So, this happened. (Patreon)

When I first started really doing YouTube, I had this idea in my head that if I reached 100K, I would be satisfied with my stint doing YouTube. Now, that ridiculous. Not ridiculous because I couldn't reach 100K, but ridiculous because I'm the sort of person who doesn't really settle once they hit a goal. It just gets replaced with a bigger goal. Not always healthy, but it's definitely how I work. 

And now I'm at 500K. 

Doing YouTube as a job as a bit more complicated than create content > get views. Well, at its heart, that really is it. But balancing making content you want to make versus content that will get views versus content which matters is a big part of it. The content that I know will succeed is not necessarily the first or the third of those things, and doing content that gets views does not, ironically, mean your channel will survive in the long run. Arguably, making content that matters will. 

I've changed across the years in the style and type of content I make, and part of that is adapting to the whims of YouTube, but a large part of that is shifting towards making content that matters and content that I enjoy. And Patreon isn't just a part of that, but it's the bedrock on which that shift is based. 

I knew once I started doing educational content that I had found a niche that I loved and matters — teaching people, helping them learn. I also have always wanted to do more meta-commentary work like that on mental illness. I couldn't have done it without the financial support I get from here. To give you some context: taking three weeks off to make that project meant taking a two thirds hit to my adsense income (money I get directly from YouTube). That simply wouldn't be sustainable if it were not for the 1000 of you. 

What I am fundamentally saying that patreon has made it possible for me not just to create content > get views, but to create content that matters and I love > get the views I need to keep doing what matters and I love. It's a remarkably different dynamic, but it's one I can make work in the future. 

Stay nerdy,

Tim