I have been feeling a bit cranky recently, so bear with me because that is likely to seep in a bit here. Also, today is likely to be very rambly.
There are some really great things being created right now! For a lot of people their daily lives are looking very different from when lived in the before times and a lot of creativity is coming out of that. I have seen new games get created by friends. Two friends started a new travel blog. New YouTube channel shows are being created. Web comics. Online only conventions. And, I am THRILLED about this.
Hell, I am part of it. I have had to revamp my business to be more online, sure, but also I started a project with some friends called Your Average Adventuring Show which has episodes on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsMJ_kSK8S9sWA_-RDn9bvg). I have a game idea (but have to learn what it takes to make one). I have a YouTube Channel idea, but executive dysfunction. The point being that my brain is aswirl with ideas – and maybe yours is, too!
I have seen many a friend post or tweet wistfully considering a world where their consumerism was not intricately tied into these big corporations like Amazon or Disney. And, here’s the thing, that world exists. A shadow world of indie productions and handmade products. But, as many people as I say wishing they could support those things I also see the people making those things struggling to get people on board.
And there are some reasons why that are built into the system. The biggest one being marketing budgets. When you are indie or small business you often have little to no marketing budget and every interface is pretty literally hours of hustle. Ability to spread the workload is another one. When you are one or even 5 people working on a business or project you are basically every department from accounting to production to social media, etc. So, you get spread thin.
But, there are more subtle things the make it harder for smaller endeavours as well – things we as consumers may not realise we have a bias toward. One is price and convenience. Smaller businesses and indie productions can sometimes be more expensive than similar mainstream commercial products because the smaller you are the less likely you are to be able to buy in bulk or get certain discounts, and for those who remember basic economics, you have to price a bit higher because you are selling less (different between selling 10 of something and 1000 of a similar thing).
But, I think one of the most subtle speed bumps is production value. Whether it is labels printed on a home printer or YouTube videos with poor lighting and sound, we have a tendency to turn our backs on things that feel less polished. Why watch 2 hours of live gaming where there is the occasional mic static and screen freeze and six people barely moving when you could instead spend two hours watching a blockbuster movie?
Another big speed bump is friends and families not taking these businesses and products as seriously as they would those with big marketing and production capabilities. Oh, your hobby is cute and they wish you well, but when it comes down to how they are spending their time and money, are they backing, buying from, sharing, etc? Are YOU as a friend overlooking the work of your friends? Are you more readily sharing memes and promos of products and productions by strangers than those of friends?
I do not say this as a guilt trip. I have caught myself falling into this subconscious bias. I want to shine a light on the phenomenon. I want us to all stop and think about it. If we really want our worlds to not be so pervasively influenced by the Disneys and Amazons of the world, we actually have to make an effort to break away from the habit of going to them because it is easy or eye-catching. I am finding that the more I challenge myself to engage with something less mainstream the easier it gets. There is a lot of amazing work in this shadow world and I really hope you all make the effort to find it, respect it, support it, and then share it.
Cheers,
Tanya