 Those that have been following my vlogs know I have been quite busy since the middle of October. While the channel was growing well enough, I did something completely in my character but out of character compared to others - I blew the entire thing up and erased the channel.
That’s right. Last Sunday, I went to settings and deleted everything. So all 115 vlogs, 80 plus shorts, were erased from memory. One might wonder why I would do such a crazy thing. I was fast approaching 700 subscribers and probably in a month or two would have crossed the 1000 threshold. Things were certainly picking up and I had over 7000 viewing hours in the books. And yet, I knew it was a necessary action. I’m going home in a few weeks. I’m leaving behind Poland and Europe for the familiarity of home. While I certainly have appreciated my time in Poland and all of the travels, the fact I had become “that guy” the American who moved to Poland was not working for me. My viewership was something like 75% from Poland or at least the subscriber part. To grow a channel when I’m going to be based in the States, with only Polish viewership would prove more than an uphill battle. Sure I could have shifted gears on the channel, but like I have done over the years with this website and even with my books, I felt it easier to start from scratch. That’s the irrational, yet rational, artistic side taking over. Even though I already miss not being able to look back on my Italian travels or Ireland or for that matter Estonia, there is something liberating about having those moments back inside my brain and not shared with the masses. I feel like it was a necessary step back to move forward. You might be wondering what’s the plan now? Does this mean you are jumping right back into writing? There will certainly be more writing on the horizon, that I know simply because I’m going back to a place I will feel more grounded and able to tap into that creative part of me. As for vlogging, I started a new channel. Yes, it took all of two days until I started fresh. I had every intention to leave vlogs behind, but I know for some that my humor, my travels, my stories resonate. It would be a disservice to disappear completely. Not to mention, it will be hard to promote any future books if I leave all forms of online media behind. To that end, the new channel, Travel with Mr. Jon, is up. Unlike before there will be more than just incessant travel vlogs. Don’t get me wrong we will have a good portion, but there will be more shorts. Some shorts will be humor centered and others will be from nature or random things I see. We also will get into actual writing. I might have a few tips and recommendations having been at this in one way or another for twenty-five years. Finally, I also intend to have a live weekly podcast/broadcast on my YouTube channel. The first episode will be when I am settled in Maine in early July. Topics will vary and in time I hope it will be viewer driven with questions from those who have found their way to my channel or books. I imagine it will cover all aspects of life as I look to diversify the content. Who knows what will come of this new venture. I already bought the microphone and headset and the webcam will be ordered shortly. The important thing is that I am following the same advice I have always followed. When one door closes, another one opens. Join me and come along for the ride if you’d like. Comments are closed.
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Eighteen plus years as a published author, Jonathan has been independent the last eleven. With readers across forty-seven countries and six continents, he has readers around the world. Writing across genres, he loves good dialogue and flawed characters. Archives
September 2023
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