Down the Rabbit Hole: The Big Post

Hello everyone. This is going to be a long one, since this will be an update, a discussion of the current status of Down the Rabbit Hole and what's changing in the process of creating it (don't worry, it's positive), and an outline of what things to expect in the near future.

The Process

The last month has been less productive than I would have hoped for a reason that I've been hesitant to address: for the last four years, I haven't had a regular weekend or scheduled time off. This has made work irregular and has led to burnout after a video, only to lead to a brutal month or two of catch-up just in time for me to burn out after the NEXT video is completed. This is both inefficient and unhealthy, and now that Down the Rabbit Hole is truly a collaborative venture, it's not fair to put the people with whom I work under the same sort of stress, as they often end up working frantically when we approach a video release. And so, I'm restructuring my time to give myself weekends. Right now, I'm doing 4-day work weeks, and I will adjust it as necessary depending on how my productivity looks; I could either have longer days for 4 days of the week, or shorter days for 5 days out of the week. Hopefully, this will lead to more consistent output and will help prevent the cycle of burnout that I've perpetuated for so long, as I can't trust myself to give myself breaks.

I'm working much closer with Ryan and Arc now; I'm convinced that one of the things that made the Deep Blue video so successful (It just hit 2 million views, and incredible performance for such a subject) was the way that the music followed my narration and the narrative, and so rather than writing the script and figuring it out from there, I will be (and already have been for the new video) actively coordinating with them and considering the video more holistically, considering in the research phase how the music might sound and what graphics will be needed rather than waiting until the script is done. If this pays off, then this will mean a more cohesive, immersive, and engaging experience, as well as a more efficient production process.

The Subjects

While many people tend to find Down the Rabbit Hole through my videos on well-known (for lack of a better term) "lolcows," I've known for some time that this sort of topic is a dead-end both professionally and creatively. While initially interesting, this kind of topic tends to follow the same cadence every time, and telling the same story over and over again isn't sustainable for the sort of audience I've curated, namely one that returns for every video. As I've mentioned before, I'm more interested in nurturing a dedicated viewership than pulling in a new audience every time, and continuing to make videos on lolcows runs contrary to that philosophy. And so, both Ryan and I have decided to set these topics aside, at least for the foreseeable future. Quite frankly, we've got enough of them already.

The numbers support this decision: before this, viewership was much more dependent on the topic itself and whether or not it was someone or something well-known, but if I want Down the Rabbit Hole to remain sustainable into the future, then I can't rely on the name recognition of my subjects; I want to be able to cover ANYTHING and bring you all along for the ride.

HOWEVER, this does not mean that I am ignoring internet topics entirely, nor am I averse to covering strange or interesting people. I've still got my eyes on numerous topics that might fall under the greater "lolcow" umbrella, such as Y****** ********* and C****** *******.

The (Near) Future

As for what's coming soon, I've got a few things planned. First, I have an interview that I'll be conducting next week, and I'm a bit flabbergasted that he approached me to speak with him. After it's complete, I'll polish it and put it up on The Other Channel.

We also are well overdue for the third Mistakes video. Due to my refined research process, the video might seem a bit petty in terms of the mistakes I highlight just because I'm making fewer factual errors, but I still would like to make it for the sake of accountability.

I also am behind on the Q&As; the Austrian Wine Poisoning one was recorded some months ago and needs to be edited, which shouldn't take long. I'll also be posting the Deep Blue Q&A question collection later this week, so be sure to get your questions in when the time comes.

I've ordered some books for the next Down the Rabbit Hole, but production has already begun; this will be another play-by-play-heavy episode, and diagrams will help immensely with clarity, so I'm meeting with Arcaxon tomorrow to get some graphic design done early. Ryan is also already working on the music, and he even has recorded some custom sounds for it. I expect that it will be rather unsettling and anxiety-inducing.

Where We're At

As of this week, the Deep Blue episode has surpassed 2,000,000 views, and at almost the same time, the channel has achieved 900,000 subscribers, numbers that are absolutely incredible to me. Thank you to all of you for helping to sustain me through these difficult times and for allowing me to do what I love doing unimpeded; I'm proud that I can put the majority of what I earn on Patreon back into the show to help make it even more enjoyable and sustainable, and that I get to support the creative people around me who help make the show what it is. As time's gone on, I've more and more become a creative director, and it's been immensely satisfying to work with other creatives to make these videos. You all make this possible.

I'll see you all very soon.