I thought about doing a post about one month on YouTube, but when I went back to do the math, it turns out I published my first cloth diaper review post (forgetting the weeks of podcast episodes) on October 30th, 2018. Which actually means I’ve been here for three months. crazy. Where does time even go?

Why Did I Jump Over?

A little nagging voice in the back of my head and amongst social media influencers everywhere said video content is king.

YouTube is a top three search engine, so while the competition here is tough, it’s the up and coming way to find your story, your voice, and your message heard. It’s also a great way to amplify and repurpose the years of cloth diaper content I’ve already created but stumbled at getting found on google because apparently young people don’t google things anymore and the circa 2014 blog posts about bumGenius and cloth safe detergents is still dominating the ranks. #moveonover

I love cloth diapering.

Every time I turn to the cards, or to myself and ask “what is your passion” I always come back around to cloth diapering. I’m not about to start my own brand or business because I just don’t have that kind of passion, but I am passionate about online community spaces and sharing and growing information. Which is why I decided it was time for YouTube. 

I never YouTubed before because a) I don’t actually watch YouTube videos (until this year and now it’s like a vortex I can’t get out of all), b) I’m fat, c) I’m terrified of the camera, d) I have no idea about video editing and all that jazz. 

However, after a year of Instagram stories I’ve learnt that the camera isn’t all that bad, and after spending 8 hours gruelling over a blog post that was so not fun (you guys, the editing of a blog post is the worst, and I always make typos that people catch…) I thought I would try out this video thing and see if I like it. 

And I’m a quick learner to almost anything, so figuring out how to edit wasn’t too hard. Now if iMovie would just cooperate for me, that would help a ton, but until I earn $400 on this channel, I’m not making the splurge onto some easier to use, less likely to crash on me daily, software. 

Three months later and I kinda love it.

And if you’re watching me publish a weekly podcast, daily videos and the occasional blog content I want you to know that I’m in a really supportive place right now. My kids are sleeping more, they play better, and we send them to preschool three times a week. I’m also terrible at sitting idle doing nothing so…  I also have three years of pre-existing content. 

What have I learnt about YouTube?

1. The community here is entirely different than on the blog land or the Facebook land.
2. People comment on posts and then they come back and comment again and there’s a back and forth dialogue. That doesn’t happen in blog land. I publish something and then it disappears. But here it’s seen and you guys interact and engage and then we have a discussion and the world changes. YouTube is like the Instagram community I know and love but I can make videos longer than 30 seconds. 
3. Video editing isn’t so much hard as it is perfecting a skill and learning how to do all the things. I’m getting better but I also make mistakes. It sucks because once a video uploads and publishes you can’t really edit out things like you can in a blog if you make a typo or gooft. 
4. It also feels slow and painful compared to blogging. 
5. It’s really fun to just chat with you behind a camera and edit it. I miss people in my day-to-day which is why the podcast and now this channel bring me so much joy. Newsflash: Motherhood is isolating and lonely. 

I think that’s about it for now. Can’t wait for the next three months or until this burst of creative energy shrivels up and dies. <3