August 2017 – Failed Normal

Tracking Goals in Google Analytics

August 31, 2017 Eli 5

Here’s the thing. I don’t care what you think. Frankly I don’t really care what I think. The argument that will either settle my anxiety, or change my mind is […]

Talking About Money is Not Evil

August 31, 2017 Eli 4

One of the things viewers tried to gig me on most while on YouTube was the fact I talk about money in almost all of my videos. There is this […]

eBooks vs Membership Blog

August 30, 2017 Eli 2

I’ve been asked for years why I don’t write books, and now that I’ve dumped YouTube the question is more relevant. There are a few reasons that revolve around my […]

Constant Worry as a Founder

August 30, 2017 Eli 5

“Aren’t you worried that…?” Let me stop you right there. Before you, my wife, or any other reader goes any further. The answer is, “Yes”. I’m absolutely worried. I’m utterly […]

Talking About Metrics in the Age of Unicorns

August 29, 2017 Eli 9

As of the time of writing this post Failed Normal is up to 162 paying members with 34 of them having selected to pay a full year in advance. This […]

VR’s Problem in a Changing Society

August 29, 2017 Eli 3

When I first dreamed of VR I lived I a world that was pre internet. Sending letters in the mail was actually the most practical way to communicate and if […]

VR Price Drop is a Bad Sign

August 29, 2017 Eli 3

As a child of the generation that sat in awe watching the Lawn Mower Man I have to say that VR has not lived up to expectations. In the 80’s […]

Weather Considerations for Startups

August 28, 2017 Eli 0

Running a startup, or any type of tech company requires a tremendous amount of commitment. There are long days, long weeks, long months and many times very long years of […]

Insidious Results of YouTube Recommendation Algorithm

August 25, 2017 Eli 13

The YouTube recommendation algorithm is changing not just the conversation on YouTube, but has ramifications on the outside world as well.

Why Tech Journalism Is So Bad

August 25, 2017 Eli 4

It’s pretty easy to agree that by and large tech journalism is in a horrible state. Although you do have the MIT Technology Review, most tech webzines are sophomoric at […]

Spee.ch Provides Video Sharing Without Permission

August 24, 2017 Eli 5

https://spee.ch/IMG1602-puppy/d6c7e0c0f1df95c2fcaccc9ab3f544a21e9397c5 Holy crap my stock in LBRY might actually be worth something!!! Is basically the TL;DR of this post. My advisor meetings with LBRY over the past number of months […]

LBRY’s Killer Feature (TOS)

August 24, 2017 Eli 6

Yesterday afternoon I was having an advisory meeting with the CEO of LBRY to talk about why I’ve left YouTube, and where LBRY fits into my calculations as a creator. […]

Attitude Correction from Leaving YouTube

August 23, 2017 Eli 27

There will probably be a massive change in attitude for me in my videos. Viewers complain about how I used to be happy and nice, but have become mean and […]

LBRY and DTube Problems for YouTube Content Creators

August 23, 2017 Eli 0

Once I uploaded my leaving YouTube video I was bombarded with comments saying I should start using LBRY or DTube. Funny that… being that I’m an official advisor for LBRY […]

Grateful to YouTube?

August 22, 2017 Eli 7

Having posted my “I Left YouTube” video yesterday one of the arguments I have been receiving is that I should be “grateful” to YouTube and should not complain about them […]

Morality of Paywalls

August 21, 2017 Eli 7

The paywall for Failed Normal has been built, and we’re close to posts and videos being moved behind it. I’ve decided that for this site we’ll keep somewhere between 1 […]

YouTube’s Numbers Problem

August 21, 2017 Eli 3

Over the past two weeks since leaving YouTube I’ve been doing a lot of math. It’s not fancy calculus or trigonometry, but rather good old basic math. Two plus Two […]

The Hitman’s Bodyguard Review (Deadpool 1.5)

August 19, 2017 Eli 2

I was worried going into The Hitman’s Bodyguard yesterday. On my YouTube channel I have made it clear over the past year and a half how bad I think most […]

PR People and YouTube Creators

August 18, 2017 Eli 0

Have I told you how much I hate PR folks? I don’t mean that I slightly dislike them, but really detest them in a deep and profound way. They’re the […]

How to Make Money Doing Reviews on YouTube

August 18, 2017 Eli 0

Doing reviews on YouTube seems to be one of the quickest ways to making money on the platform. By uploading reviews you are easily getting on to the radar of […]

Breaking the YouTube Addiction

August 17, 2017 Eli 7

I made it half way through the latest Boogie2988 video this morning. I was able to finish a DramaAlert, but then… hit the unsubscribe button. I flitted through a few […]

How to Get Free Review Items for Youtube Videos

August 16, 2017 Eli 2

Reviewing products on YouTube is what many creators rely on for video topics. You’ll notice many of the big channels, especially in tech, are essentially review channels. When you’re starting […]

Personality Prism on YouTube

August 16, 2017 Eli 2

People’s personalities change dramatically based on the situation and the people they are interacting with in real life. You speak to a lover differently than you would a friend, and […]

Daily Stormer Promoted by The Washington Post

August 15, 2017 Eli 0

Even as someone who generally seeks out multiple sides to a story I had never been to DailyStormer.com until yesterday. Honestly the site has NEVER come up during any conversations […]

Emotional Prostitution on YouTube

August 14, 2017 Eli 7

Let me tell you a secret… are you ready… it’s going to come as a shock… I don’t care about you… nope… I don’t give one iota of a crap […]

Nakedness of YouTube

August 14, 2017 Eli 5

When you have a project you visualize who you think your target audience is and then you build your product around assumptions based on who you’re targeting. When I started […]

Self Deplatforming

August 12, 2017 Eli 3

I was on the edge of publishing my Failed Normal content to Medium until I read a few posts talking about the CEO essentially running Medium as a vanity project. […]

Content Inventory for Creators on YouTube

August 11, 2017 Eli 0

There are 2 simple words that are the key to success in any technology related business, “ship product”. Whatever else you do in your day the only thing that really […]

The Human’s Zoo

August 11, 2017 Eli 1

I find it odd how people who make up a society will share a tid bit of wisdom, and yet many times will not think about the ramifications beyond a […]

How to Make Money on YouTube

August 9, 2017 Eli 0

When I told people my job was making content for YouTube there was really only one question anyone really cared about, “How do you make money?” The answer is rather […]

MacBook Pro 13″ 2017 Review

August 9, 2017 Eli 3

I think the picture really says it all. The 13″ MacBook Pro is now my primary computer. The 15″ MacBook Pro, and my Mac Pro are now sitting in storage, […]

Broken by the YouTube Plantation

August 9, 2017 Eli 5

I think I’m broken. After 8 years of toiling for the YouTube Masters I think my creative will for video has left. This is not a screed against YouTube, platforms, […]

MacBook Pro 13″ 2017 Review for Normal Users

August 7, 2017 Eli 0

I purchased the 13″ MacBook Pro for a travel computer, but over the past week have found it to me a great overall system. I’ve been using a 15″ MacBook […]

Staring Into The Abyss – Professional Death

August 7, 2017 Eli 7

Aging brings on many experiences that although you expect, many times you do not expect the emotional impact of their happening. The death of family members and pets. Children being […]