Videos of my thru hike attempt, why is nobody watching

[1234]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB_JvJN-g9w

I have made 9 videos of my thru hike attempt and while home on a break I noticed other folks had 10-15 thousand views and I have like 21-100. I have not attempted to promote videos so this is my first attempt. I am having a difficult time attempted my thru hike. Not to dwell on pain as we all know no pain no maine. But really I went to the doc who confirmed I have gout, WHAT! me, gout I do not drink or eat much seafood. My toe joint get so big and painful I just cannot walk much less hike. So I have been on trail for a week and off for a week, which has allowed for processing video but progress on the trail is to slow.

What I need is encouragement to continue fooling around with the movies. Are they ok or bad? please give me feed back, what do you want to see? I did film someone who asked me not to post his face on the internet so I respected his wishes. I know all my music is like 30 years old but that is what I grew up with. The trip so far has been fantastic and I will keep it up until old man winter sets in.

I do not know how to make the movies play in order so you must pick the next one out each time manually.

[Malto]

With the number of videos being done about the trail, I'm not sure it's surprising the lack of interest in them or frankly in any journal. The ones with the thousands of hits are likely from folks with huge networks or very well known in the hiking community.

as far as your videos, I didn't watch it, see line 1. Hope you get healed up and back on the trail.

[Walkintom]

I'm not sure why anyone would think that I would *want* to see a video about hiking. Watching paint dry is on a similar level of excitement for me.

I hike - every chance that I get. A video is such a poor representation of that experience that I find it just a tad insulting. Mostly boring, though. The insult flavoring is probably just bleed-through hubris.

To be clear, I'm not knocking your videos in particular. I have no context from which to single out your videos because I am not going to watch them - see my first sentence.

I am knocking the entire concept. I think that it's an an ill conceived idea.

You asked. I can't tell you why the thousands aren't flocking to your videos but I can tell you why *I* am not. The answer isn't pretty, but there it is.

Hope you're back on the trail soon.

[Roche]

Top Ten Reasons why...

10. We're too busy making our own hiking videos.
9. Can not find them at Blockbuster.
8. Can not find Blockbuster.
7. My kid is bogarting the computer with Minecraft.
6. Wife does not allow me to watch videos online anymore.
5. Need to get the VCR repaired.
4. Prefer to read the book first.
3. Need to first watch the 1,000 + backlog of other hiking videos.
2. You really have to ask?
1. You're not a smoking hot chick.

[TD55]

I don't like it when people assume it is OK to just start videoing me or other people by surprise or with an attitude that they just automatically have a right to infringe on other peoples privacy. Sure, people put up with it, but that doesn't make it right. Those folks you caught waking up or eating breakfast did not look thrilled to have you infringing on their privacy. Add the jittery and shaky camera work and that was enough to make me not want to waste time watching anymore.

[Jake2c]

I don't like it when people assume it is OK to just start videoing me or other people by surprise or with an attitude that they just automatically have a right to infringe on other peoples privacy. Sure, people put up with it, but that doesn't make it right. Those folks you caught waking up or eating breakfast did not look thrilled to have you infringing on their privacy. Add the jittery and shaky camera work and that was enough to make me not want to waste time watching anymore.

Yup, I agree. Better to ask people who might be in the video that you will be taking one and are they ok with it. That way it is still spontaneous but everyone has their privacy protected if that is what they want. Of course if I am in the background then it is what it is, but if someone is going to aim the camera at me and want a response of some type, like to be given the courtesy of someone asking.

[Kaptainkriz]

Aside from all the valid points listed above, on a technical note, your videos have no text description, writeup, or summary data (metadata). The words you think people will type into a search engine must be present in the title and description. Google has no real way for anyone to find these videos other than if they do a video search for "Appalachian Trail Ice Cream" (which gives me the 1st video search hits). I don't think very many people are searching for ice cream on the AT.

[colorado_rob]

Top Ten Reasons why...

10. We're too busy making our own hiking videos.
9. Can not find them at Blockbuster.
8. Can not find Blockbuster.
7. My kid is bogarting the computer with Minecraft.
6. Wife does not allow me to watch videos online anymore.
5. Need to get the VCR repaired.
4. Prefer to read the book first.
3. Need to first watch the 1,000 + backlog of other hiking videos.
2. You really have to ask?
1. You're not a smoking hot chick.

funniest response I've ever seen on WB, thanks for the laugh! time to go put on dry underwear....

[MuddyWaters]

Heres the blunt truth:

95% of trail journals suck
99% of peoples videos suck

Even a large percentage of books suck. Many are just awful trail journals. I have at least a dozen on kindle i simply couldnt continue with

Some people are entertaining, like Shug , and get popular.

For the most part, i cannot understand why so many want to put crap videos about their lives on youtube. It must be just because they can. Sometimes they are sharing experience with family and friends. Thats OK, but dont expect the rest of world to take interest. Especially those that have already been there.

It can be interesting to watch newbies make mistakes, and discover how to hike the AT. Once they get past smokies, they usually are over that and trail journals and books get really, really, boring.

[mainebob]

I enjoyed your video's. If you like doing them, keep it up.

[Coffee]

All trail videos share in common coverage of the trail, shelters, towns, and the like so I think that the videos that get popular are the ones that project a unique personality or interesting perspective. I enjoy Shug's videos quite a bit because the guy combined the trail with comedy and knows what he's talking about when it comes to gear. Stick's blog is strong on gear reviews and he does good trip reports. There are a few others that I subscribe to via RSS feeds and I've followed some PCT thru hikers. Serial Nomad - great blog and videos, she puts her personality into the content (http://serialnomad.com/hiking-blogs/...c-crest-trail/). Etc etc...

As others have said there are just too many videos of the trail that are ordinary and probably made more for personal records or for family. I'm pretty sure that if I made videos of my trips the only ones who would be interested are friends and family (maybe). So don't be too offended.

[Traveler]

If you could've gotten Redford.... justsayin

[Hoofit]

Perhaps you need to find a trail less trodden.......
Fame is hard to come by in the woods.......

[TD55]

My opinion is that the makings of a good trail video require good music, written pop up descriptions of locations and a fair amount of one or more smiling females in a fair amount of segments. Heck, it's easy to sit through a crappy video as long as there is good music and smiling females. Once upon a time that is all MTV did.

[12trysomething]

Make videos for your own enjoyment, not to get a ton of views. If you enjoy the process and having a video documentary then carry on.

[Wise Old Owl]

Sorry Ice Cream. There are lots of things that go into a good video. Some folks have it and others dont. The bar is way to high nowadays, there has to be a good dialog as well a good story and a interview. You need to stop using the zoom and need a tripod. shoot ask questions and stop and reposition. I suggest you take a course and rethink this.

not your fault - I have been down this path too. This really takes skill. And I do not have it.

Woo

[Bronk]

Photography 101...if you want 10 good pictures, take about a hundred of them. Then be sensible enough to know you don't need to keep all of the 100 you took...throw the 90 that aren't spectacular away. I took over 4 hours of video on a week long vacation but only ended up using about a half an hour of it. And tell people what they are looking at...and make sure its worth seeing.

[1234]

Thanks! for the advice. This old fat man went to engineering school using a slide rule, this new technology must be learned. Try, try, again I think I will design my own stabilizing handle or use the hiking pole as it is obvious that hand holding a camera is to bumpy. As for 50% of you that only look at hot women, ?? Marketing media has you by the _____ you may discover women also have a mind.

My daughter thru hiked 2013 and finished. I watched all the videos and read all the blogs and journals online that year and became addicted. I saw her name pop up and her face show up everywhere. I decided to do videos for friends and family to watch and anyone else. I do have a huge meta file and did Google searches to see if they would pop up and they did. During a thru hike there is little time to edit hours of footage, so one must try to only shoot good footage. It takes about an hour to do one of these short films and 3 hours to upload. To me it is amazing that an ordinary person with a $119 camera can shoot video and show it to anyone in the world. Oh and remember not everyone can go out and hike, but through video they can see the world as a hiker.

[kjbrown]

I started watching your vidieos and I would add y feedback here and not on YouTube.
1. Your commentary is like listening to instructions for installing a engine in a old Ford.
2. You sound like you arejust talking to complain about peple and using the camera
3. Stop the zoom
4. Please try to get some human interaction or at least something other than the ground
5. You are not telling the story of your hike just random facts
6. Add a white outline to your text on your opening pages so it is able to be read.

I am providing this feedback because I want to see your improvement in your videos. Check out the videos that Sam Ducharme is posting for some examples.

[Wülfgang]

Top Ten Reasons why...

10. We're too busy making our own hiking videos.
9. Can not find them at Blockbuster.
8. Can not find Blockbuster.
7. My kid is bogarting the computer with Minecraft.
6. Wife does not allow me to watch videos online anymore.
5. Need to get the VCR repaired.
4. Prefer to read the book first.
3. Need to first watch the 1,000 + backlog of other hiking videos.
2. You really have to ask?
1. You're not a smoking hot chick.

^^Hilarious!

But mostly true.

1234, The reasons why have been well-said already; there are literally hundreds of people making DIY videos of their thru hike attempts. It was a lot cooler 5-10 years ago when this sort of thing was relatively new. Now anyone with an iPhone and an ego can document their hike and post it to YouTube.

The people who are getting tons of views (RedBeard and Joe Brewer to name a few) have been making videos for a while and they garnered enough of a following over time and by producing consistently decent videos that appeal to many people (lots of gear reviews and tutorials).

But in reality, making videos or a trail journal is only for you. No one else cares. I'd probably keep a trail journal/blog if I thru hiked, but only for my wife/family and my own record. I've dabbled enough in personal blogs to know that there is just too much saturation out there for anyone to really give a *****. You need to be either a) very well-connected, b) produce interesting, regular, quality content people will find in searches, c) be a hot girl, or d) all of the above.

Trying to emulate others' videos is just going to frustrate you. Do it for you and your family or don't do it at all.