Extra Edition: "Why I Have Been Uploading Videos with Only Dozens of Views for Over 5 Years"
Recently,
since I started writing on note,
"You're working hard on YouTube, too, aren't you?"
I've been told that more often.
But in reality,
I didn't start it with the intention of
"wanting to succeed on YouTube"
that much.
Originally,
it was completely "for friends and family."
Videos from hanging out with friends.
Videos from when I went touring.
Videos from playing with RC cars.
I was just keeping those things
as a "substitute for a diary."
So, I edited the videos
just enough so that individuals couldn't be identified,
with the feeling of "it would be nice if we could reminisce about this together later."
In fact,
even now, many of my videos
have only 30 or 50 views,
and there are quite a lot of videos like that.
But conversely,
it feels like "the people who were there are watching it,"
and I actually quite like that.
And then,
there were gradual changes.
I became friends with people I met at supercar events
and on touring trips,
and in the flow of talking about cars,
"Are you doing YouTube?"
I started being asked that more often.
When I told them about my channel there,
the number of people subscribing gradually increased.
To be honest,
even now,
I don't feel like "only 730 people,"
but rather
"730 people have subscribed to me."
Because,
originally, they were completely videos for friends and family.
In fact,
I've been doing this for over 5 years,
and the view counts haven't grown significantly.
But instead,
people I actually met at events
would say, "I watch your videos,"
or "I subscribed to your channel."
Those kinds of connections
gradually increased.
I was actually quite happy about that.
And halfway through,
not just videos for friends and family,
• Car introductions
• My own way of thinking
• Car life
I also started talking about these things
in my videos.
The trigger was
that the number of subscribers increased,
and I thought, "Since I'm at it,
I want to talk about things that might be helpful to someone."
And one more thing,
there was something I had been thinking about
for a long time.
That is,
the topic of "if I could monetize it."
Actually,
rather than wanting to make a lot of money on YouTube,
I had the feeling of
"I want to entertain everyone with that money."
For example,
• Making merchandise and giving it to viewers
• Making a mascot costume and appearing at events
I was thinking about things like that.
Especially,
"Nyankichi"
was a presence that had always been in my mind.
I really wanted to make a Nyankichi mascot costume someday,
• Car events
• Hero shows
• Traffic safety activities
and so on, I wanted to try doing those things.
But in reality,
making a mascot costume is quite expensive.
So I thought of it as a dream,
"if YouTube could be monetized."
And now,
in the age of AI,
I've become able to make the Nyankichi I drew long ago
move in a live-action style.
Honestly,
I feel like I'm being helped by the times.
The cat I drew 20 years ago
in Windows XP Paint
has started moving again
now.
Life is
truly unpredictable.
But I,
even if the view count is low,
even if the number of subscribers doesn't explode,
think "I'm glad I kept going."
Because,
through my videos,
• Car friends
• People I met at events
• People who read my note
I was able to connect
with various people.
So my YouTube
might not be a "successful channel."
But,
it is a place where
"memories and connections with people"
remain in abundance.
Click here for YouTube↓
Click here for the secret story of Nyankichi's birth
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