On Specialization

It’s no real news for creative types that there needs to be a certain niche one needs to gather a following. While I could get into how entertainment is changing from only having content designed to have mass appeal to content that is individually curated for the viewer. How does that affect the creator? Instead of large companies seeking out those who can write extravagant sitcoms and their work being visible to the masses, anyone can put their thoughts or ideas on a platform on social media where other people have a chance to see it. Key word on the chance.

This divides attention into the old media and the new media. People who are more your BOOMER types consume from the old, sophisticated hand and the ZOOMER types consume from the new, microwave-friendly hand.

What I’m getting at is usually the most successful streamers, YouTubers, and bloggers all have in common is they usually tie all of their content to a specific theme, niche, or topic.

This provides a problem for the commoner who wants to try to simply “make stuff” that other people may enjoy. They do not have boomer hands nor zoomer hands, they have ordinary hands, that is to say that probably nobody is going to pick up what they’re puttin’ out.

This develops two strategies that an ordinary Joe can use to get more enjoyment in the social part of their experience.

Be an interesting public figure

Jimmy Fallon has quite a booming YouTube Channel. That is because the guy is a part of the big old media system. This is one that works with economies of scale, he is just so big that of course people will recognize him. The thing people like about ole Jimmy is that he is already popular and he (or his team but more on that soon) produce content for the web with ultra-frequency. Of course highlight clips of prime time TV will be relatively successful on sites like YouTube, because mass appeal still works. But that sort of mass appeal is very hard to get in the world without first being known for something else.

Get known for something

Be crazy. Be the person who made a T-Rex out of chocolate.

It is usually not enough to do whatever the heck you want, and expect people to look forward to your future content. People are inclined to compartmentalize you and label you. If someone watches or participates in an activity you are doing, they need to be able to see a pattern in how you operate. What if Jimmy Fallon suddenly posted a video teaching his audience about how airplanes work? Maybe as a one-off people may be intrigued because it is different from the norm, but if he then went on to post a lets play, then a how-to cook segment, then another video about train crashes, one about hamsters, etc. People are not going to visit his channel for funny stuff any more, and the channel would suffer.

The more focused your content, the more loyal of an audience you will have. They will stick around. If I decide I want to watch educational videos, I know just who I’d go to. Lets plays? Same thing.

Being interesting alone will not grow a following

This is a folly that I experience with how my interests tend to be, yet I realize this is a solution that can be fixed. It is necessary to narrow down what you are good at and maximize the potential found there. The good news is that you can manage multiple homes, and create for each one. This could quickly escalate to overworking yourself if you would like to be consistent, but it is most definitely possible with proper time management.

Society values specialized persons. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.