I'm Stepping Away

 From Social Media...

For now and not including this blog where I will continue to post pictures, links to other stuff and my thoughts on Motorcycles, the World and anything else I find interesting. If you want to read it or even post a comment, you are welcome, but if there are no visitors here, that is fine too.  Nothing is compulsory and moderating (if necessary) will be by me and final. Where something is of wider interest, I may post out to Facebook, but that will be infrequent. Here is also the place where I can put the kind of thoughts that would not go down well in a more public space and that is just fine too.

Why?

I got to the point where I felt that social media was damaging me emotionally, physically and in terms of creativity. I found myself orbiting around other people's universes and doom-scrolling on Facebook without any aim, bombarded by meaningless content I hadn't requested sucking my soul away.  Putting out videos was  becoming a chore and I found myself neglecting my other passions, Nature and Photography.  The quality suffered accordingly and I allowed myself to put out content just to fill a gap. That needs to change. 

When will I be back?

That depends on how well I bounce back and feel creativity bubbling away again. There are a couple of exciting things bubbling away in the background, but no firm timeline for their delivery. I also wish to get my photography act together. I need to replace my expensive  Photography website with something cheaper (free) which will take some time to implement. Then I will find a way of adding a Blog, so I can do the same with images, all outside of YouTube, facebook and other social media. Plus, I have content to be edited and released on my photography channel, contests to enter and (hopefully) art fairs to attend. Then, there is home life including my partner, mother and son. All of whom need some care and attention. To give some sort of timescale; a month at least, possibly more. In the meantime, I will be working on the projects already mentioned and there are also some unfinished videos to be completed. I will also add many more still motorcycle images to my CMD Portfolio image galleries, currently  arranged as events and special interest, but shortly also marques where I have sufficient images to generate a gallery. 

What's Coming when I do return?

The various pieces of tech I have accumulated over the winter months need to be dusted off and put into action with me giving my thoughts in real-world riding conditions and hopefully wrapped in a quality video. To that end, here is a picture of one piece of tech which should help with that eternal bugbear of riding videos, sound quality. This microphone will amongst other attributes allow wireless connection with my smartphone and  teamed with a new helmet mounted camera, reduce clutter, deliver improved sound.

DJI Mic Mini

You Tube analytics clearly demonstrate that nothing puts a viewer off quicker than dodgy sound. The problem from a producer viewpoint is that what works at 20mph rarely works at 60mph as well and usually not at all at 70mph. This usually means that most Vlogs tend to be Country road meanders, or short Urban rides. A typical example are the Mutters produced by TAYM. (The All Year Motorcyclist) Without additional attractions however, these can be tedious and repetitive. Beautiful scenery, a motorbike and sunshine can only go so far. TAYM gets over this gap by introducing content off other people, such as pictures of their bikes alongside a witty commentary. However, it's actually pretty difficult to create a witty commentary and build a community in the way he has done. Not everyone possesses the skills he has, and viewers demand higher production values these days. They want to see AND hear clearly exciting rides at all speeds with different camera angles underpinned by a clear story. But, even if you can deliver all that, you still have to give the viewer things they want. To get views, reviews of new and exciting bikes is the fastest way. Reviews that are competently put together, thorough and preferably by someone that the viewer will relate to. Being female, young and attractive (FYA) is a massive help. Next up is being from Yorkshire, male, firm and authoritative, think Stuart Fillingham for example. I have none of those attributes, so I have to compensate with humour and wit. However, what one viewer finds funny, another is insulted by and so on. (I personally can't stand the afore-mentioned Mr F due to his abhorrent personal views 😉) Humour often does not translate well to the wider world either. In fact, some of the most popular reviewers, such as TMF (permanently in the 'Goldilocks' Zone) or Mark Pulling (everything is '... no trouble at all') Have recognised that being anodyne earns them fewer enemies, but they are dreadfully dull. Still, content is king and people DO want to know the basics in great detail. Why, because purchasing a new machine or kit these days is expensive and people look for the answers they need on YouTube. Personally, I will watch almost anything to get a complete picture if thinking about a new purchase, with the exception of auto-dubbed videos, (eeeuch). However, just reviews of new bikes has a limit and particularly so for me as at 5' 4", I'm never gonna ride an ADV or even a Scrambler. So, you do your road trips, but unless you are Itchy Boots (FYA...) nobody watches them. So, all I can do is do the best I can with a mixture of videos, riding, reviewing, commentating and interacting with others filmed, edited and sound-scaped to a high level. Of course, you can do all those things and someone will say 'All I want is engine sound...' which is frustrating, but could it lead to a new way of working? Certainly  some channels major on this with information supplied in other ways. This approach almost lets the viewer be the rider. Interesting eh? 

In a nutshell coming up will be up to four in-depth bike reviews, a couple of longer trips, more bike events, more people and plenty of riding. See you there👍