Written: Friday. September 17, 2021.
Welcome back to another journal entry that probably doesn't have anything interesting in it, because there's nothing to talk about today that I haven't talked about in the previous entries that I've written. I fixed 2 chapters of The Omnivault a while ago, which is the only apparent thing that I did that's worth mentioning. I didn't do anything else, besides watching a bunch of YouTube videos, and just waiting for the day to pass by.
The only thing different about today was that I watched the new Riverdale episodes that I've missed these past few weeks. They weren't as good as the past two episodes. It just feels like they're dragging this season with these new episodes. I didn't even watch the episode that was focused on the three Black female characters who sang and had a band or whatever. They were uninteresting to me since the very beginning of the series. And I guess the episode didn't really matter, cause when I watched the next episode, I still understood what was happening. The things that happened in that one episode does not affect anything in the series. It's just filler.
Anyway, I really have nothing to talk about today.
I opened up Facebook and saw the face of one of my friends from back in High-School. It's a video thumbnail of him that popped up on my home feed, so I curiously opened it, and it was an unlisted video of him talking about online orgs and parasocial relationships.
He says in the video that he's never gonna join an online social org because they're basically pyramid schemes and have cult vibes and whatnot, which I completely understand, because I've had my very minute share of that sort of situation back a few months ago, when I was still in good terms with this Voltes V fanatic that contacted me through FB, and befriended me in the process. He was also trying to set up an online social organization that screamed Pyramid Scheme to me. What ticked me off in that situation was his insistence on calling the thing a "partnership", and that everybody will have equal benefits, but in the contract that he wrote—which was half-assed written and submitted to me for approval and revisions, after almost a month-long anticipation for it—it just also screamed "get out". And so I did. I was smart.
Going back to my friend, he's a Twitch streamer. I don't necessarily watch his content every time he goes on, but I do sometimes watch him every now and then. I don't know what he's up to, basically. And the video he shared sort of got me up to speed on what he's currently dealing with in the Streamer Space, I guess. It's good that he doesn't like online orgs, and will never partake in one, unless he knows the team pretty well. I expected as much from his character.
The parasocial relationship topic that he talked about, I wasn't much able to relate to it, because I practically don't deal with that sort of thing. Or I haven't, yet. So I just don't know as much to begin with. He explains that whenever a viewer treats you or sees you as a friend, or if they say that you've changed their lives because they watched your videos, you tell them that you did nothing. You just played a video game, or entertained viewers for a few hours. You were doing you own thing; they just happened to be there watching you. He says in the videos that "they basically just used you as a reason for what they did to themselves". And that's something that I can agree with. I didn't really see it that way until now.
It sort of made me reflect on myself. If I haven't mentioned it yet in the journal, I'm somewhat of a strong follower of Casey Neistat's YouTube Channel. His style in making videos sort of seeped in to my own sort of way of doing my own videos. But taking the parasocial relationship thing into account in this situation, I'm basically using him as a medium for my...I dunno how to describe that. Progression? Development? I'm treating him as sort of the reason for why I've gotten a better understanding of how to vlog or some shit. I dunno, honestly. I might be way off on my assumptions of myself.
I'm just saying, I get it. I might not fully get it, but the core of the message is somewhat clear to me now. I have to keep track of the things that I enjoy watching or listening to, or even reading.
It's just that, even if I understand it, I don't necessarily think that that's a bad thing. It could definitely end up being a bad thing, if it goes to the extreme. Let's say, I got sad when Casey Neistat stopped uploading videos to focus on his family life. That's taking it to the extreme, I would think. So, at least I haven't done that at all yet. Or ever, hopefully.
This whole thing made me realize that I haven't really paid attention to what my friend has been doing lately. I'll see to it that I at least attentively watch his next stream. And try to at least say something in the chat, and be involved in some way.
Well, that's it for this journal entry. I have less than a hundred words left before I reach a thousand. Much like the past 2 weeks or so, I'm all out of shit to say, and I'm just stretching the hell out of this bullshit.
I forgot to mention that I watched a new video by Patrick H. Willems. He really has got this style to him that speaks a "It doesn't matter whether or not people watch my stuff. I'm gonna give my 100% into doing it, and it will be worth it, because I know that it comes from a place of passion. And that's good enough for me" kind of vibe.
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