10K - The Road So Far

hey everyone! I figured I would make a bit of a longer post this time, since the channel just hit a pretty big milestone, Ten Thousand subscribers!!! (as of writing, I'm almost at 14k, that's insane...) Anyways, let's talk about some things. I'll be answering a couple questions, as well as talking a bit about the future of the channel.

Alright, first things first, let's talk about some channel milestones. I got monetized at the beginning of august, so that's cool! Although I kinda don't like talking about money, I think this could incentivize me to make more quality content. I've always really struggled with jobs and my income, and if it's possible, I would love to do this full-time. I really want to take the channel seriously, and I promise it won't turn into slop anytime in the future.

Also, The channel was in a pretty rough spot a few days ago. I was on vacation, so it was really hard to upload new content and manage the channel. I've also been doing some testing with my content, trying to find out what works and what doesn't. At the end of the day, I just need to sit down and really focus on improving the quality of my content.

This isn't exactly a bad thing, I promise I'm going to be trying my best to make the best content possible. I used to really struggle with chasing views, but that's done for now. Sure, if something does well, maybe I should lean into it a bit, but that doesn't mean I should stop making the content that I want to make. I'm done making low-effort shorts just for some quick views. You may notice that the channel is doing extremely well recently, and that's because I am putting a lot more care into my content.

When it comes to my channel, and me as a person... There's so much more to my life than quick content and slop. I never really expected to head down that path, but I've decided to switch gears. My channel is meant for much more than this, and I plan to deliver something incredible to the world.

I've always been afraid that I won't leave much of a positive impact on the world. I think it would be incredible to create something I love, and something that resonates with a lot of people. It's hard wanting to create something beautiful, and not knowing whether or not you have the skills required to finish it. I am very new to recording and editing, I think a lot of you would find it funny how scuffed my OBS setup is.

Anyways, I'm going to be focusing a lot more on interesting content instead of quick content. Right now I'm working on a couple things that I'm really excited to share. I'm planning a full-length and in-depth guide for Aeronautics as well as Create, and I'm going to be doing my best to make sure they are both as polished as possible. I also have a couple super secret projects going on in the background. I think I'm finally in a spot where I can start working on some bigger projects. If all goes well, I should be entering a civilization event near the end of the month, and that will also be a bigger video.

Anyways, I just got back from vacation. It was surprisingly nice, I got to take a lot of photos and eat too much Taco Bell. Regardless, I was ready to get back and work on my channel, and I've come back strong. A lot of videos are taking off, I think I've made like a million views per day for the last couple days. Things just keep getting better, and that's insane to me. Every time I think I should fall off, I keep going higher. The support means so much to me. I don't think I've ever had the desire to actually work so hard on something. I've always struggled meeting deadlines or finishing homework, I've never felt so determined to create and get back to working on something. It's nice feeling like I have an actual shot at becoming something bigger than myself.

Also, for the very observant viewer, you may have come across an unlisted full-length video. I wasn't very proud of that video. I recorded it very poorly, and I forgot to record like half of the flashback footage. I decided to chop up clips and then do a voice-over, and that made the pacing turn out awful. I think the premise of the video is really good, so I'm going to be re-recording it soon. After that, I'll work on some other videos as well.

And hey, you know who you are. Thanks. It means a lot. You think I'm a capable creator, but you never know, I might surprise even you one day. You're a great part of the channel. Thank you!

Okay, Q&A time!!

• Q: Why did you decide to start a channel?
  • Well, I guess before the channel, I actually wasn't really into Minecraft as much as I am now. I still played a bunch of Modpacks, and had just finished my obsession with the create mod. I mean, I'm still obsessed, Aeronautics is just part of that obsession now. Anyways, about a month before I started the channel, Aeronautics released. I watched the trailer, and literally couldn't sleep because I was so excited. I literally played it nonstop for a week straight. I think I started the channel kind of spontaneously. I just decided to record a random short, and then upload it. It did pretty well actually, for my first short it got a surprising amount in a day. I woke up and saw the numbers, freaked out a bit, and decided to just dive in, I guess.
• Q: What's going on in life besides Youtube?
  • This is a bit of a hard one to answer, I always feel like I'm very uninteresting outside of my channel because I devote so much of my energy and time towards it. I am a college student, I'm studying Web Design. I'm like halfway done with my bachelor's degree, just 2 more years... School should be starting up for me in a couple days, I really hope it doesn't impact the channel too much, I'm not quite sure how it'll work out. I also do a bit of hobbyist stuff too, right now I'm obsessed with mechanical displays. I'm also planning on designing and building an RC Plane soon, I guess my aeronautics expertise will come in handy there. I also play a lot of games too, right now I'm doing a ton of Splatoon Raiders. I mostly play stuff on my Switch 2, and my laptop if it's available. I'm really considering getting an Ayn Thor soon tho... It's sooo cool... Some of my favorites are Mina the Hollower, Tears of the Kingdom, Monster Hunter, and Elden Ring. I'm also trying to finish Persona 3 & 5, but they're looong. And do I even have to mention DELTARUNE??
• Q: What about your music taste?
  • First off, if you have music, PLEASE give me recommendations. I listen to wayyy too much music. Anyways, I listen to a lot of Vylet Pony, genuinely one of the greatest artists of all time. I also like Glass Beach, Femtanyl, Underscores, and Lizzy's Personal Army. Maybe that's enough artists to figure out what I'm into. I know I've got a really weird taste, but I also like normal stuff too. I've been getting into Lulamoon recently, Thinking about ordering the Lambspring CD that just released...
• Q: What kind of content are you planning in the future?
  • This one is a bit hard to answer without spoiling much... but I've got so many videos planned, it's a little daunting trying to plan them all out. I'll always be posting shorts, but I'm planning on a complete guide for both Aeronautics as well as Create. It's going to be in a different style than most tutorials or guides, and it'll be focused more on the journey and the progression rather than a list of mechanics and blocks and whatever. I'm also going to be doing a Modpack/Mod showcase for one of the Modpacks on my Modrinth. I think there are a lot of mods out there that people aren't aware of that deserve attention, and I want to improve everyone's Minecraft experience. I also have a civilization event that I'm (hopefully) participating in. I'm also looking into some collaborations, but it's surprisingly difficult because I don't have any pre-existing connections to other creators. I'm also planning a community Minecraft server, but funding for that would be incredibly difficult. I'm also working on a stream setup, and I'm planning an All-Advancements Aeronautics stream.
• Q: Wow! Your recordings look great, what kind of stuff do you use?
  • Bit of a shocker, but I record on an M4 Mac Air. Nothing fancy, tbh, it's very likely you have a much nicer computer than me. I'm thinking of getting a dedicated PC or something soon for recording. Anyways, I have a bunch of different Minecraft instances, each with different recording mods. Flashback is nice for specific scenes, but sadly it isn't available for Neoforge. That means I have to shoot all my Aeronautics stuff with Freecam, which is surprisingly difficult. I should really figure out Replaymod and get it working with Aeronautics... I'm also working on my animation skills, and some of my player animations have appeared in my shorts. I use Emotecraft, and animate in Blockbench. Other than that, you can find most of my stuff in my Modrinth Modpacks.

Anyways, let's talk about something a bit more personal. I feel like the channel has been in a rough spot lately, and to be honest it might just have been my vacation. I've made a really strong comeback, the past few days, but it's still a lot of pressure. I really want to grow this channel into something I'm proud of, but it's genuinely daunting. I'm so new to this, and I feel like I'm still missing a lot of skills that I need to fully polish my content. And it's nice getting comments, but some people hate on the smallest of details. I try to ignore a lot of bad comments, because it's not that deep. I think it's a bit silly to go out of your way to leave comments like that on random Minecraft videos, but it's whatever. I'm also trying to be a bit better at moderation, so sometimes I do remove comments. I think everyone deserves space in my community, as long as they are being respectful.

Also, for anyone wondering, there is a real person behind the channel. I put as much care and time as I can into this, and I'm trying my best to satisfy as many people as I can, while still respecting my vision and creating the things I want to make.

I'm also trying to do a bit better with crediting artists and authors. I'm a bit surprised, but a lot of schematic creators are finding my videos. I think their creations deserve a spotlight, and I try to give credit as best I can without subtracting from the video itself. Most of the time I leave a pinned comment, but sometimes that isn't enough. I never really know what kind of credit to give authors, but I'm trying to be better at crediting people's work.

Also, I know the channel is lacking in a lot of areas, especially on the community-side. As much as I would love to host events and such, there is a lot going on behind the scenes that make it very hard. There's funding, applications, moderation, and a lot of other stuff that makes organizing these events difficult. there's also a lot going on in my personal life that makes it difficult, that I won't go into detail about. If my life permits it, I promise I'll organize some awesome events for everyone.

Anyways, running my channel is genuinely hard work. I love it, and I'm constantly thinking of new ideas for the channel. it's a bit addicting to be honest. I'm doing my best to move towards meaningful content, and I hope you stay for the journey. I have my expectations very high, and I know my channel is meant for so much more than this. Anyways I'm gonna go eat dinner lol.