WHAT'S IN A NAME?

So! We're not really any closer to finding a name, but I think we most likely will be going ahead with a new channel.

As many of you have said, we've clearly confused the hell out of many of our more casual viewers, we've probably lost a ton of goodwill, and although we never planned to pivot and to us it felt organic... that's nevertheless what we've done. But we have found the format now that we love doing, and we're sticking with it.

So, I think the most likely plan is as follows:

We'll put the current main Digitiser channel back to how it was. All the old content will be made public again. In addition, we'll put Digi Level 2 on there, and it'll also be where Drong's Challenge will go later this year. We'll also use it as a place for me to experiment, and do limited runs of things IF we get the urge.

And then we'll set up a new channel. We'll move some of the longer-form documentaries over to there, and most of our new stuff will appear on that, including Britain's Most Boring City. It's going to take some time for us to get monetised, so we'll be asking for your help on that front by subscribing etc.

Then there's the issue of the name.

Sanja's suggestion is to just call it Paul Rose. Her argument is that the videos are generally my vision. I choose the topics, do the research, the graphics, the music etc.

However... I think that's downplaying her involvement. I see any new channel as us going on adventures together. I think our chemistry is really our USP.

Finding a simple umbrella name could help get around that. I was leaning towards Digitiser Adventures, I toyed with Mr Biffo.

However, Sanja's counter to that is that part of our struggle has been that I've felt beholden to what we used to do.

There's always that pressure to satisfy the past, to live up to "Digitiser". If we call the channel Digitiser-something or Mr Biffo then she thinks I'm still going to continue to feel that pressure, and it comes with a certain expectation/baggage rather than offering a cleaner differentiation that would really allow me to stretch my legs. She's encouraging me to see what I can do without the weight of the past bearing down on me.

Obviously, we don't want a clean break from you lot - we're still us doing what we have been doing and Patreon's going nowhere - but I get where she's coming from.

At the same time, those names are useful for brand recognition, so... y'know.

Bubblegun is out, because the podcast of the same name is ongoing, and very much catering to the sillier side of things. Thus, it also brings a certain expectation.

Whatever we call it, I'm going to relaunch the website so that everything is together in one place - podcasts and vids - under a sort of 'Digitiser Studios' banner.

Anyway. I mocked up a bunch of channel banners - these really are just mock-ups, not final - to see how the various names make me feel. Feedback welcome. It's helping us make sense of all this.