matpat

Plot Hole Fix

JoeRover Living the Write Life , , , , , , , , , ,

At first when I watched the Game Theorists video on why electric/lightning Pokèmon aren’t that great, I was like, “Oh interesting.” Also, finally someone explained volts, amps, and ohms in a way that wasn’t completely confusing. But then as expected, at two in the morning my brain was like, “Oh my gosh! Air resistance!!”

In the video, it explains how air has a high ohm factor, which means that it is a very good insulator against electricity. Like they said in the video, “It’s why we don’t get electrocuted every time the wind blows.” There needs to be a lot a build up before a lightning strike. This mattered to me because I could use it in my science fiction books.

My main character has the power of telekinesis. From this I get people saying, “Why does he need to get in close to fight his opponent? Why not just toss him from afar or drop a car on him?” I explained part of this as a battle of wills. A person generally does not like to be thrown against a wall, so the foe’s will is fighting against the protagonist’s will to throw him, which drains the hero of energy. But now, I can add in air resistance/insulation. The further away the protagonist is from the opponent, the more resistance there is for his “psychic” energy. So to conserve his energy, he needs to fight hand-to-hand.

Now, I can respond with something other than, “it’s fiction; give it a rest.”

And they say you can’t learn anything from video games.

Do you have a strange story of inspiration? Let me know in the comments below.

Until next wormhole…thanks for reading.

Join in the adventure as Joe and company deal with everything from waking up in the morning to stopping an alien invasion in the Christmas themed eBook Gift of the Minion. Releases Dec. 3. Preorder for $0.99, regular price $2.99.

Recommended #36 | Halloween Edition

JoeRover Recommended , , , , , , , , , ,

The following are my opinion and do not reflect the opinion of any organization or person.

Here are some spooooky recommendations for Halloween. Happy tricks and treats.

I, of course, have to start off with the Halloween anthology book that I have a story in.

Hush: Anthology by Earnest Writes

Now that the shameless self promotion is out of the way, here’s the rest of the list.

Playing SPOOOOOPY Songs In Beat Saber… by Tempex

LUIGI’S MANSION 3 Gameplay Walkthrough Part 1 – FULL GAME (Nintendo Switch) by GhostRobo

🎃 CARVING the 7 DEADLY SINS on Pumpkins! 👻 *spooky* by Jazza

Slumber Parties Are Witch Gatherings by Let Me Explain Studios

The Lost World | DCEASED #6 Review (FINAL ISSUE, SPOILERS) by Fortress of Solitude

FNAF VR’s DREAD-ful New Game! | Curse of Dreadbear (FNAF VR Help Wanted DLC) by GTLive

Do you have any recommendations? Tell me in the comments.

Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading.

YouTube CliffsNotes | Living the Write Life

JoeRover Living the Write Life , , , ,

After seeing the latest “couch-side chat” by MatPat (host/owner of The Game Theorists channel–among others) where he discusses how the good that YouTubers do is largely overlooked by the news media, my first reaction was “duh.” (Click here for the video.)

He mentions how a public relations person told him that no one is interested in good news about YouTubers. As a once-upon-a-time reporter (and for a short period a PR person), I was not surprised by this statement. The first thing they tell you when you walk through the Journalism 101 door is “if it bleeds it leads.”

It’s not just YouTubers that are targeted by this “no one interested in the good news they do” belief, it’s everyone. I can’t tell you how many times I pitched a “good” news story only to have it rejected or published on page 25.

The reason for the “no good news” is partly because “bad news” is what sells. News media operates by lowest common dominator, which sadly is drugs, sex, and violence. People are more interested in reading about a scandal or accident or disaster–probably because these things end up affecting people. The story about the 100-year-old woman is cute but how does it affect the average person. The story about the tornado ripping through a town impacts more, especially if you have friends or family there.

The “bad news” is also easier to write from a reporting perspective. It’s a lot easier to find an angle for a story where YouTuber X is found to be a child predator versus YouTuber X donated $2,000 to charity. In the later, pretty much all your questions are answered within a few words; the former creates questions and creates more stories (i.e. coverage of a trial, controversy over if YouTube should run background checks, etc). In the charity example, you get one, maybe two, stories. In the child predator story, you get hundreds.

But, I’m not here to talk about business theory or sociology or psychology. I’m here to talk about the second thing I thought of after watching the video. How do people find out about all these news/debate topics and still spend hours upon hours on their videos? Is there a YouTube CliffsNotes I don’t know about?

So, naturally I began thinking about how funny that would be if there were CliffsNotes on YouTube Creators/Channels (there might be; I just said I’m not “in the loop”). Wouldn’t that be weird/cool to walk into a bookstore and there is CliffsNotes: MatPat? It’d be full of all the stuff about his channels you’d need to know, like “clap and a half,” and “#BlameJason,” and “Pro Tips.” It would also have brief summaries of the more popular videos.

Or how about a “For Dummies” spin-off/series. Grian for Dummies or Domics for Dummies.

I’m sorry, these are the weird rabbit holes that writers/artists find themselves in sometimes. But, you can’t tell me that you would rather have a post discussing news media theory or dissecting an Internet video than hearing about Let Me Explain Studios for Dummies.

Two hours later…

Two hundred dislikes?!

OK, so maybe you would rather have a post dissecting a video…

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Defy Media v YouTube Creators

JoeRover Odds and Ends , , , , , ,

It started with a The Game Theorists video called “They stole $1.7 Million.” I was hesitant at first about clicking the video, it sounded clickbaity. But, I clicked anyway; I’ve been watching Game Theorists’ videos for awhile now and figured, “meh.” It started out with MatPat talking about all the high and low points of 2018. I thought, “Oh, it’s one of those videos,” but I was interested in what this $1.7 million was about. Finally, the video came to Defy Media, a YouTube multi-channel network (MCN), and how it stole from 50 YouTube Creators. Now, I’m looking into the issue myself (*sigh* How do I keep getting myself in these messes.)

According to the video and YouTube’s support page, an MCN helps channels with “audience development, content programming, creator collaborations, digital rights management, monetization, and/or sales.” It kind of works like a publishing company. An author submits their manuscript and if the company likes it, they distribute it and help the author with marketing, sales, legal issues, editing, and so on. When a book sells, the money goes to the company; they take their piece; and give the royalties to the author. The MCN does the same (except the Creator publishes the video on YouTube and YouTube distributes it); YouTube pays the MCN the ad money; the MCN takes their cut and gives the rest to the Creator. It’s not that abnormal of a process. It works pretty smoothly until someone decides to be a jerk.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Defy Media announced its closer on Nov. 6 and that most, if not all, of their YouTube affiliates found out through the press, not the company. The YouTube Creators naturally began wondering about their AdSense paychecks, since YouTube sends the money to Defy Media and they give it to the Creators. So, the Creators asked Defy Media what was happening. According to the article, they got little to no response. Even The Hollywood Reporter couldn’t get the Defy Media CEO Matthew Diamond to comment.

The article continues to state that, “Some partner managers who were laid off are still responding to creators’ requests via personal phone numbers and email addresses, say sources, but they have had few answers.” In other words, some of the employees who just lost their jobs are now using their own time and resources to try and manage the mess.

Fortunately, YouTube has stepped forward to say that they will begin sending the Creators’ next paychecks to the Creators. But, some Creators say Defy Media still owes them money, specifically the money Defy Media received before the closure (Sept. and Oct.).

Also, according to the article, many of the YouTube Creators believe that Ally Bank now has control over the money. These Creators have been contacting the bank in order to let them know that some of the money is theirs. Again, they haven’t been told much. The Hollywood Reporter tried to get in touch with Ally Bank but the spokesperson “did not respond to a THR’s request for an interview.” I can understand that Ally needs time to look through the Defy Media records, discuss what to do, and so on, but at least tell people, “We’re looking into it; we’ll let you know more at X time.” Even a little information is better than none.

Apparently, Variety and The Verge also had trouble reaching Defy Media so they could tell their side of the issue. The Verge adds that Defy Media has also gone “radio silent on social media.” I recently checked Defy Media’s Twitter feed; the last tweet was in September of last year, and it was nothing about closing down. Their Facebook page also ends in September with no mention of a shutdown. And their website no longer exists.

The THR article further states that not only are the YouTube Creators angry, but so are the laid off employees. At least one has filed a class-action lawsuit stating that Defy Media didn’t inform them as is required by law. It turns out, Defy Media did send them the proper paperwork stating that the company would continue to run until Jan. 2, but they then closed at the end of Nov. 6–the day the employees got the letter.

So, what can you do? Research the topic for yourself, come to your own conclusions, then (if you so choose) support whichever side it is you believe to be right. If you believe the YouTube Creators, you can support their channels (some are listed listed in the above mentioned articles). You can also tell others about the issue through social media or on your own blog. If you believe Defy Media, you can do the same, share your opinion on social media.

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