First Post of 2014

Wow. It's been ages and I completely forgot I had this blog. I'm sure no one reads it on a regular basis but I like its simplicity and look. I left MySpace today. Closed the account. Don't really need it anymore. I also closed the Facebook pages BillElderRadio and BillElderVoiceovers. I have my regular account to promote that if needed.

With the constant changes in social media and the high speed constant change in our attention span it's difficult to stay focused. I'm going to make a new video on BillTvMacon2 about where this is heading. Thanks for reading.

How much do you spend a year on YouTube?

YouTube Sub Drops

Here are a couple of screenshots of my YouTube channel BillTvMacon indicating the most recent drop in subs. If YouTube was a radio station and I got numbers like this, I'd be working in the mail room.

It's obvious to me that this ship has sailed, the plane has left the airport, the Pope has blessed his last mass, the sheep's wool has made it's last sweater...you get the point. Thanks to everyone who has been so kind as to join me in this effort to communicate with the outside world. I still do BillElderRadio on Mixcloud and have this nifty blog!

(knock knock on the door) Um, Mr. Elder? You actually think people are reading this? Come with us, sir. We'd like to give you a sedative to help you relax.

Proud To Be A Streamer

I know, ay my age that could mean something completely different. About half a year ago I decided to become a "cord cutter." When I moved in my first apartment in 1974 I got cable TV. You pay monthly for that, which I did until I left their services somewhere in the year 2001. Then I joined DirecTv. They were great. Clear inexpensive and had a TIVO that allowed you to time shift. Six months ago I became what is known as a "cord cutter." My monthly bill from DirecTv was somewhere around $65 which is very inexpensive for them. I didn't have any Hi-def packages or specialty channel. I even had an antenna I installed in my attic to get local channels. My friend, Pete, who is an old radio bud had discovered a way to "cut the cord" and I started talking to him about it. I'm an equipment research kinda guy so I studied all the options and decided o get a Roku. Now my monthly bill is about $16 a month (for Netflix and Hulu Plus subscriptions) and I still get beautiful Hi-Def local channels from my attic antenna. And it doesn't stop there. There are loads of channels that cover everything. My two favorites are Nowhere TV for loads of content and Video Buzz that allows me to watch YouTube.

This month, Roku released that it has some 5 million units of their produce. It comes in many configurations but I've narrowed it to two. The LT (light purple box) is Hi Def 720p MDMI / composite out and gets and sends its info by Wi-Fi. The other is the XS or Roku 3 (different models, the three being the newest) which has Hi-Def 1080 and uses Wi-Fi or an Ethernet port. Every model has built-in wireless (Wi-Fi b/g/n compatible), new on-screen experience with one-stop search

and plays 720p HD video. The XD / XS and Roku 3 are 1080.

The down side is you're going to lose the ability to watch the newest programs on The History Channel. And, I have to buy a season pass from Amazon to watch the new Doctor Who episodes at $2 each. By my calculations, I'll save about $650 this year by not having DirecTv.

And here in my country we get digital off air channels that are free with all the networks and and side specialty channels. Amazing ease of use, quality and selection. If you're not seriously considering this, you need to be. But, you do need a decent internet connection. I have the AT&T 6MB/ps plan and everything works fine. No problem watching content while using my iPad. Just for a test I was able to stream two different programs on separate TV's...and use the iPad with no problem. 

Here are some links for more info. 

Roku Products: http://www.roku.com/roku-products

UK Review LT version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHe13ojmjxs

Cord Cutters Roku 3 Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgw72BSU1zM

Apple Tv / Roku Comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBgck_QrOK4

First post of 2013

I just read a Blog from the great Barry Aldridge here on Blogger. I had forgotten I had a Blogger account until just now. Since Google now owns everything but the "car wash" I'm pretty much fully involved. Hey, Google. Ever thought of buying MySpace? Certainly you could integrate it into something else you own. I guess not. Why rattle the cage of Google Plus.

More to come.

Blogger Now

I can't believe I slept 8 hours last night. This morning I tried to remember my name but that part of the brain isn't working yet. It'll come, I hope. I'm curious as to where Google posts these blogs in addition to Blogger. We'll see.

A New ACB

I’m pleased that there will be a new ACB posted soon. The one year anniversary of the collaboration will be soon. We’re all very excite about this and will keep you posted on our Twitter, AliChrisBill. Ali is about to go to sleep, Chris is in the middle of a busy day an I’m just waking. So, these things can take days to plan. But, we’re ready to go again. It feels really good. I’ve been missing this more than anything.

Coffee, Tea and Me

I “double clutch” a mug of coffee every morning. That means I have both hands on the mug softly speaking to it as if I were wooing a new girlfriend. You’ve seen on a recent video that I bough a new coffeemaker. It chugs and spurts giving me at least three full mugs of java. Is this good? According to the postings on the internet it’s like the Russian Roulette of morning drink. Some people metabolize caffeine quickly, while others just take a sip and wait for the heart attack.

Every afternoon I must have my tea. Five trips to the UK and that habit was set permanently in my psyche. I’m like a kid at Christmas making the afternoon pot and adding those two sugars and touch of cream (in my case 2% fat milk) to make it proper. God, this is heaven. My last trip in the UK I was literally stopping and thanking strangers in that country for introducing this into my life.

Someone asked me the other day if I was healthy. I respond the same way to anyone who asks. My last checkup in 1994 I was in perfect health. Yes, when I had surgery three years ago my doctor told me to keep running that I was in great shape. One day I’m going to die of something. When it happens and whatever the circumstances, two things are certain. The Medical Insurance industry will make sure I have no money left so that if I do live through it I will be broke and want to die. And the medical profession will make sure that I understand that everything I do will eventually kill me.

And so, I continue to drink. Cheers!

Where Have You been?

I am truly sorry for my lapse in tending to this blog. I'm going to be changing some things to make it easier for me to post on a regular basis.
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To what's happening now. I am having the most incredible experience with YouTube and related interactive sites. I am truly a person that can say, "YouTube changed my life." Could I live without it? Yes. Do I want to? No. I tend to look at the positive things.

I don't assume another personality on YouTube or any other interactive site. I made a friend on YouTube. Along with that comes messages on Twitter, Facebook and Skype. Because YouTube includes video and audio you have better understanding of who that person really is. So when we had our first audio chat (which I seldom do) the conversation was as if we had been friends for years. Absolutely amazing. I credit it with it being a nice fit in personalities, but also the familiarity of YouTube.

Gatherings are much the same. Through familiarity with videos, most there already have been informally introduced by their videos. Yes, there are creeps. But they are found out and quickly dismissed. I can't help but feel that the world is a smaller and better place because of this new interaction and relationship we have all developed.

Fun Picture and New Channel

I'm working far ahead on the heels of a busy weekend and Jury Duty next week. I keep videos live much longer than I used to. I just finished editing another one which has an Unsuspecting Co-Host. It should be live by mid week.

Here is a shot of me I took for me for Daily Booth. I'm taping my hosting part of the latest video. The script stand usually isn't there, but with a co-host it's nice to have their words there to reference.


Another piece of news is...I opened a second YouTube channel. I participated in Chartjackers and didn't want to have the videos on my main channel. BillTvMacon2 (or as I call it, the Blue Channel) will probably feature some short videos relating to videos on the main channel. I'm testing to see if old videos are being deleted from the original Bill Tv video tapes. YouTube has adopted a policy where they put an Amazon/ iTunes banner if copyrighted music is used. I really like this idea.

More Info

I am a big believer in the More Info area of the new YouTube design. I consider it the most underused but critical tool of the experience. Friends joke about me having so many links in it but it is a helpful way to inform, cross reference or direct viewers to requested information.

In my "2000 Subs" video I had a request as to where they could get a t-shirt I as wearing. It so happens that I had a link to Captain Wilhelm's 80's Hero Shirts (and US store) in the "More Info" area. In my video I made a comment about how his video mirrored the 1000 Subs video and a link to it is there. You get the idea.

The Total YouTube Experience

YouTube deserves to make money. I hope they are making money. Their focus is clearly on showing movie and television content and featuring their partners. But an incredible thing has happened. Those that "have" are reaching out to those who "have not." When Youtube stopped "Featuring" regular videos and only paid and professional content, other YouTube partners with some big numbers took over and started doing the same. YouTubers (hehe..that word Tuber again) like Crabstickz, Conawillvlog, Dan2Shambles, Blade376, Barry Aldridge and, most recently, Vlogbrothers have been so kind to promote my channel.

I try to do the same in my own small way with Shoutouts. I think that the "vlogging community" of YouTube will always find ways to help the backbone of the site no mater what corporate Google chooses to do. With the new channel redesign YouTube did listen and respond to requests from the vloggers. They still are today. My experience is just as great as it was when I first joined. In fact, it has gone way beyond my expectations. When you include Twitter, Skype and DailyBooth into the experience you find yourself making real friends.

What is happening is our world is getting smaller and there's no going back. Thankfully!

Bill Tv Shirts UK

I am very excited that now BillTvMacon.Spreadshirt.net offers colour shirts for Bill Tv in the UK.
This means that all my friends can now get the same adult shirts that have been available in the USA. There are still some limitations in that there are no children's or ladies colours yet. I hope that will change soon. And, as with the USA shirts, I make no commission as to keep the costs down for you.

(note the nifty drop down menu that lets you chose your colour!)

Epic Skype Call

ACB (AliChrisBill) is one of the YouTube joys of my life. It combines three YouTube Vloggers into one video with no timetable. Better yet, we're now on three different continents. I owe a lot to RougueBluejay (Alasdair or Ali) who has been an internet friend for just about as long as I have been posting new videos. MyNameIsChrisYeah (Chris) and I found each other when he asked to interview me for his first Chinwag feature. Ali commented how great great Chris was to be able to hold your attention for 10 minutes. Chris and I were watching one of Ali's BlogTv broadcasts and we all decided to try a video together.

One of my most asked questions is about how we make them. It's absolutely equal partners. We all edit the videos and most people can't tell who edits what. I love that. We always send to each other more footage than expected. Whatever you need you're always going to get more. We each have different styles and much the same sense of humour. (I use the UK spelling because I'm out numbered.)

It happened one day when I was on Skype call with Chris, JamFozz and WaffleSam. It's the first time I had ever spoken to Chris. We have Jammy (JamFozz) to thank because he saw that Ali was online added him to the chat and called him. The funny thing was it was 6AM in Australia. lol Ali took it well and the conversation became hysterical. I really wished I could have taped it. Needless to say, I hope we'll be doing a live type video sometime.

This is a case where people who share a common sense of humour (out numbered X 2) have found each other. When Ali moved from the UK to Australia he took us with him on his laptop. To me, this is what the internet does and good news for the world. We are all "literally" connected. I have made lifelong friends and laughter is, truly, the best medicine.

YouTube's Great Community

I recently put a mission statement on my YouTube channel.
Mission Statement: To be funny, creative and encouraging to all who post.
That pretty much is why I'm here. I like to think about the people I've met and how this happened. I'll try to explain.

One day I just started posting videos. I can't tell you who my first subscriber was, but I can tell you that I remember hitting seven and being amazed. Then I started getting to know people and really caring about them. Now, I've been all over YouTube and I can attest that there IS an underbelly of the beast.

My question is this. How did I get so many nice and kind people? Every now and again I'll get the occasional "turd in the punch bowl" but that has not been my experience in general. And, I do have friends that pretend to be asses and I know they're really not. (Actually, I can only think of one example) They act that way to keep people from taking advantage of them.

I was watching a SITC (Summer In The City) gathering video and the lady was saying that she didn't know who most of these people were. I'm here at home screaming their names. "Don't you know? That's Pixonu or Conawillvlog!" lol
YouTube is like a city. But the most important thing that it does is to allow people to be who they really are or to try being someone else without judgment.

I know the internet gets a bad rap for being dangerous. But, people need to know that it can also be an incredible place.

People Leaving YouTube

A show of hands of people who did not see this coming? Any time you turn your back on the people who made you popular you're going to see this. It's like radio turning its backs on the listeners. They've all found other things to listen to. And, surely, something else will come along to fill the void.

Youtube is very much like radio. You have to motivate yourself to stay fresh. In my mind I only have one viewer. It's nice to be popular but you can't associate your self worth with subscribers who can come and go at will. I make the same videos I did a year ago when I had 100 subscribers. If you let others choose the way you see yourself you will always lose. Don't let sub counts or views effect your opinion on your videos.

Everyone has a story. Because of different skills and various editing software we can make videos from "professional" content to just plugging in a camera and recording. To me the best ones are those who are being themselves. One of my favorite vloggers is Berehed. He's a unicyclist who loves what he does. Just fun videos that are real and honest. He has 30 subscribers and loves showing his latest accomplishment. I never miss watching video and I always comment.

The internet and those who use it is always changing. My experience is that you get out of the internet what you put into it. Make it what you want it to be.

(Barry Aldridge comments on this article and has some great thoughts.

Bill Tv Stuff

Years ago I had the Bill Tv logo (from the original tapes and DVD's) put on a t-shirt that I gave to all my friends that got the tapes. I still see them around today.

Recently I was asking local printers about making some to sell. There are two web sites with the shirts made in two places.
BillTvMacon.Spreadshirt.net (uk)
BillTvMacon.Spreadshirt.com (usa)
and for more products, there's
CafePress.com/BillTvMacon for stuff. I mean stuff. Seriously, you'd have to be rich or crazy...or both to get some of this stuff.

I made a transparent logo and began setting up a site to offer these to my YouTube viewers. Two of my favorite offerings is the STAFF shirt and Unsuspecting Co-Host shirts. Please know that I will not make a dime from the sale of the shirts. And, I wish I could give one to everyone. I'm not really sure about the quality. I think I'm going to have to order one to wear on camera. This is crazy, isn't it?

The UK also now offers colour shirts! To read about that, go here.

Less Videos....Really?

Just as I say I'm cutting back several things have come up. I believe that the primary responsibility of active YouTubers (hehe...I typed Tuber again) is to help when asked. A couple of great projects got my attention. I was asked by Myles Dyer (Blade376) to make a 5 minute video for one of the breaks for Stickaid2009 coming up August 15th. That's been done and delivered. Then, Hank Green asked for videos for Global Geek Week. Seemed like a good idea. Criss Crass (OneLittleTuber) had a sensational idea for a series of videos for us to do. And, I still have the Chris Somers (MyNameIsChrisYeah) impersonation video to make.

I'd like to make a YouTube suggestion. If you could make a way for us to post videos to our account that are not sent to our subscribers, that would be very helpful.

Cutting Back On YouTube Videos

This Friday is my one year anniversary with YouTube. Actually, I didn't really start posting until late September with original content. A year is a nice marker to reassess what has happened and what I'll be doing.

I'll be cutting back on the number of YouTube videos I'll be doing. The bottom line is that the number of views don't represent but a third of the people subscribed to me. This number hasn't changed. It shows that most of my subs are there not because they enjoy what I do but because someone with more subs has shouted me out and they sub from some sort of obligation. For that I am very appreciative.

But the views for someone with 1,300 subscribers should be 1,300 or above! That's what successful YouTubing looks like.

OnleLittleTuber Birthday

I am always amazed at the response that the Birthday videos get. There have only been three. The first one being for Barry Aldridge because he is filled to the brim with Awesome, if I may use a Vlogbrothers/nerdfighters term. But for the most part applied to people who are musicians or really into music. The "Beeker" appearances started with Captain Wilhelm's "Take On Me Challenge" video and is a running gag. It is really one of my favorite videos that I've made.

Are they difficult or time consuming to make? No. Making one takes about two to three hours. The most difficult part is the audio. The current one is about 10 tracks. I wish I could play multiple instruments and read sheet music like a bandit, but I can only sing and work out the harmonies for myself. Filming the video parts is easy. All I have to have are enough clean shirts to use on all of the singers. (Please remember that referring to yourself in the "third person" is a form of mental illness.) Editing with Final Cut Express is effortless. Stack the parts and the "non destructive" editing features take over!

I never sing live. It's all lip synced. If you see me wearing headphones, then it's real.

Here's the latest for Criss Crass. He's a multi-talented guy who sings, produces his own videos and has a real intuition for marketing himself. He comes from a performing background and also is into Marshall Arts and his friends. I got to know him when we did a collab on a video together.



Here is Criss' video response!



He's the real singer! It was awesome of him to do that.


Other Birthday Videos:
Hexachordal
Barry Aldridge