Do youtubers contribute positively to railway modelling?

[Corbs]

In case anyone's interested this is what my analytics page currently looks like. In total I think I've earned around £140 in ad revenue from the channel - mostly from 5 high-performing videos.

The amount of views you need to get to make real money is quite a lot.

The payout threshold is £70 so I've had 2 payouts so far.

 

My uploading has become a lot less regular, I could get much higher numbers if I was a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly uploader but having done that and gotten over the 2,000 subscriber hurdle I'd much rather make videos when I want to rather than feel like I have to, if fewer people see them then that's fine.

 

[martin_wynne]

22 minutes ago, Corbs said:

In total I think I've earned around £140 in ad revenue from the channel

 

 

Do you know how much ad revenue YouTube made from your videos?

 

Have you considered sending them an invoice for use of your content?

 

Martin.

[HonestTom]

6 minutes ago, martin_wynne said:

 

Do you know how much ad revenue YouTube made from your videos?

 

Have you considered sending them an invoice for use of your content?

 

Martin.

YouTube takes a 45% cut of the revenue your videos make from advertising.

[Corbs]

1 hour ago, martin_wynne said:

 

Do you know how much ad revenue YouTube made from your videos?

 

Have you considered sending them an invoice for use of your content?

 

Martin.

 

I don't fancy getting an invoice back for video hosting and access/promotion to a worldwide audience 

[Ruston]

18 hours ago, westernviscount said:

Of course, given the contemporary craze of framing criticism and scepticism as envy and negativity means it is hard to explain why youtube and modern approaches to hobbying as shown in the Hornby show are problematic to some. It just always sounds like sour grapes. 

 

It is hard to explain, and I'm sure that it does seem like sour grapes to some people.

 

The youtubers that I find incredibly annoying are the sorts like the one on the Hornby TV programme, who was running trains as fast as they can go. The TV show keeps on repeating a clip of him sitting on some sort of trolley and being pulled along by dozens of OO locomotives and generally behaving like a child.  The rest of the show is alright but it's the dumbing down, taken to new depths, by someone who is on there for no other reason than that he has a youtube channel that I don't like. It's not sour grapes, it's simply that I don't like how my hobby is being associated with this sort of nonsense.

 

I have watched another of his videos, one that was supposedly a review. It was a video entitled "does Oxford Rail make the best wagons". After over seven minutes of waffle, and showing the boxes, he gets down to business with the first wagon and says "Let's take a look at the underframe..." After looking at the tyres and pointing out the bleedin' obvious that they are painted white, he says "Plenty of underframe detail, you can see these sort of brake rods or levers, whatever they're called". And of course he says nem when referring to the couplings, as if that is a word and that N.E.M. isn't shorthand for Normal European Modelling Standards.

He's then on to the second wagon, pointing out and waffling on about what we can see with our own eyes, and then follows up with the third, which is a 7-plank mineral. He has no idea of what any of the structure of the prototype is and uses no proper terminology whatsoever, "steel struts or something" being the best he can manage to describe the end door. I switched off after those ten dreary minutes as it then became a show of trains running around on a carpet.

I know that not everyone is a wagon expert and that's really the point.  If you set yourself up as a reviewer and a so-called "influencer" then you really should know what you are talking about and be more informed and knowledgeable than your audience. If you are going to review something then you should learn about it and be able to give an informed opinion, otherwise what is the point?

On the other hand, I really like the Railway Mania youtube stuff that Corbs does. The in depth discussions with people who really do know their stuff on specific subjects are very informative and interesting, so not all youtube content is unedifying dross.

[toolongtoremember]

So I am one of those YouTubers, and I make videos of things that are in my niche of modelling. Mine specifically is automation, so a lot of my content is about that. Which I find helps a lot of people as it is a subject which is hard to understand without a good visual aid. 

 

I find the best part of YouTube is that you can find a layout you like, then scroll back through the video history to see it's construction in detail. This is where I believe the best of YouTube is.  

[sncf231e]

16 hours ago, Ruston said:

And of course he says nem when referring to the couplings, as if that is a word and that N.E.M. isn't shorthand for Normal European Modelling Standards.

 

N.E.M. indeed isn't shorthand for Normal European Modelling Standards; it is shorthand for "Normen Europäischer Modellbahnen" which translates to "Standards for European Model Railroads“. There is nothing "Normal" in NEM 

Regards

Fred

[AndrueC]

On 13/08/2021 at 23:12, westernviscount said:

I am in fact unsurprised that working very hard might not even lead to a living being made. Working hard does not automatically mean success despite the popular narrative.

You should never aspire to work hard. Work smart. That's where the real money is.

 

Working smart means greater productivity. It's also something that fewer people can do. There are vast numbers of people who are physically capable of hard work. But the number of people who are capable and willing to think about what they are doing is far smaller. Supply and demand means those people can charge a premium for their time.

 

And to the OP's question: Yes it does. For the most part it's a positive contribution. It can teach the skills that we need. It can give us inspiration. It can encourage us to 'have a go' even we're likely to fail. I'm an avid amateur golfer and the OP's question could very much be applied there as well. I've watched many golfing videos on YT (my favourite is Golf Sidekick) and some have helped. Most either give me an idea (confusing me, most often) but none of have ever come close to putting me off playing.

Edited December 11, 2021 by AndrueC

[westernviscount]

1 hour ago, AndrueC said:

You should never aspire to work hard. Work smart. That's where the real money is.

 

Working smart means greater productivity. It's also something that fewer people can do. There are vast numbers of people who are physically capable of hard work. But the number of people who are capable and willing to think about what they are doing is far smaller. Supply and demand means those people can charge a premium for their time.

 

And to the OP's question: Yes it does. For the most part it's a positive contribution. It can teach the skills that we need. It can give us inspiration. It can encourage us to 'have a go' even we're likely to fail. I'm an avid amateur golfer and the OP's question could very much be applied there as well. I've watched many golfing videos on YT (my favourite is Golf Sidekick) and some have helped. Most either give me an idea (confusing me, most often) but none of have ever come close to putting me off playing.

 

Interesting points AndrueC. The work smart not hard platitude is something I have deployed myself in work which curiously and joyously for me has led to me not working and someone else working hard ;-).

 

I am being facetious of course but i find the celebration of this type of management/life coach stuff difficult. Perhaps because I know it is the way things are, but I find it so depressing. The high flyer  CEO boardroom speak seems to permeate into all manner of workplace. 

 

Thus spake the dinosaur ;-)

[AndrueC]

4 hours ago, westernviscount said:

 

Interesting points AndrueC. The work smart not hard platitude is something I have deployed myself in work which curiously and joyously for me has led to me not working and someone else working hard ;-).

 

I am being facetious of course but i find the celebration of this type of management/life coach stuff difficult. Perhaps because I know it is the way things are, but I find it so depressing. The high flyer  CEO boardroom speak seems to permeate into all manner of workplace. 

 

Thus spake the dinosaur ;-)

Well for the record I'm not a CEO. In fact I'm not even a manager. I've been a programmer all my career and since I intend to retire in a year or so (age 55 or 56) that's all I'll ever be. But generally speaking I believe in letting market forces decide remuneration (although I agree it's significantly unbalanced at the moment).

 

But hey this is not addressing the original question so I'm happy to leave it at that.

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by AndrueC

[HonestTom]

On 10/12/2021 at 18:24, Ruston said:

It is hard to explain, and I'm sure that it does seem like sour grapes to some people.

 

The youtubers that I find incredibly annoying are the sorts like the one on the Hornby TV programme, who was running trains as fast as they can go. The TV show keeps on repeating a clip of him sitting on some sort of trolley and being pulled along by dozens of OO locomotives and generally behaving like a child.  The rest of the show is alright but it's the dumbing down, taken to new depths, by someone who is on there for no other reason than that he has a youtube channel that I don't like. It's not sour grapes, it's simply that I don't like how my hobby is being associated with this sort of nonsense.

 

I have watched another of his videos, one that was supposedly a review. It was a video entitled "does Oxford Rail make the best wagons". After over seven minutes of waffle, and showing the boxes, he gets down to business with the first wagon and says "Let's take a look at the underframe..." After looking at the tyres and pointing out the bleedin' obvious that they are painted white, he says "Plenty of underframe detail, you can see these sort of brake rods or levers, whatever they're called". And of course he says nem when referring to the couplings, as if that is a word and that N.E.M. isn't shorthand for Normal European Modelling Standards.

He's then on to the second wagon, pointing out and waffling on about what we can see with our own eyes, and then follows up with the third, which is a 7-plank mineral. He has no idea of what any of the structure of the prototype is and uses no proper terminology whatsoever, "steel struts or something" being the best he can manage to describe the end door. I switched off after those ten dreary minutes as it then became a show of trains running around on a carpet.

I know that not everyone is a wagon expert and that's really the point.  If you set yourself up as a reviewer and a so-called "influencer" then you really should know what you are talking about and be more informed and knowledgeable than your audience. If you are going to review something then you should learn about it and be able to give an informed opinion, otherwise what is the point?
 

I understand that kind of frustration. I fear it's a by-product of the way programmes are made. The people making the programmes don't really "get" the hobby and so they don't know how to present it in a way that viewers find interesting. On the other hand, a bloke doing crazy stunts, that's easy to understand. If we're thinking about the same person, he's also quite good at presenting in a manner that's engaging and fun - that's not a skill that everyone has (I certainly don't, that's one of the reasons I don't appear on camera in my videos). But it's true that it's not really representative of the hobby as a whole. 

 

On 10/12/2021 at 21:13, toolongtoremember said:

So I am one of those YouTubers, and I make videos of things that are in my niche of modelling. Mine specifically is automation, so a lot of my content is about that. Which I find helps a lot of people as it is a subject which is hard to understand without a good visual aid. 

 

 

I agree with this. I also think it's quite encouraging - there are many aspects of modelling that are simpler than they sound. Being able to see a modeller actually working with the tools and materials is not only helpful, but it can show beginners that actually, these things aren't so scary after all. For example, I had no idea how to even begin working with styrene until I saw a video by Adam Savage on the topic which demonstrated that actually, it's really simple.

[toolongtoremember]

On 14/12/2021 at 10:46, HonestTom said:

I understand that kind of frustration. I fear it's a by-product of the way programmes are made. The people making the programmes don't really "get" the hobby and so they don't know how to present it in a way that viewers find interesting. On the other hand, a bloke doing crazy stunts, that's easy to understand. If we're thinking about the same person, he's also quite good at presenting in a manner that's engaging and fun - that's not a skill that everyone has (I certainly don't, that's one of the reasons I don't appear on camera in my videos). But it's true that it's not really representative of the hobby as a whole. 

 

I agree with this. I also think it's quite encouraging - there are many aspects of modelling that are simpler than they sound. Being able to see a modeller actually working with the tools and materials is not only helpful, but it can show beginners that actually, these things aren't so scary after all. For example, I had no idea how to even begin working with styrene until I saw a video by Adam Savage on the topic which demonstrated that actually, it's really simple.

Jago Hazzard!! I was one of your subscribers from when you were a tiny channel like my one!

 

Thanks for your great content, watch all the videos. 

 

 

[josh_will]

On 05/06/2021 at 14:40, Michael Hodgson said:

Not politically correct now, and yes we probably do see more of them in model railways and at preserved lines than other fields.

 

Seems to me it helps keep them off the streets and they're largely harmless - apart from wasting your time if you're daft enough to watch them.  I fairly quickly decide whether or not I'm going to continue listening to any videos, and if they're crap, then I go something else.

I don't think that the YouTuber in question here necessarily exhibits these kinds of traits, if I'm interpreting your words correctly. I believe that these videos show enough evidence of a rather different - I shall describe it as a 'condition' - that could explain the slightly immature actions, but also provides an answer for the person's obvious obsession with trains. The individual's continued love of Thomas and Friends into adulthood is, I believe, further evidence of this 'condition', and it does not necessarily imply a lack of intelligence but rather an inability to outgrow obsessions developed at an early age; I think that this person is actually highly intelligent, but this manifests in a 'high-functioning' way... I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.

 

 

Regards,

 

Josh

[OnTheBranchline]

Any exposure to model trains is good exposure - it's the lifeblood of the hobby, especially now during COVID.

[westernviscount]

Some inspirational news for the kids. Forget dreams of being a nurse, teacher, doctor, astronaut, musician....

 

Youtuber is the way forward!! It all makes me feel kind of...well...empty. 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59987711

[colin smith]

Sam's Trains is interesting. I haven't watched a great deal and he is slightly irritating, very verbose, and doesn't really seem to get the idea that these are models of prototype locos that many owners will use in a prototype manner. For example, he completely dismisses the idea that the hauling power of a model loco should be proportionate to the hauling power of the prototype.

 

That said, a lot of the tone on this thread is... well.... a bit grumpy. No offence.

 

What hasn't been addressed (unless I've missed it) is an assumption in the OP.  As I see it, whether or not Youtubers are a positive (or negative) influence  on railway modelling largely depends on what each of us thinks railway modelling is (no, I'm not being dim) what we think it should be, and what we think it shouldn't be. 

 

For many here, I think the answers to those questions are, broadly, a realistic portrayal, albeit with compromises, of an identifiable historical period and location (usually British) featuring a railway, and the more realistic it is the better. But those aren't the only possible answers and there's nothing intrinsically unreasonable about running your trains on the carpet simply as a preference to creating a realistic setting, or creating an entirely fanciful setting.

 

Personally, I'd love to get into Youtube as a way of sharing my novel writing, but I'm aware it's a lot of work and I have a face for radio.

 

 

[westernviscount]

5 hours ago, colin smith said:

That said, a lot of the tone on this thread is... well.... a bit grumpy. No offence.

 

Guilty as charged ;-) but I do feel there is a lean towards youtube being a positive thing througout the thread. Some are fixated on Sam' trains which is an easy target given it being so trivial, but generally most are positive towards the form. 

 

I am very much in the minority camp of "no they don't". 

 

 

 

 

 

[newbryford]

5 hours ago, colin smith said:

Sam's Trains is interesting. I haven't watched a great deal and he is slightly irritating, very verbose, and doesn't really seem to get the idea that these are models of prototype locos that many owners will use in a prototype manner. For example, he completely dismisses the idea that the hauling power of a model loco should be proportionate to the hauling power of the prototype.

 

That said, a lot of the tone on this thread is... well.... a bit grumpy. No offence.

 

What hasn't been addressed (unless I've missed it) is an assumption in the OP.  As I see it, whether or not Youtubers are a positive (or negative) influence  on railway modelling largely depends on what each of us thinks railway modelling is (no, I'm not being dim) what we think it should be, and what we think it shouldn't be. 

 

For many here, I think the answers to those questions are, broadly, a realistic portrayal, albeit with compromises, of an identifiable historical period and location (usually British) featuring a railway, and the more realistic it is the better. But those aren't the only possible answers and there's nothing intrinsically unreasonable about running your trains on the carpet simply as a preference to creating a realistic setting, or creating an entirely fanciful setting.

 

Personally, I'd love to get into Youtube as a way of sharing my novel writing, but I'm aware it's a lot of work and I have a face for radio.

 

 

 

There is a fine line is between influential, informative and inspirational.

 

IMO Sam is none of them.

 

More inyourface

 

 

 

 

 

 

[colin smith]

33 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

There is a fine line is between influential, informative and inspirational.

 

IMO Sam is none of them.

 

More inyourface

 

I agree. But he appears to enjoy what he's doing and he's making money from it. That is an achievement and therefore he is interesting.

 

I'm detecting a slightly earnest, 'hair-shirt' attitude on this thread that regards railway modelling as a worthy endeavour and anyone putting their work out there, be it exhibiting at a show, writing articles for magazines or blogs, or producing YouTube videos, should be serving the modelling community and hobby in some way.  Some may want to do that but I think it's perfectly okay, even admirable, to turn your modelling into a form of self-promotion, either because you like being a showman or because you want to earn money via YouTube advertising, as Sam does, or through commissions for modelling work. 

 

I mean, when we were young who didn't one day want to see their work splashed all over Railway of the Month in the 'Railway Modeller'? Well, today you don't have to worry about pleasing Mr Flint: you just need YouTube and a dedicated following and you're Railway of the Month every day of the week.

Edited January 14, 2022 by colin smith

[bradfordbuffer]

51 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

There is a fine line is between influential, informative and inspirational.

 

IMO Sam is none of them.

 

More inyourface

 

 

 

 

 

 

He's on your digital skeleton! If the authority's ever investigated your hard drive!....shudder to think of the bones in mine!...would of been as bad as my work locker in the 90s...

[newbryford]

28 minutes ago, colin smith said:

 

I agree. But he appears to enjoy what he's doing and he's making money from it. That is an achievement and therefore he is interesting.

 

I'm detecting a slightly earnest, 'hair-shirt' attitude on this thread that regards railway modelling as a worthy endeavour and anyone putting their work out there, be it exhibiting at a show, writing articles for magazines or blogs, or producing YouTube videos, should be serving the modelling community and hobby in some way.  Some may want to do that but I think it's perfectly okay, even admirable, to turn your modelling into a form of self-promotion, either because you like being a showman or because you want to earn money via YouTube advertising, as Sam does, or through commissions for modelling work. 

 

I mean, when we were young who didn't one day want to see their work splashed all over Railway of the Month in the 'Railway Modeller'? Well, today you don't have to worry about pleasing Mr Flint: you just need YouTube and a dedicated following and you're Railway of the Month every day of the week.

 

Actually, I have had stuff in RM (and other publications) a number of times.....

 

Hopefully, my content was more of the non-prime time TV viewing like the recent Mr K show

 

Sam is more Viz, than Railway Modeller.

 

Edited January 15, 2022 by newbryford

[colin smith]

8 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

Actually, I have had stuff in RM (and other publications) a number of times.....

 

Hopefully, my content was more of the non-prime time TV viewing like the recent Mr K show

 

Sam is more Viz, than Railway Modeller.

 

 

And I wonder which has more readers...

[newbryford]

5 minutes ago, colin smith said:

 

And I wonder which has more readers...

 

I'd rather my stuff was in a broadsheet as opposed to a tabloid.

[bradfordbuffer]

39 minutes ago, colin smith said:

Quote,..... Well, today you don't have to worry about pleasing Mr Flint: you just need YouTube and a dedicated following 

Thought he was a nice chap! Can't look him in the eye again!.....dirty boy!

[bradfordbuffer]

3 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

I'd rather my stuff was in a broadsheet as opposed to a tabloid.

Tabloid....Page 3 look at the buffers on that!