We'll be back right after this flu shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5puB_7Q2n74

Jaron Lanier brings up some interesting points when it comes to the monetization of Facebook – particularly the concepts surrounding the increase of tangible wealth for the users. I have heard many accounts of how social media users are being paid by affiliate partners to market brands or ideas, building on the increasing consumer desires within the online world. It was never something that I paid much attention to until a friend introduced me to her Instagram account, and showed me how she uses endorsements to earn a small paycheck. My son envisions a future where he is able to pay the bills with the earnings from a YouTube channel, but he and I are both vastly uneducated in this area. I know it exists, but how does a person get from YouTuber, to earning as a YouTuber?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlrYMoHsXfs

This YouTube video, by CTNtechnologynews, explains the basic math behind earning on YouTube. Essentially, it all comes down to viewers and their behaviour when dealing with the advertising that they view on your channel. The reality is, earning enough on YouTube to pay the bills, takes more than just having a channel and posting regularly. Gaining a solid viewer base takes time, effort and a willingness to engage in marketing that ensures you are gaining and keeping viewers long enough to gain solid subscribers who are willing to click on those ad ribbons.

What About No? has a whopping 4 subscribers, and at the time of this post, 86 views on the single video that has been posted so far.  Why is there only one post? Time is only answer we have. Between travel for work, school, and an extremely fun flu bug that made its way through our house, we simply have not had the time to make another video. The channel is not a priority, making it difficult to put in the full effort that is required.  Are we going to stop? Of course not. That would be a downer, in so many ways. We just need to get back on schedule and make it happen. Do we expect to get rich off this? Not really. Just rich in family love. 

Our 4 subscribers would be so proud of our determination.

Don't Read the Comments

The other day, we received our first comment on What About No? I expected a couple comments from friends and family, but this one was actually from a complete stranger and it seemed like this would be a good time to open a dialogue with Conroy about the comments sections on social media. While his goal may be to have his own YouTube channel one day, my goal is to transition him into the word on online interactions with as much information and explanation as possible. While I am loathe to be described as a helicopter mom, there are some areas of life where a little more guidance is necessary, like calculus and sex.

DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS.

It is the single most noteworthy advice to heed when perusing social media and yet, it is the one piece of advice that I just cannot seem to follow. Give me an article with a good click-bait title, some sensitive topics and a dash of controversial viewpoints and I will not be able to stop myself from scrolling to the bottom of the page just to see what other people think.

Let me be very clear here. I do not read the comments in order to adjust my thinking. I do not read the comments to validate my own opinions. I do not read the comments because I think that everyone who posts a comment actually believes what they are posting (trolls unite!) and I do not read the comments in order to get my daily dose of drama (I watch enough K-Drama’s to cover that).

I read the comments because the online interactions of people, when granted a degree of anonymity, is simply fascinating. I am more than aware of the fact that the person who touts equality may in fact be a raging racist in real life and the person who suggests that the author should just die is actually super bored with their existence and is looking for a reaction – any reaction. I am more curious as to why we create these online constructs of ourselves and why some people, more than others, are prone to creating completely alternate online personalities.   

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/the-good-and-bad-of-using-different-online-personas

The link above is to Common Sense Media, a Los Angeles based organization that strives to educate youth without the fallback scare tactics that have been used in the past. Instead, teens are encouraged to work through scenarios within social media that they could encounter at any time, while at the same time looking for evidence to back up their thought processes and conclusions.

As a parent who actively coaches their children online, I found the approach to be refreshing. I would rather walk my kids through the online world, giving them the tools to make sound decisions, than attempt to hide the reality that is the internet from them.