To Vid or Not to Vid? That is The Question.

I’ve talked before about the explosion of slot car video content on YouTube recently, and I suppose it’s only natural to consider jumping into the pool myself to test the waters. Just last week, Rahul and his cohorts on the weekly ConquestRacing Club live stream took an episode to consider why more people should start broadcasting videos and discuss how to get started.

I've had fun participating in live streams and online chats like the Worldwide Slot Car Chat.

First, let me say that I think it’s great that there’s so much content available out there. If someone is new to the hobby, they will find a lot of helpful information, and overall, a very positive attitude about the various ways people can enjoy slot cars. “Find your own way” seems to be the prevailing attitude today, and that’s a healthy thing – because it is sometimes possible to get bad advice, or advice based on someone else’s ideas of how one should pursue the hobby. Being open to learning or hearing different viewpoints is something to be encouraged, yet we don’t want to be lemmings, either – jumping headfirst into every trend or product that‘s the “flavor of the week.”

So, sure – I’ve considered adding original videos to my YouTube Channel. I probably would not do too many live streams, as I like to post videos that people can watch on their schedule, not mine. Besides, there are already so many live streams each week to help build community. Even posting every week is probably not something I can commit to -- lots of other slot car YouTubers post once or twice a month, and that seems reasonable. After 20+ years in the hobby, I know firsthand it’s easy to get burnt out after periods of intense activity, and I’d like to avoid that.

Like Dirty Harry said: “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

So it seems the first thing is to find a niche – and I think I can sort that out. Definitely don’t want to cover the same ground everybody else is staking out, so there won’t be a lot of unboxings (at least not of the same car that everybody else is showing) or news (I let people like Dave Kennedy handle that) or in-depth technical stuff. I’m not a hardcore racer, but I do like to tune cars and have a few build projects on the shelf. Scenery is also big for me – and I think I can offer some interesting content there. By nature, I can be a contrarian, so don’t expect me to follow every trend or tired old saw that people insist you MUST comply with. I'm also a cheapskate, and I like to show you ways to save some money.

Of course, a big chunk of content will include a step-by-step the rebuilding of my next slot car track, The Schweizering, which I hope to get started on - as soon as I can get the hibiscus plants out of my allotted basement space and into the garden. I also need to move some other items to the garage.

For now, I’m working out my video space and getting the technical aspects together. I think I have some decent cameras and mics to make it work. Lighting is also a consideration. Just figuring out how to get it all together is the big job. But it will happen.