2013 — Site Goals for the New Year

I know folks, I have a tendency to do these posts too much compared to normal content. I’ve cut back, as long time followers will notice, though! Feel free to disregard this post if you find this kind of thing boring/frustrating.

But this is important enough for me to drop a small note. Listeners of the podcast (2,000 hits on the last show) on what was supposed to be the End of the World show got a taste of where I’m trying to steer the ship of TheDougem long term. Please pardon me getting a bit wordy as we continue.

Way Back When

I started off my online ‘career’ for real just over three years ago with this small testing video. Since then I started and “retired” Total War Tracker, ran a slightly successful livestream channel of the same name, worked with Slaguth and VonGreyson for near two years, discovered the wonderful world of podcasting – I’ve got quite a bit under my belt, a lot of fun time and experience spent with too many people to list!

I had a lot of energy and passion as I ran through these different projects. But always, as now, my worry was that I was taking on too much at one time, promising too much, spending too much time on what wasn’t really giving me much of a return other then the satisfaction that comes with getting Fun work done. So this past year has been a relatively quiet one for me – and to be honest, it’s been more like a year and a half.

Why?

This video, the effort involved in making it, and the reception it drew clarified a number of things for me and also confirmed a number of ideas that had been spinning in my head since the time the Total War Tracker livestream was drawing a consistent viewer-base.When I focus on a project, put my all into it, make a plan to turn it around quickly, stick to it, and work with at least one other person – the quality of my work changes drastically.I felt that I had reached a point where because I could, I should hold myself to a higher production standard.

I also figured out very fast that time is extremely valuable, and that if one’s serious about being an online content producer one has to have money, time, and a stable life. So I took a step back, began to focus on personal things, and take some time to grow. And now is about the time that I feel comfortable sharing a few of my goals for this year, as well as long term. I passionately call for transparency as part of my political commentary – why should my own professional conduct via a hobby I dearly love be any different?

Framing

The biggest reason I am posting this tonight is that I am about to cross a significant benchmark in my life that I set two years ago – a small degree of independence. If all goes as planned, a good friend of mine and I will soon have an apartment of our own that we will pay for entirely with our own income and without crippling ourselves financially. It will be our space – and most importantly, it will be a -small- production space for my efforts that is dedicated almost entirely to creative pursuits and being my little corner of the universe – something I’ve been missing for way too long!

It’s a modest start. It’s supposed to be. Those who know me well know that I like to make moves that are more careful and stable long term. The floodgates on Stuff won’t part when we move in, but the path will start moving again. I will have a studio again – a place where I can reliably record without interruption and without bugging the other people I live with, and without feeling I’m burdening others by spending time on it. I refuse to -beg- for money – I want to earn it IF I get it. As I work on in my current job, settle financial issues, and make this move – I will be putting myself in a much happier place, and I will have the freedom to simply -work- again.

That paired with how listens on the podcast have been lately – a larger audience dictates I take my work much more seriously, which means I have to be taking life seriously and maintain that attitude!

Nutshell:

To put it simply: I had a time where I was making stuff like crazy. Then I learned I could do better. I wasn’t comfortable with the life position I was in, so I did things to change it. Those changes are bearing fruit and will continue to, so I can now safely be a dreamer again while being responsible and not pestering you, the audience, for Stuff because seriously nothing is more annoying then constant fundraising.

Rough Goals

You should not take any of these goals as promises, they are what they are: Goals.

January

• Either Skeptic Conservative (one hour once weekly) or Invisible Voice (two hour once weekly) resumed
• This current blog cleaned yet another time to be more useful
• One commentary piece a week (starting week of the 13th)

February

• Maintain once-a-week current events show
• Maintain once-a-week writing
• Start ‘TheDougem Quick-takes’. Podcast/youtube segments on a single topic. Roughly half hour, variable pace.
• Pair show with active production efforts once more
• Populate soundboard for the show (bumper music, break clips, intro/outro)
• Explore modern streaming options

March

• Once weekly podcast fully produced (no webcam)
• TheDougem Quick-takes twice weekly
• Revive Imperial Gaming with SupCom retrospective and Planetary Annihilation prep/beta/alpha footage (if able), youtube + streaming

April through August

• Maintain above
• Re-establish with Slaguth and VonGreyson, at least two collab works by end of summer
• Focus on Planetary Annihilation – strengths, weaknesses – overall how interesting it is to watch a Kickstarter funded game be made.

September

• Back to school – drawdown to:
• Once weekly podcast
• More quick-take segments
• Less gaming content, less full article writing

October to December

• Maintain above
• Small streaming of PA development as time allows.

Overall:

A steady small trickle of stuff, gaming and current events (and some pure-writing content). Learning how to publicize without being a pest. Accomplishing all of the above with minimal advertising/monetizing.

What’s Missing:

• Tournaments
• Game-a-thons
• Total War Campaign Tracking
• Dedicated Let’s Plays of depth
• Minecraft server (I have the save files still!)
• Insane/aggressive focus on gaming

Unfortunately, some things WILL be too much when living on a budget, and a lot of my more ambitious ideas have to wait until I have a staff. Period. That requires me drawing much more income then I do now, and also means that I will be running or part of some sort of production group.

I can’t quite say when podcasting will resume precisely, nor when the -real- end of the world show will happen, except for saying that I hope it will be soon(c). 

As always, I cannot thank all of you enough for being patient and understanding, and continuing to stick around as long as you have. You are a great – quiet – audience, and that’s fine.

-Doug