Reflections on YouTube, Spin-Off Channel, Merch, and Pride Month

With the anime video now released, I've found that I have a bit more free time than usual, and as tends to be the case when I have free time, I've fallen into the habit of overthinking.

First and foremost, greetings to all the new Patrons! I'm so grateful for your support, and for the support of everyone here. It's not an exaggeration to say that your patronage is what allows me to realize my vision, in Moon Channel.

Vision is a funny word. I might have told the older patrons before, but I don't really have a robust background on the internet: I don't follow very many YouTubers, and I don't have any experience with Twitch, or Twitter and the like. And so, Moon Channel has been, really, an experiment: I must be honest and state that I have no idea what makes a video successful, or indeed, what brings all of you to watch my increasingly long lectures on topics that I find interesting.

I started Moon Channel, in part, out of a sense of frustration with how content on YouTube tends to be. Which is to say, YouTube videos are often emotionally charged, and unnuanced: they paint the world in very polarizing colors. YouTube, and to just as severe an extent, sites like Reddit, Twitch, and presumably Twitter encourage very unempathetic ways of thinking: there's a lot of mud-slinging, a lot of assumption -- a lot of bag chasing, and not a lot of soul searching -- a lot of outward frustration, but not a lot of introspection. This might be a result of algorithms, or just the consequences of trying to oversimplify an increasingly complicated world, but this is besides the point.

I tell you all of this because although I love making YouTube videos for you, the Patrons, the people who I know most share in the vision and ideals of Moon Channel, YouTube itself is a depressing place, and having now some experience in content creation under my belt, it is not hard to see why so many YouTubers and Twitch streamers appear to be at times as smiling masks hiding otherwise deeply troubled people underneath. I understand now why so many laughing, smiling, incredibly successful YouTubers and Twitch Streamers seem to also be just a single bad day away from a mental breakdown at seemingly all times. I also understand now why sociopaths and the truly self-centered seem to so readily succeed in this medium.

I share these thoughts with you, not as a way of letting you know that I'm going to quit, or that I'm going to slow down: quite the opposite is true. As bad as being a YouTube creator can be for one's mental health, this is like a birthday party compared to the dour, predatory, dog-eat-dog world of law. That said, as I continue to refine the craft, I am counting on all of you to keep me in check, to let me know what works for you, or what makes you uncomfortable -- in a very real sense, I will have to increasingly trust in you to be a moral compass for the channel, as I wander deeper into the thick of YouTube. Drag me back into the light, if I'm going to deep, alright? I'm counting on you!

I intend to slowly scale up production of videos. But, I'd like to try something different as well: I'm working on two side-projects. The first is a podcast, which will feature my sister (Maya) -- it involves the subject of "girl talk" and bringing men in to discuss their feelings in a girl talk environment for the first time, while enjoying a meal that, perhaps, may be a little culturally foreign for them. It's like hot ones, but gentler in design: it can hopefully show men, and women, how to better communicate with each other, and understand each other.

The second project is a food channel: cuisine is a passion of mine, and while I love to cook, I have quite a bit of experience with cultural studies and cuisine, that I'd love to share. To that end, I'm working on a pilot episode on Seafood Doria, and a different pilot episode, the details of which I'll share with you all in time. I'm a firm believer that food is something that can bring peoples of all cultures and backgrounds together: that the joy of food can bridge even the widest social divides. And I'd like to see if I can realize that idea on YouTube, by making meaningful, food-related content.
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I wish these blog posts had chapter markers! I've been working as well on producing some merchandise for the channel, just to see how it goes. LouritaShine, a real life friend of mine, and the artist who drew the previous thumbnail, is working on making stickers by hand, of Moon Channel's various little characters and thumbnails. 50% of the profits will go to LouritaShine, and other artists, who make the art. 40% will go to me. And 10%, to charity. I refuse to have Moon Channel's merchandise made in a factory somewhere, or even at a larger printing studio -- the profitability is less the point -- I'd like for the merchandise to be meaningful, and empowering to the artists and gentle souls who work with me on Moon Channel.
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The last topic I wanted to discuss in this rather long musing is the topic of the Pride Month video. I've been trying to kick around some ideas in my mind, involving recent developments with LGBT rights in Asia, and tying that to Vivian in Thousand Year Door, but my notes are a bit discombobulated. If you have any thoughts on that topic, or would like to propose a different topic, I'd love to hear from you!

At this rate too, the pride month video might not have a sponsor -- it was a struggle to find a sponsor willing to take up last year's pride month video too. You know, every time I mention LGBT stuff at all, the Patreon loses a few subscribers? That's alright too. I might not be LGBT, but this is a topic that is extremely important to me: I've seen the persecution of LGBT people first hand, my entire life. And I've always believed that it is the responsibility of good people, of Godly people even, to stand against such persecution, in the ways that we can.

This, in part, is why all of you are also so important: the more support we build together on Patreon, the less and less I have to worry about what a sponsor says about a video (not that I care very much about what they say, to begin with). In time, I'd love to do away with the sponsors completely, and even slowly increase our donation percentage.

We'll see what the future brings.

No matter what the future brings though... thank you for being a part of it. I can't say it enough: your support means the world to me. And, together, I hope that we will continue to achieve great things.

- Moony