One of the perils of monthly updates is in its very nature – what if you’ve not had a very interesting month? Or what if you have, but you’re not ready to share with the public yet? Therein lies the reason for the shallow nature of this month’s post. That being said, I do want to talk about a fun little revelation I had about my sister blog, 32 Bit Brain. Namely: that people read it!
I create a lot of content online, and I approach most of it with the mindset that I’m doing it for me, and anyone else who enjoys it is a bonus – albeit a very much welcome one. I create a video series called The Weekly Waypoint where I talk about my week, typically in terms of what I’ve been playing and watching. This month, I hit the three year milestone, without missing a single week. And most videos average somewhere between 2-5 views, which most people would call nothing. But in all honesty, I’d make them if they got 0 views, because I love being able to jump backwards in time by a year or two to see what I was up to at that particular time. And I won’t lie, there are definitely times when I wish I had more views, but then, every time I consider putting myself out there I remember the toxicity that can come from online forums, and swiftly continue to enjoy my own peace and quiet. That being said – you’re invited, dear reader, if such videos pique your interest. You may find the playlist here.
But I digress. My point is that earlier this month, I happened to glance at the follower count for 32 Bit Brain and was shocked to find it that it currently has 411 followers, around triple what this blog has (and I appreciate each and every one of you!), making it my most successful creative project at this time. The reason this surprised me so much is that, until I began my monthly Xbox All Access Adventure series, I’d only post there very occasionally, and wouldn’t even put a ton of thought into the content I was creating. Hilariously, I spend much more effort on my Youtube channel, which has 10% of my gaming blog’s engagement, if we’re matching followers to subscribers. There’s probably a lesson to be learned there. Nevertheless, I’m going to try and make two blog posts a month over there from now on, so feel free to give that blog a look if it interests you. I recently wrote about my childhood games on the Playstation 1, and plan to continue writing about the games I played on later systems over the coming months.
This also prompted me to consider how I talk about videogames on this blog, and in the context of life in general. The depth of my love of videogames is enough that I think I can safely call it a lifestyle, more than a hobby, but outside of game-related discussions I always treat that aspect of myself as something that isn’t worth talking about. The easiest example I can compare it to is that people often mention in their blog posts about which movies they’ve gone to see, not as a main topic but as a sidenote, as part of their everyday life. In contrast, I only mention that I’ve “been gaming” if someone asks me what I did with my time off or my weekend, usually by way of demonstrating that I “don’t get up to much”. That should change! I should share my passion with people. And I do, with some, but only if we have a love of gaming in common. I should open up more to people, albeit without monologuing about something they aren’t all that interested in. And in regards to this blog, I should feel less guilty when discussing it as part of what I’ve been up to this month, though this isn’t about to turn into a gaming blog, I assure you.
So anyways, that’s that. Other things I’ve done this month include becoming heavily invested in the MMO Final Fantasy XIV, getting my traditionally overdue haircut, seeing family for the first time in months from the safety of back garden visits, writing a poem that will likely never see the light of day, finishing the first book in the Wheel of Time series and enjoying the second volume of the Cirque du Freak manga omnibus edition. Oh, and I fished out my old Top Trumps cards to have a gander, because why the heck not.
See you next month!
Perpetually Perturbed 