What do you look for in an EUC Youtube Channel?

[RockyTop]

7 minutes ago, tenofnine said:

 

Some of Chooch's videos were the final motivation for me getting my first EUC....

 

Me too. He made the sale on my first two EUCs. Now that I have one ......   I would rather watch a video with CN more substance. 

[Mike Sacristan]

5 hours ago, archieuc said:

I like real life videos with snow, duck talks, vegan pizza and crashs (with dream theater soundtrack)

[travsformation]

3 hours ago, RockyTop said:

To pull off that type of video you have to have the right kind of personality.

[...]

You just need to find your spot. What are you best at? Do that.

 

Couldn't agree more! Marty does what Marty does, Chooch does was Chooch does, and Tishawn does what he does, and they all have their spot. I can do none of the above (unless I mix NyQuil & Midol...apparently...?), so...we'll see. Only time will tell. But I do agree it's a good idea to stop and reflect on what you intend to do, @seage, and get other people's input.

BTW, RockyTop, you sure this chemically induced passing Chooch business wasn't, in reality, more of a subjectively perceived, Wolf of Wall Street, quaaludes + Lamborghini type of thing?

[travsformation]

2 hours ago, Dave Wood said:

i wont watch anything that plays music that i dont like through out the video lol irritates the hell out of me and i just can't sit through it. [...] Not sure if he's on this forum but i find 'isthereanyfood' gets the balance perfect

Because of the lack of music...? You haven't seen "Monika's Movie - 16X and MSX Adventures in Stockholm" then...

Good thing @Mike Sacristan isn't on the forum and I can say, without fear of him finding out, that playing Christmas carols on a performance wheel should be grounds enough for him to be banned from the forum... (I'm sure his wife/the cool, good-looking Grinch would take my side in that discussion)

Edited January 21, 2020 by travsformation

[Sebrios]

I would love to see more "day to day" ussage.

I mean.. I try to promote the use of EUC's. and the videos I've found the best to show are the ones from Chooch ..

I love, love, love..did I say love?... the videos when he rides with a full dress and a tie...Shows all the potential of using an euc instead of renting a crappy scooter :=)

[seage]

On 1/19/2020 at 3:45 PM, tenofnine said:

I highly doubt Hsiang would be your favorite EUC vlogger if he used an ipod touch and had horrible audio filled with wind noise....if he didn't edit them so amazingly, if he didn't go to other locations aside from NYC (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and Taiwan, etc), if he didn't have dynamic camera angles and POVs. Style and production go hand and hand which are why people like Hsiang, LOCK, evX, Alien Rides, Speedyfeet, Marty, and Tishawn are standouts IMO. What good is something unique or interesting if you can't capture it properly (audio and video) to convey it to the masses?

DOnt get me wrong. Its not that I dont like production value. Its just that i don't place it as the most important thing for me. I enjoy it because i enjoy making stuff with cool cuts and playing with color, as that crosses over into my job as an illustrator. But one of my favorite youtubers straight up uses a webcam in her room and talks, lol. Her format is still square. So no, i'd still enjoy Hsiang minus all the extras, if his story telling skills were still this good. All the stuff he does on top makes said story far more engaging, so i like it even more, but strip away everything else and i'm still going to be intrigued. Now, im going to concede to a point here. Audio. I think decent audio actually is needed. Video can suffer, but audio is rather important for me, even if i tried to pretend like it wasn't. Lol. With said wind noise, i suppose there wouldn't BE a story to hear, lmao. But i suppose my point is. Cool angles, cool locations, those are great and everything, but i've seen many videos from many beautiful places,, and not been engaged AT ALL because the question "Why" wasn't being answered. Namely, "Why am i watching this?"

I agree that its about that catch. You want people to stay on board and stick with. But some of that can be overcome via something interesting. Theres the mainstream popular, and there is behind the scenes popular. There are people on youtube getting 1m views every video with shitty equipment. I think we all upgrade and try to do better out of a passion for our craft. What we want to see. But i try not to delude myself into believing that thats totally necessary. Creativity can trump all. The production value can catch up. Remember vine? Shooting a 6 second video on your phone. It was decent video quality, but that wasnt the point. The point was to tell the quickest story in 6 seconds. It FORCED creativity.

Theres a video i'll show as an example. Its shot well, even though its old, but if the story and execution wasnt handled so well, it wouldnt hold up in 2020 because well, its an old video. 

 

[tenofnine]

25 minutes ago, seage said:

Theres a video i'll show as an example. Its shot well, even though its old, but if the story and execution wasnt handled so well, it wouldnt hold up in 2020 because well, its an old video. 

 

 

Ah yes 5SF pretty much the inspiration for Vine along with other similar channels like BallonShop.

To me personally this is apples and oranges. With comedy and more specifically meme worthy content that is meant to be shared and make you laugh quickly bad quality can sometimes be what makes it hilarious (I can think of countless examples). I don't see the same benefit for anything action sport related especially EUCs.....I want to see and hear everything as clear as possible. And even with the scene being as small as it is most people into this hobby come from at least a decent amount of money and have disposable income to already start with great A/V gear let alone buy these expensive whirligigs. So it's surprisingly rare that you see a PEV channels with really bad quality production but worthwhile content.

But yes if something or someone is unique and charismatic enough or just has something that alluring to tell of course I will tune in regardless or potato quality audio and visuals. But at that point it has almost nothing to do with the EUC, they could do what they do sans wheel. And this is all coming from a guy who has probably too big of an attention span, I will often give new youtube content too much benefit of a doubt to see if my first impressions betray me (I spend a LOT of time watching YT content).

And on the discussion of 360 video, I understand why it's used and I doubt we will see it lessen for a while. The same happened with skateboarding, fish-eye and parabolic lenses were (and still are) the weapon of choice because when filming you don't have the luxury of seeing what you are filming a lot of the time and you are bound to miss important things outside of a normal wide angle frame. 

Edited January 21, 2020 by tenofnine

[seage]

5 hours ago, travsformation said:

But I do agree it's a good idea to stop and reflect on what you intend to do, @seage, and get other people's input.

I think my skills are kinda funny. They're total opposites. I'm really good at speaking. Especially in the form of conversation. And im also good at picking up sound, like ambient noises. Like you find in ASMR. So basically, no talking LOL. I like to do funny rants, so i'm not mad, but i get kinda jokingly heated. And so on. Planning to play within this zone. I do know where I'm weak. And that is the technical side. Don't ask me about batteries and how the motors work and how to create a custom motherboard. But I think I know how to humanize these wheels. Im pretty good at lowering peoples defenses in one on one conversations. Wow, ew...I never want to speak kindly about myself again. 

[seage]

2 minutes ago, tenofnine said:

 

Ah yes 5SF pretty much the inspiration for Vine along with other similar channels like BallonShop.

To me personally this is apples and oranges. With comedy and more specifically meme worthy content that is meant to be shared and make you laugh quickly bad quality can sometimes be what makes it hilarious (I can think of countless examples). I don't see the same benefit for anything action sport related especially EUCs.....I want to see and hear everything as clear as possible. And even with the scene being as small as it is most people into this hobby come from at least a decent amount of money and have disposable income to already start with great A/V gear let alone buy these expensive whirligigs. So it's surprisingly rare that you see a PEV channels with really bad quality production but worthwhile content.

But yes if something or someone is unique and charismatic enough or just has something that alluring to tell of course I will tune in regardless or potato quality audio and visuals. But at that point it has almost nothing to do with the EUC, they could do what they do sans wheel. And this is all coming from a guy who has probably too big of an attention span, I will often give new youtube content too much benefit of a doubt to see if my first impressions betray me (I spend a LOT of time watching YT content).

And on the discussion of 360 video, I understand why it's used and I doubt we will see it lessen for a while. The same happened with skateboarding, fish-eye and parabolic lenses were (and still are) the weapon of choice because when filming you don't have the luxury of seeing what you are filming a lot of the time and you are bound to miss important things outside of a normal wide angle frame. 

Yep!! Oh man, i loved Balloonshop. "Hey Alex! Don't I look like a big Carrot??" 

ALEX!

I think this is where we differ. I feel like theres a path down the center. I'm not trying to make a series showing action highlights of all the top EUC riders in the world. I kinda want to tell a story and make an experience, and i think we've seen it in other mediums too. I do see what you mean though, about how it has nothing to do with the EUC, but, if the EUC is still a "main character" persay, i think its okay. Thats KINDA what I want to do. I have a series planned where the EUC kinda gets me places, but isnt the main point, but in the one im asking about here, Its kinda part of the story. Its a major focus, but not so much in a traditional way. I think we've seen that in other fields, but not in an area like EUC's because we're so new. Well, i think we're kind of at a point where I'm going to have to show, not tell. And i dont think im going to do a good job my first time around, haha. But hey, if you can spare some of that attention for me XD.

I agree about 360. Its exciting. It allows us to catch everything and theres all these fancy settings, so folks are gonna use all of them for a while until they get in the proper flow. 

But yeah, main point, i think you hit the nail on the head there with your comment about being unique and charismatic. I think thats always been the angle ive tried to go, but then placed the focus on something. I had an art youtube channel, and it  immediately turned into a series where I talked about mental health. The art really wasnt necessary. Since then, i've tried to find a balance between art/imagery and the story and message I wanted to portray. I wanted to film and make cool stuff, but i also wanted art to not just be a background element. It came to a head when I made this: 

Im going to try hard to NOT illustrate for every video I do, lmfao. Thats too much work. But I would like to be creative with this and take a fun approach that hopefully everyone will enjoy, even if its a little different from the better/ more informative, more group ride/park based channels. 

[Mike Sacristan]

On 1/20/2020 at 11:13 PM, Dave Wood said:

i wont watch anything that plays music that i dont like through out the video lol irritates the hell out of me and i just can't sit through it, never understood why so many youtubers do it tbh because music taste is very subjective to different individuals...  id much rather listen to commentary or even just raw sound of the wheel and the surroundings when watching videos. not sure if he's on this forum but i find 'isthereanyfood' gets the balance perfect

Thanks Dave! I appreciate the feedback.

I agree that music is very subjective. Sometimes I will just have some low volume music and try to keep the ambient sounds. Other times the music is a joke or theme depending on the mood of the clip... I do have very varying music taste but deep house seems to go quite well with my footage. Just some nice beats you know. A lot of people have asked me for music which I can understand if they put one my my clips on and have it running in the background. 

On 1/21/2020 at 2:10 AM, travsformation said:

Because of the lack of music...? You haven't seen "Monika's Movie - 16X and MSX Adventures in Stockholm" then...

Good thing @Mike Sacristan isn't on the forum and I can say, without fear of him finding out, that playing Christmas carols on a performance wheel should be grounds enough for him to be banned from the forum... (I'm sure his wife/the cool, good-looking Grinch would take my side in that discussion)

Haha yes the banning would be well deserved. We never listen to that kind of stuff but I thought i'd play just a little to see if any of the people out walking would notice and to see their reaction. We were out in the middle of nowhere at that point though. 

 

[rainystateguy]

21 hours ago, seage said:

Yep!! Oh man, i loved Balloonshop. "Hey Alex! Don't I look like a big Carrot??" 

ALEX!

I think this is where we differ. I feel like theres a path down the center. I'm not trying to make a series showing action highlights of all the top EUC riders in the world. I kinda want to tell a story and make an experience, and i think we've seen it in other mediums too. I do see what you mean though, about how it has nothing to do with the EUC, but, if the EUC is still a "main character" persay, i think its okay. Thats KINDA what I want to do. I have a series planned where the EUC kinda gets me places, but isnt the main point, but in the one im asking about here, Its kinda part of the story. Its a major focus, but not so much in a traditional way. I think we've seen that in other fields, but not in an area like EUC's because we're so new. Well, i think we're kind of at a point where I'm going to have to show, not tell. And i dont think im going to do a good job my first time around, haha. But hey, if you can spare some of that attention for me XD.

I agree about 360. Its exciting. It allows us to catch everything and theres all these fancy settings, so folks are gonna use all of them for a while until they get in the proper flow. 

But yeah, main point, i think you hit the nail on the head there with your comment about being unique and charismatic. I think thats always been the angle ive tried to go, but then placed the focus on something. I had an art youtube channel, and it  immediately turned into a series where I talked about mental health. The art really wasnt necessary. Since then, i've tried to find a balance between art/imagery and the story and message I wanted to portray. I wanted to film and make cool stuff, but i also wanted art to not just be a background element. It came to a head when I made this: 

Im going to try hard to NOT illustrate for every video I do, lmfao. Thats too much work. But I would like to be creative with this and take a fun approach that hopefully everyone will enjoy, even if its a little different from the better/ more informative, more group ride/park based channels. 

That was one of the most incredible videos I have ever seen in my 73 years on this earth. You are incredibly talented, Sir. I look forward to seeing more of your work...And you have mastered riding an EUC?  This beginning rider is so in awe.

[mike_bike_kite]

With EUC videos I like to see something interesting, visually appealing, informative, honest and preferably with a little humour. I suspect it's a hard mix to get right. I also want to know upfront whether the wheel being reviewed was bought by the reviewer or just given to him by the manufacturer to review.

I'll admit there are quite a few things that annoy me in some EUC videos. Riders (even very skilled riders) riding at speed on the sidewalk especially if it's near pedestrians. Same thing if they're riding like idiots on the road. I ... also ... dislike ... ridiculously ... ... ... slow ... monologues ... ... particularly ...  when the ... reviewer ... ... seems ... to have ... nothing ... very much ... to say. I also find it a bit sad watching middle aged men trying to look badass on a unicycle - I don't think that needs further explanation. 

I find it weird that the real advantages of having an EUC tend to be hidden in most videos. Many countries are banning them because they're seen as dangerous to the public or to riders. Does the EUC community produce videos of us commuting seamlessly with public transport and showing what a green alternative they can be? Not really, instead we show folks riding along at 30mph down foot paths or people turning off all their safety warnings and then looking surprised when they crash.

[tenofnine]

There is a little devil inside each wheel that whispers terrible ideas in the rider's ear.

The problem is that these things are just too zippy and agile. I constantly have to resist the urge to go faster or pull something kinda not so legal, and I'm a by-the-book kinda person.

Take someone who isn't....then add a camera to the mix and these content creators probably feel the need to do something interesting to keep people watching. Now they start doing stupid edgy stuff that the general populace laughs and shakes their heads at, while the EUC bros get all hyped and egg on that behavior.

 

But yea sidewalks should not be ridden on above jogging speed (12 mph - unless you have high visibility and low traffic), and you should not do anything on the road riding among traffic that you wouldn't want to see a car do to you.

These are the golden rules, break them and you are being a hypocrite and jeopardizing the future of EUCs. It's boring but it's fair and better than having your wheel confiscated.

Edited January 22, 2020 by tenofnine

[Espen R]

@Seba is there any known issues or dangers with the 2.01 on the 16S?

It's not a wheel I use very often, but I really liked the silence, so I don't really wan't to go back to the 1.09.

[Seba]

2 hours ago, Espen R said:

@Seba is there any known issues or dangers with the 2.01 on the 16S?

I don't own KS-16S, but IIRC the only complaints were about lights.

[Alien Rides]

I suppose I've somehow managed to become a moderately successful PEV channel on YouTube. Happy to share some thoughts and answer any questions you have about getting started.

 

On 1/17/2020 at 11:51 PM, seage said:

Thinking about an ambient sounds/city tours type thing.

This is really cool and I'm sure would make absolutely beautiful footage, but it's going to be a slog to gain traction because I don't think people will share this type of content. You ideally want to create the type of content that is so awesome people take the time to share it among their friends. You also need to think about how you're going to build an audience. Successful YouTubers with millions of subs don't have to worry about that because they already have an audience. They don't have the problem of building one from scratch.

Edited January 22, 2020 by Alien Rides

[Hsiang]

I saw the title of this post and I thought "boy I like to know also!" and then to my shock I was mentioned as an example.

I agreed with a lot of things mentioned; I think story is super important and not just the thing people say but also visual story telling, like their environment, camera angle and framing. And I am very much still learning these things on the fly also. The actual gear is really secondary.

Everyone have their own style; @Marty Backe doesn't say a lot but he rides through some amazing places and it always make me smile watching him ride around in his superman outfit with the cap flapping in the wind! But also because of this I think everyone would develop their story differently; I write a lot and feel like i can think better when I write so I usually start with a script, and I try to edit it down so I can condense it as much as I can. But this may not be how you work, I can see just making a long audio recording of yourself and edit that directly also.

Some people can shoot free form and get a bunch of clips and then edit them together into something coherent; to me that's very difficult to do and I tend to see that from people whom either have a lot of experience with visual story telling or way more talented than I, since you'll have to literally be putting the edit together in real time in your brain and be thinking of the right thing to say.

But the one piece of advice I got that I thought was very good was "stop overthinking and just do it!" 

 

[tenofnine]

2 hours ago, Hsiang said:

I saw the title of this post and I thought "boy I like to know also!" and then to my shock I was mentioned as an example.

I agreed with a lot of things mentioned; I think story is super important and not just the thing people say but also visual story telling, like their environment, camera angle and framing. And I am very much still learning these things on the fly also. The actual gear is really secondary.

Everyone have their own style; @Marty Backe doesn't say a lot but he rides through some amazing places and it always make me smile watching him ride around in his superman outfit with the cap flapping in the wind! But also because of this I think everyone would develop their story differently; I write a lot and feel like i can think better when I write so I usually start with a script, and I try to edit it down so I can condense it as much as I can. But this may not be how you work, I can see just making a long audio recording of yourself and edit that directly also.

Some people can shoot free form and get a bunch of clips and then edit them together into something coherent; to me that's very difficult to do and I tend to see that from people whom either have a lot of experience with visual story telling or way more talented than I, since you'll have to literally be putting the edit together in real time in your brain and be thinking of the right thing to say.

But the one piece of advice I got that I thought was very good was "stop overthinking and just do it!" 

 

I still think you're nuts to not only vlog while wheeling on NY crater streets but also recite a semi-remembered script. That multi-tasking takes so much concentration!

I watch people play games (let's plays) while trying to talk and commentate and they run off cliffs, accidentally take damage, run into walls for seconds at a time and forget the most simple words because their attention is so divided between the two activities.

Also I was convinced that you were gonna replace your legendary z10 with an MSX....that fat tire, long range,  decent torque, and top speed buffer seemed perfect for you (not to mention is is very well priced for it's capacity)

Edited January 22, 2020 by tenofnine

[Hsiang]

20 hours ago, tenofnine said:

I still think you're nuts to not only vlog while wheeling on NY crater streets but also recite a semi-remembered script. That multi-tasking takes so much concentration!

I watch people play games (let's plays) while trying to talk and commentate and they run off cliffs, accidentally take damage, run into walls for seconds at a time and forget the most simple words because their attention is so divided between the two activities.

Also I was convinced that you were gonna replace your legendary z10 with an MSX....that fat tire, long range,  decent torque, and top speed buffer seemed perfect for you (not to mention is is very well priced for it's capacity)

I have riding in the streets for years and have developed a decent mental map of surface condition, driver behaviors and traffic patterns. I try to be as careful as I can and of course there's always risk, but I really love the scenery since I feel like as EUC riders we all have this drive to see more places.

The Monster works really well, I suspect even better then the MSX since it is much more stable and less likely to be shaken by hitting potholes or uneven surfaces. But I still think the Z10 looks cooler. =)

[Lefteris]

On 1/19/2020 at 2:26 PM, Mortal Coil said:

Ex X for the slick production quality of everything he does

U-Stride for his rambling dialogues on the EUC lifestyle

Chooch Tech for his awesome riding footage

Isthereanyfood because Monika is hot!  (Hope you don’t mind @Mike Sacristan)

About that, i give @Hsiang my first place, cause he really does a story in each video, from the start to explain why, to the details, to the what to do, to closure and finish.

U-Stride has great content but it's too (TOOOOOO) long.

And some others..

For me a sweet spot of ±8 minutes of video, with production quality of @Hsiang is ok, but instead of talking about a subject each time, display his wheels like U-Stride does, real life tests for example 1 charge on the Z10 how much time will it take to reach 15% with a 95kg rider or something similar. Talk about firmware versions problems and fixes, apps.

That is the ideal youtube channel for me, a mix of the things i mentioned!

edit. P.S. hey @Hsiang fix your forum signature, the Z10 is fixed  

Edited January 23, 2020 by Lefteris

[tenofnine]

3 hours ago, Hsiang said:

I have riding in the streets for years and have developed a decent mental map of surface condition, driver behaviors and traffic patterns. I try to be as careful as I can and of course there's always risk, but I really love the scenery since I feel like as EUC riders we all have this drive to see more places.

The Monster works really well, I suspect even better then the MSX since it is much more stable and less likely to be shaken by hitting potholes or uneven surfaces. But I still think the Z10 looks cooler. =)

The Z10 is still the best looking wheel ever made, if Batman had a high tech EUC made that would be it. I doubt many would disagree it's tops in design and aesthetics, but there are just far too many issues with it let alone the support being non-existent.

[Mortal Coil]

I’d like to add Vee to my list. Her equipment and presentation is basic and the sound could do with some post editing, but she seems like a really nice person with an earnest desire to share with the community. It’s also nice to see a female EUC vlogger!

I particularly like her Safety gear vid. Not a topic that gets covered/reviewed often but after our wheels this would be the thing that we spend the most money on.

Subbed @Cutiyo!

[AtlasP]

(Controversial alert.) I personally find most EUC youtubers' content quality pretty abysmal compared to the state of the art of similar tech content on youtube.

So many tend towards some combination of longer rambling vlogger speaking style (way too slow with lots of awkward silence and super-incohesive narrative [lacking beginning/middle/end with clear talking points/conclusions/etc]) and/or gratuitous amounts of overly drawn-out/pointless riding shots (versus just using such footage to punctuate between talking points a few seconds at a time). To be clear I think many of them are decent/knowledgeable people, it's just the video style/production that's lackluster. Ultimately this likely comes down to the economics--the EUC community/market is just too small to warrant the time/effort of higher production quality or to attract the kinds of content producers capable of making such.

Kuji is by far the best we've got (although far too infrequently). Alien Rides is pretty decent but seems to mostly do scooters now. EvX has some of the best camera work combined with some of the worst pacing and spoken content. (video title: something interesting/important about a specific wheel. video content: great visuals but here's an 8 minute detour of me helping my buddy move which has nothing to do with anything... or here's a "review" but which just completely neglects/skips core categories like both speed and range..) EUCO started shooting/editing some nice riding footage but then their talking-in-a-room segments look and sound like someone's first upload ever with terrible lighting and an atrocious mic/echo. Hsiang seems like the kind of guy I would totally get along with but who might need the ability to turn up his speaking speed to 1.5-2x even in-person (like you would a podcast; please just talk faster, like by a lot #spititthefsckoutalready ;-) ). I could go on and on. Lots of nice wheels, nice cameras, and I'm sure super nice people, but their production values wouldn't stand a chance in a genre on youtube with higher viewership and thus more 'normal' youtube competition.

Just compare these to a high profile esk8 youtuber like Daniel Kwan-- https://youtube.com/channel/UCwppsPE6ucf_vUjOl9nWiBQ/videos . I don't even ride or care about esk8, I just watch him because it's interesting and entertaining and gives me some insight into the broader PEV market.

Edited May 28, 2020 by AtlasP

[tenofnine]

6 hours ago, AtlasP said:

(Controversial alert.) I personally find most EUC youtubers' content quality pretty abysmal compared to the state of the art of similar tech content on youtube.

So many tend towards some combination of longer rambling vlogger speaking style (way too slow with lots of awkward silence and super-incohesive narrative [lacking beginning/middle/end with clear talking points/conclusions/etc]) and/or gratuitous amounts of overly drawn-out/pointless riding shots (versus just using such footage to punctuate between talking points a few seconds at a time). To be clear I think many of them are decent/knowledgeable people, it's just the video style/production that's lackluster. Ultimately this likely comes down to the economics--the EUC community/market is just too small to warrant the time/effort of higher production quality or to attract the kinds of content producers capable of making such.

Kuji is by far the best we've got (although far too infrequently). Alien Rides is decent/passable but seems to mostly do scooters now. EvX has some of the best camera work combined with some of the worst pacing and spoken content. (video title: something interesting/important about a specific wheel. video content: great visuals but here's an 8 minute detour of me helping my buddy move which has nothing to do with anything... or here's a "review" but which just completely neglects/skips some core categories like speed or range..) EUCO shoots/edits some nice riding footage but then their talking-in-a-room segments look and sound like someone's first ever video on youtube with abysmal lighting and an atrocious mic/echo . Hsiang seems like the kind of guy I would totally get along with but who might need the ability to turn up his speaking speed to 1.5x even in-person (like you would a podcast; please just talk faster, like by a lot #spititthefsckoutalready ;-) ). I could go on and on. Lots of nice wheels, nice cameras, and I'm sure super nice people, but they wouldn't stand a chance in a genre on youtube with higher viewership and thus more 'normal' youtube competition.

Just compare these to a high profile esk8 youtuber like Daniel Kwan-- https://youtube.com/channel/UCwppsPE6ucf_vUjOl9nWiBQ/videos . I don't even ride or care about esk8, I just watch him because it's interesting and entertaining and gives me some insight into the broader PEV market.

Like Logan Paul and the Mommy Make-Out Day dude?

I don't think popularity is a great sign of anything on Youtube. Unfortunately there are tons of high production unique channels and personalities that just never amount to anything while others do.

EUCs just aren't popular, they aren't even known about judging by how many people are shocked to see one even exists let alone they've been out for 10 years.....let alone there are tons of models of them (not just the one I have). People are always extremely interested in them but almost none would ever want to ride or try it because they think it's impossible. It's an immediate interest and then a flatline, you think they want to regularly watch any EUC content no matter how engaging it is? No, it's just us that ride and love these things.

On youtube and social media video it's mostly younger audiences that tune in and actually subscribe or engage with the content. And they prefer good looking people first and foremost before anything else like production or content. They prefer a constant stream of uploads about things they can relate to. EUCs will never be that, if they were they'd be as popular as car channels  (since everyone owns a car or has been in one pretty much). PEVs seem to be an older thing after people have had experience with cars and other normal transportation....and then even further EUCs seem to be an even older thing with a large majority of riders being in 40s-50s which is surprising to me but true. These demographics are riding or doing other things with their time instead of having free time to watch other people do EUC stuff on social media. While the younger mainstream crowd has nothing better to do than consume content and they are only interested in attractive people or basic things they can relate to.



 

Edited January 26, 2020 by tenofnine

[travsformation]

15 hours ago, AtlasP said:

(Controversial alert.) I personally find most EUC youtubers' content quality pretty abysmal compared to the state of the art of similar tech content on youtube.

hahaha I like your "controversial alert" warning

I wouldn't go so far as to say the quality is abysmal but I do agree we're definitely not leading the pack. I think a lot of it comes down to existing skill sets and the amount of time one is willing to devote to a YouTube channel. Bear in mind there we're a small niche of users (and therefore viewers), so creators are doing it is a passion project as opposed to quitting their day job and devoting all their energy to their channel. Having the successful channel can be a pretty demanding (and expensive) endeavor…
 

15 hours ago, AtlasP said:

Kuji is by far the best we've got (although far too infrequently). Alien Rides is decent/passable but seems to mostly do scooters now. EvX has some of the best camera work combined with some of the worst pacing and spoken content. (video title: something interesting/important about a specific wheel. video content: great visuals but here's an 8 minute detour of me helping my buddy move which has nothing to do with anything... or here's a "review" but which just completely neglects/skips some core categories like speed or range..) EUCO shoots/edits some nice riding footage but then their talking-in-a-room segments look and sound like someone's first ever video on youtube with abysmal lighting and an atrocious mic/echo . Hsiang seems like the kind of guy I would totally get along with but who might need the ability to turn up his speaking speed to 1.5x even in-person (like you would a podcast; please just talk faster, like by a lot #spititthefsckoutalready ;-) ). I could go on and on. Lots of nice wheels, nice cameras, and I'm sure super nice people, but they wouldn't stand a chance in a genre on youtube with higher viewership and thus more 'normal' youtube competition.

I also like Kuji for the overall production quality (storytelling, editing, structure, length) and Alien Rides (similar reasons). EvX has stunning visuals but I do agree that his videos often lack structure and content...he often drifts away from the issue at hand and fails to cover key aspects one would expect to find based on the title of his videos, and although gorgeous, many of his shots are often fillers that have very little to do with the subject at hand, but I think this is mostly the result of not having more time to devote to his channel and trying to yield as much content as possible with the footage he has (at the expense of substance and "coherence"). I'd personally prefer to see fewer videos of his, but ones that he put more time and thought into (more scripted and less improv), as he clearly has the skills and knowledge to do so, but maybe he has his reasons and is gauging the waters to decide whether it's worth investing more time into it. If he happens to read this, my constructive criticism is done in good faith.

Although I might add, "cool it with the click bait"... It's a little insulting to your viewers' intelligence

I love @Hsiang 's videos and honestly, I don't think I'd change anything about them. His structure is on point, I enjoy his storytelling style and I personally find the pace to be just about perfect (I don't think I'd single him out as being particularly slow-paced... he gets the balance just right; if he were more chill I don't think I'd mind either).

For certain types of content I prefer a faster pace (reviews, walk-throughs, tutorials, etc.), but not for EUC videos. Duf and Marty, for instance, are much slower paced, but that's their style. Personally, I find the overall fast-paced talking so predominant in YouTube rather annoying at times, and I enjoy that that's not widespread among EUC channels. And more than anything, I respect that they set their own pace and style as opposed to adapting to the predominant format. And that's one of the things I really value: they aren't artificial, they're authentic and not trying to be anything they aren't just to get more viewers. I appreciate that in a medium full of posturing, lack of authenticity, copycats and an excess of pubescent hormonal over excitability.

The other thing I appreciate is that everyone has their own style, and although you might prefer one over another, there's (almost) something out there for everyone. I think it's also worth taking into account that the oldest EUC channels out there are only a couple years old: Marty's is just two years old, Alien Rides' is three years old but he didn't start posting content regularly until a year ago, Kuji Rolls' and Hsiang's are only a year old and look how far they've come in just one year. That's a relatively short span of time, and in most cases, half of that time was spent discovering their style. I think this is just the beginning of EUC presence on YouTube and I'm excited to see how it evolves. As more people begin to ride, potential viewers AND creators emerge, and this very thread attests to the interest in EUC YouTube channels and the will to create interesting and relevant content. It's an exciting time for EUCs