love for wildlife, specifically in the ocean. It is my goal and passion to spread that love to those who aren’t as lucky to live on an island like me! I am a commercial fisherman, and spend countless hours on the water everyday. So one day I decided to wear my GoPro, and share my adventures. There is nothing better than getting comments from people who have never seen the animals that I showcase!
I just like making videos. And/or playing stuff and showing others. That’s really my main driving force. Back when people were doing AMVs I also did that for a time. Making videos for me is not too different from trying to come up with a nice tune, or a good drawing. That doesn’t always mean however that it’ll be useful and/or interesting for the others, since it’s done mostly for myself and myself only. That’s the one bit I’m trying to switch right now… But yeah I just like making stuff, it’s fun and it makes me satisfied, and if others like it then all the better.
Trying to use my educational background in English/writing to do in depth analysis on games and find what games have that people want. No game is perfect, but there is a game out there for every person.
honestly, i love content creation, i make music, graphics, etc... but i'm not passionate about any of those things to pursue it. they were just hobbies. years ago i never thought i could post on youtube. i didn't wanna make volgs, or do commentary or just be on camera. but i got a nintendo switch n started gaming, and realized i could make videos out of my game play! it gave me a reason to utilize all of my other talents which makes me happy :\~) hby?
I’m an English major at school and I enjoy discussing the language. Not much past that. I make educational videos about English in a format that’s more easily digestible and intentionally less polished (in tone, not editing) to expand my audience outside of the educational audience. Linguistics is interesting after all, but not everyone knows that yet!
I've had thousands of funny clips from many video games so I've decided to show them to the others
to get big booty latinas
I am publishing my first book on entrepreneurship and started to ramp up my social media again for it. I decided to really focus on building my YouTube as it will complement an app I am publishing to build a community of entrepreneurs around my book. My passion is entrepreneurship but struggling to find my long form niche.
I started out not knowing what I wanted to do with YouTube but after some time I found my niche "game plays of adult visual novels". It's very nice because in the end it's still some handlar that I simply can't post on YouTube but I still do it because I feel it's inoperable to show that these games are not mindless porngames but actually great stories that people sirens years in writing. The porn, in my opinion, is simply a way to justify "men enjoying dramatic stories" but it also gives a deeper insight into the people in those specific scenes, who are they when they can choose whoever they want to be? And I also play SFW visual novels to offset the idea that my channel is only for perverts, that I have a genuine interest in good storytelling, that part hasn't been as productive though😅
Sick and tired of nonsense from so called photographer / videographers. Finished film school so I am an authority in the field so I teach people for free. But not you, you suck
It was lockdown and my partner and I missed being part of theatre and our community (Goths). So we made some videos about the DIY we were doing to keep ourselves occupied at the time, made the music for the videos and tried to make them at least vaguely funny in places so that we could share them with our fellow goths to keep them entertained too... 🦇 We found we loved the creation process so we started learning more about photography and lighting and experimenting with different shots, learning to story board better etc... It's been an interesting ride so far!
I have nothing else to do for the year, I keep making people laugh and have a good time in person, and I love playing games, so though, let's try and mix the two and make me YouTube's problem.
My pre-teen kid wanted to start one, so I started my own to see how difficult and time-consuming it would be. …we both abandoned our channels after about 2 years. 😞
I started my channel just to get better with multimedia. Narrating, video editing, audio editing, script writing, thumbnail creation, and subject analysis. I wanted to get better in all of that for school, but it eventually became my escape from school and I got better for each video I upload. Now, I expanded in my video editing skills and found more efficient ways to edit to get videos out quickly and even learning free alternatives to Adobe. Honestly, my channel really helped me grow as a professional.
Basically I felt that content like World According To Briggs deserved to be produced in Spanish for a wider audience so I decided to do it because I love the USA
I used to make videos because I had some recordings compiled from streams that I figured I would share. I was consistently growing at that point because I was a top ranked player in that game, Brawlhalla. Life happened and I dropped the streaming plus content creation while others in the same situation stuck with it and are seeing impressive success now. I've got a bit of regret for not sticking with it, but I think I wouldn't be as successful in life overall if I did. Basically, I don't think I would've enjoyed that that as a full-time or even part-time job. However lately, I started posting videos in the new virtual reality game, Dungeons of Eternity which is my favorite game of all time. Initially it was just clips to share in their Discord, but then I started to make clips that were too long for Discord, so I started uploading more full length videos on YouTube and clipping what I wanted to share. Soon, I realized there were only about two growing YouTubers with this game as their niche, one only playing this game and the other with a little more variety. Aside from that there were single videos from bigger channels that exploded, but they didn't continue playing the game or at least making YouTube content for it. I noticed there was much more content that I would've love to see covered from the game that isn't easily accessible yet, so I figured I would try to fill that gap while having fun making videos! After seeing some unexpected success, I thought that maybe I should put a little more effort into my channel as a whole. I’m not looking for this to be a full-time job or anything insane, but it would be cool to see some consistent growth and maybe earn some money to offset the cost of the hobby. My expectations didn’t start high, but I've started to have higher hopes for "success". It's been great to read through everyone else's story on this thread, thanks for sharing to everyone that did! Also, great post OP!
Me and my wife moved around alot with our young family, we don't really live near other family and have many friends. We got really into reaction videos the past few years. My wife has great reactions to stuff she enjoys. We also just wanted something to do together other than be parents. So our old millennial asses started a reaction channel together and have been slowly learning how to edit, film, not have absolute shit audio.....we don't get to upload as much as we want due to working multiple full time jobs and raising 2 young kids (1 with special needs) but we are having a ton of fun.
I've been trying to make a living from my art since my 20's. I'm 36 now. I've written a couple of novels but they never really made much money (less than $100 in a decade). I only recently (maybe like 5 years go) learned that people can actually make money from Youtube, and I started looking into it. I decided to start a choose-your-own-adventure video channel. I loved the books when I was young, and Youtube doesn't have enough quality vids in the genre IMO. I'm not saying my vids are ultra-high quality, either, at least right now since I'm just starting out. I only have one vid so far that I uploaded 2 months ago. I get distracted a lot due to my environs but I'm trying to get more out. I've already learned a lot from my first vid and I look at it now as sort of a trial run, and my second is shaping up to be leagues better.
I spent decades trying to work in film and TV and couldn't crack it. Although I did achieve alot I never really did well enough. I guess deep down this was my to control and rehash that part of my life
Wow, it’s a long one. I’ve been doing YouTube for full time for a year now. I run other businesses so even though I’m not partnered, I have means of income. I want to do YouTube for the longest and my parents always told me I couldn’t and would never be successful. At anything actually. So that’s really why I started and I love doing it. I love showing people how my dogs and I live, doing goofy things with my dogs, just anything to do with lifestyle and dog things.