The Problem With Social Media

I have a very specific problem with social media. And it has a lot to do with why I stopped doing VEDA. I was so motivated about posting a video every day in April, but then one of social media’s most irritating problems interfered.

In recent months, YouTube has been tweaking things in their search algorithms, as well as how they push out videos to people. It’s the latter issue I have problems with. You see, they changed how subscribers see videos of channels they subscribe to. When you click on the subscribe button for a channel, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll see each and every video of theirs as they’re published on the subscription feed.  This has been verified by several of my subscribers, saying that they saw only a few of my videos or even none of my VEDA videos in their subscription feed. I talk about it in this video:

And you know what? I checked for myself if I’m receiving all videos of people I subscribe to, and I’m not. There are some very popular channels I subscribe to that I’m not seeing in my subscription feed, either.

But you know, YouTube isn’t the only place I have problems with their feeds. On Facebook, it defaults to Top Stories, which are often stories I’ve already read, and I never see posts from the majority of people I’m friends with. The option to see most recent posts is still there, but it never defaults to it. I want to see most recent.

On Instagram, it has some algorithm that shows what Instagram thinks I want to see. It used to show the most recent, but now there isn’t even an option for that. I miss most of the pictures of people I follow.

On Twitter, they all seem quite random, rather than showing most recent.

Social media, can you please just let us see all posts in chronological order? Please?

Social Media Book Tag

Time to get caught up on the blog posts for VEDA! Uh, that’s about 20 videos to catch up on.

For this one, I did something called the Social Media Book Tag. I had to relate different books to different social media platforms, based on the nature of those platforms. It was an interesting exercise. Find out what I said:

Which books would you relate to the social media platforms? Here’s a list of the questions:

Twitter- Your favorite shortest book.
Facebook- A book everybody pressured you into reading.
Tumblr- A book you read before it was cool.
Myspace- A book you don’t remember whether you liked or not.
Instagram- A book that was so beautiful you had to Instagram it.
Youtube- A book you wish would be turned into a movie.
Goodreads- A book you recommend to everyone.
Skype- A book with characters that you wish you could talk to instead of just reading about.

Let me know how you would answer these.

Month in Review – April 2017

A bad cold and a lot of work resulted in a terrible month for blogging. The A to Z Challenge sputtered out at the letter D (I did record E, though!). So, how did it affect the stats? Surprisingly, it was better than expected. The month ended with 1,730 followers, an increase of just 9.

April Stats

April’s numbers were the lowest in a very long time. The average number of views per day is slightly lower than March. The average number of views per day was 63, the lowest in the past year. Despite that, 5 out of 30 days reached 100 views, which is better than expected. The best day was April 30th with 213 views. The total number of views in April was 1,896, ending the streak with months of more than 2,000 views at 30 months. April ended with 106,184 views. There were 14 posts in April, bringing it to a total of 2,271.

In April, there were 80 comments, which was extremely low thanks to a lack of posts. That brings it to a total of 17,212.

The top ten countries were:

1. United States (786 views)
2. Canada (578 views)
3. United Kingdom (81 views)
4. India (75 views)
5. Australia (38 views)
6. Japan (34 views)
7. Jamaica (19 views)
8. Philippines (18 views)
9. Norway (17 views)
10. France (14 views)

Top Posts

The top five posts of April were:

1. Authors Answer 127 – Writing Novels for TV Series and Movies (32 views)
2. Authors Answer 128 – Ghostwriting (31 views)
3. I’m Back! (30 views)
4. Authors Answer 129 – Genres Helping Other Genres (29 views)
5. C Is for Canada Goose (23 views)

The most popular post made before April was To Those Who Blame Justin Trudeau for CPP Investment in Mumbai with 483 views.

Wow. The Justin Trudeau post I made more than a year ago exploded, receiving a quarter of all views on this blog in April. As for April’s posts, Authors Answer has been the leader again. Here are some posts that didn’t do as well, but you should read.

• Everything Derailed! The Jay Dee Show 27
• Week in Review – April 2, 2017
• A to Z Challenge Begins! The Jay Dee Show 26

Social Media

On Twitter, I have 3,620 followers, which is a decrease of 32.  I follow 3,684, which is a decrease of 3. I haven’t been particularly active with following on Twitter. I finished with 10,463 tweets, with 55 coming in April.

On YouTube, I uploaded 1 video in April. It was a terrible month for videos, as I was extremely busy. I have 420 subscribers, which is an increase of 18 from last month.  The month ended with 29,298 views, which is an increase of 1,599, which was actually higher than March. More regular uploading should happen in May.

On Facebook, my author page has 87 followers, which is up by 1.

On Patreon, I have 0 patrons contributing $0 per month. I’ll be promoting it more this month.

Looking Ahead to May

I have a lot to do in May. I plan on catching up on the A to Z Challenge for the blog, as well as my science channel on YouTube. Catching up on comments is a priority, as well. I’m hoping May will be a complete turnaround from the last couple months. I shouldn’t be getting sick again. Work is quiet for the month, so I have a lot more free time than I’d like.

May should be a good month for the blog!

Month in Review – March 2017

Another month of less work on the blog. That should change for April, because I’ve started the A to Z Challenge. I had my slowest month in posting for a long time, but the numbers weren’t very different than the previous month. The month ended with 1,721 followers, an increase of 25, which is an improvement.

March Stats

March’s numbers weren’t very good. The average number of views per day is the lowest since September 2014. The average number of views per day was 65, the lowest in the past year.. Only 1 out of 31 days reached 100 views, which is pretty bad. The best day was March 13th with 153 views. The total number of views in March was 2,001, the 30th month in a row over 2,000. March ended with 104,288 views. There were 22 posts in February, bringing it to a total of 2,257.

In February, there were 129 comments, which was pretty low, but that’s my fault. That brings it to a total of 17,132.

The top ten countries were:

1. United States (1,034 views)
2. Canada (181 views)
3. United Kingdom (149 views)
4. India (126 views)
5. Australia (55 views)
6. Philippines (44 views)
7. Jamaica (41 views)
8. Japan (31 views)
9. Netherlands (26 views)
10. France (21 views)

Top Posts

The top five posts of March were:

1. Authors Answer 122 – Should You Write Every Day? (47 views)
2. Authors Answer 124 – Should You Write With Plain Language? (34 views)
3. Authors Answer 125 – Is Short Better? (33 views)
4. Authors Answer 123 – Should You Write What You Know? (27 views)
5. I Want to Live in Another World! The Jay Dee Show 24 (24 views)

The most popular post made before March was Don’t Believe the Mt. Etna CO2 Meme with 214 views.

Yet again, Authors Answer was the most popular type of post in March. But there were a lot of people who wanted to see my post about that meme. Here are some posts that didn’t do as well, but I think you should check out.

• Week in Review – March 13, 2017
• Where’s the Science?! The Jay Dee Show 25
• The Edmonton Oilers Are Going to the Playoffs!
• Here Comes the Science! The Jay Dee Show 22
• A to Z Challenge Video Format
• Week in Review – March 5, 2017

Reviews

I’ve come to the decision to discontinue doing reviews, as I’m not particularly interested in doing them anymore, and they tend to be my least popular posts.

Social Media

On Twitter, I have 3,652 followers, which is a decrease of 15.  I follow 3,687, which hasn’t changed from the previous month. I haven’t been particularly active with following on Twitter. I finished with 10,408 tweets, with 87 coming in March.

On YouTube, I uploaded 6 videos in March. It was the slowest month in a while, but I was busy again. I have 402 subscribers, which is an increase of 19 from last month.  The month ended with 27,699 views, which is an increase of 1,559, which is higher than February despite the lack of videos. More regular uploading should happen in March.

On Facebook, my author page has 86 followers, which is up by 1.

On Patreon, I have 0 patrons contributing $0 per month. I’ll be promoting it more this month.

Looking Ahead to April

There’s a lot to expect in April. I’ll be doing the A to Z Challenge, which will account for 26 posts. Each one will feature a video, though they’ll be on my science channel. I also expect to do a lot more with social media, keeping up with comments, and visiting other blogs.

I’m definitely looking forward to a major rebound in April.

Month in Review – February 2017

I was busy this month. Too many things going on, and my blogging suffered. I didn’t actually post every day. I still made an average of a post a day, though. The month ended with 1,696 followers, which is a small increase of 10. And I know why. I haven’t been reading blogs as much as I used to. I should get back into that.

February Stats

February’s numbers went down again. But the average per day isn’t the lowest in the last few months. The average number of views per day was 72, the second lowest in the past year.. Only 2 out of 28 days reached 100 views, which is pretty low. The best day was February 1st with 111 views. The total number of views in February was 2,003, the 29th month in a row over 2,000. February ended with 102,246 views. There were 29 posts in February, bringing it to a total of 2,235.

In February, there were 119 comments, which was pretty low, but that’s my fault. That brings it to a total of 17,003.

The top ten countries were:

1. United States (969 views)
2. Canada (155 views)
3. United Kingdom (150 views)
4. India (125 views)
5. Jamaica (80 views)
6. Australia (58 views)
7. Japan (49 views)
8. Germany (35 views)
9. France (26 views)
10. Netherlands (22 views)

Top Posts

The top five posts of February were:

1. Authors Answer 118 – Bonbon Journey (54 views)
2. Authors Answer 119 – Fender Slander (51 views)
3. Authors Answer 121 – The Parting of New Shores (40 views)
4. Authors Answer 120 – Dodecahedron (39 views)
5. Commentition Funny February 2017 (29 views)

The most popular post made before February was What is an advanced society? It had 136 views.

Authors Answer was the most popular in February by a long way. But again, a lot of the older posts were carrying the blog’s stats. Here are some of the posts that didn’t perform well, but I think deserve a second look.

• A New Beginning! The Jay Dee Show 21
• And Then I Catch a Cold! The Jay Dee Show 18
• Looking for Science News
• Here Comes the Science!
• Science Channel – What’s Going On?
• Week in Review – February 5, 2017
• Big A to Z Challenge Idea
• New Thumbnails! The Jay Dee Show 20

Reviews

Nothing reviewed. Again, I need to get back to doing this. This was the basis for this blog in the beginning.

Social Media

On Twitter, I have 3,667 followers, which is a decrease of 4.  I follow 3,687, a small increase of 3. I haven’t been particularly active with following on Twitter. I finished with 10,321 tweets, with 141 coming in February.

On YouTube, I uploaded 11 videos in February. It was a slow month again, but I was quite busy. I have 383 subscribers, which is an increase of 17 from last month.  The month ended with 26,140 views, which is an increase of 1,513, which is lower. But then, I hadn’t been uploading much. That should change this month.

On Facebook, my author page has 85 followers, which is up by 1.

On Patreon, I have 0 patrons contributing $0 per month. I’m starting to promote it, but for my new science channel.

Looking Ahead to March

My promises for February didn’t really come true. I got a lot busier than expected. I will reiterate my goal to keep up with comments, use social media a lot more, work on both booktube and science videos, post at least once a day, and read some blogs.

I’m looking forward to seeing what March brings, especially now that I’ve started the science channel.

Week in Review – February 5, 2017

Caught a cold. One that has resulted in a lack of motivation. That’s what happened this past week. I had so many plans put off by this cold. Mostly videos, that is. So, what happened this week?

Reading

I finished Animal Farm, by George Orwell! And then I started Theft of Swords, by Michael J. Sullivan. I’m now at 4% finished. It’s a big book.

Writing

Nothing, but then, I can’t really concentrate when I have a cold like this.

Videos

This is where the cold really reduced my productivity. I ended up uploading only 1 video to my main channel. Even the ones I’d completed the week before, I never got around to editing and uploading. Wow.

Patreon

Nothing. Major revamp coming very soon!

Languages

I need to get back to work on languages.

The Blog

January turned out to be the best month in stats in four months. But really, I haven’t done anything major in the past week. Again, creativity is difficult when you’re sick.

Studying

Nothing.

The Next Week’s Goals

Get over this cold! And I’ll see if I can record a video tomorrow and some on Wednesday. And blog posts will continue as usual. Wish me luck!

How was your week?

Month in Review – January 2017

The first month of the year was a decent one. But it wasn’t what I expected. What was supposed to be a two post a day month turned into a post a day again. But despite that, the numbers have increased. And the blog reached a major milestone. January ended with 1,686 followers, an increase of 27.

January Stats

January’s numbers saw an improvement over the previous three months. That was nice to see. The average number of views per day was 78, which was better than the last three months of the year. Only 5 out of 31 days reached 100 views, which is better than December. The best day was January 4th with 127 views. The total number of views in January was 2,426, the 28th month in a row over 2,000. January ended with 100,243 views, passing 100,000 views. There were 34 posts in January, bringing it to a total of 2,206.

In December, there were 198 comments, which was slightly higher than December. That brings it to a total of 16,884.

The top ten countries were:

1. United States (1,285 views)
2. Canada (220 views)
3. United Kingdom (124 views)
4. India (110 views)
5. Australia (105 views)
6. Japan (94 views)
7. Germany (42 views)
8. France (30 views)
9. Jamaica (26 views)
10. Netherlands (24 views)

Top Posts

The top five posts of January were:

1. Authors Answer 116 – Writing the Opposite Sex (54 views)
2. Hit By the YouTube Subscriber Glitch (51 views)
3. Authors Answer 115 – Common Mistakes by New Authors (35 views)
4. Authors Answer 114 – 2017 Writing Plans (29 views)
5. Authors Answer 117 – Difficult and Easy Scenes to Write (26 views)

The most popular post written before January was once again, INTJ – An Analysis of My Personality. It had 122 views.

Older posts remain popular, especially reviews of Shakespearean plays. The newer posts were slow again, thanks to my inability to keep up on social media again. My fault. The beginning of the month was actually quite strong, but it slowed down as I fell behind. As a result, several posts had fewer views than normal. Here are the ones which underperformed and I think you should check out.

• Week in Review – January 22, 2017
• Passenger of One! The Jay Dee Show 16
• I’m a Rogue One! The Jay Dee Show 15
• Month in Review – December 2016
• Would You Move to Another Planet?
• Week in Review – January 29, 2017
• Doing Some Testing
• Week in Review – January 8, 2017
• I Have to Watch That!
• I’m Back, But…! The Jay Dee Show 17
• Star Trek S1E10 – The Corbomite Maneuver
• A Look to the Future! The Jay Dee Show 14
• Week in Review – January 1, 2017
• Back to World Building
• I’m an Edmonton Oilers Fan
• Schedule Disruptions Continue

Reviews

Nothing, except movie and TV reviews. Must get the book reviews done!

Social Media

On Twitter, I have 3,671 followers, which is a decrease of 3.  I follow 3,684, which is unchanged from last month. I haven’t been particularly active with following on Twitter. I finished with 10,180 tweets, with 149 coming in January. I was actually most active in the second half of the month.

On YouTube, I uploaded 12 videos in January. Very slow month. I have 366 subscribers, which is an increase of 24 from last month.  The month ended with 24,627 views, which is an increase of 1,912, despite the lower number of videos. Some of my older videos are actually remaining popular and ranking well in searches.

On Facebook, my author page has 84 followers, which is unchanged

On Patreon, I have 0 patrons contributing $0 per month. I don’t expect much until I really start to promote it.

Looking Ahead to February

I expect a better month in terms of blog posts, social media, and videos. I felt less motivation during the weeks after Christmas. I’ve been feeling a lot more motivation recently, so I’m hoping to get a lot done, including:

• World Building posts and videos
• Keeping up on social media
• Keeping up with comments
• New channel trailers for both of my videos
• Science videos coming up!
• Book reviews
• More movie and TV reviews
• More Star Trek!

There’s a lot to do, but I think I can do it. I’m looking forward to seeing what February brings!

Week in Review – January 29, 2017

The past week has been busy. Not so much online, but there was a lot in my personal life. This includes my daughter’s birthday in the middle of the week and her birthday party today. And this blog had a huge milestone.

Reading

I almost finished Animal Farm, by George Orwell. I’m at 92% done, and I’ll easily finish it tomorrow. Then it’s on to a new book, Theft of Swords, by Michael J. Sullivan.

Writing

I didn’t get anything done, unfortunately.

Videos

It was an odd week for videos. I actually recorded 6 videos for my main channel, but only uploaded 3. I will be uploading the remaining 3 this week, as wel as recording new ones. I still haven’t done the new channel trailers, though.

Patreon

Nothing. Major revamp coming very soon!

Languages

I need to get back to work on languages.

The Blog

100,000 views! I reached that huge milestone today, actually. It’s hard to imagine that number of people. Of course, it’s the number of views, not number of people who read my posts. But still, amazing!

Studying

Nothing.

The Next Week’s Goals

Get back on track with everything, especially since the month is ending and another is beginning. I need to get caught up with comments and social media. I want February to get off to a great start in all aspects.

How was your week?

Week in Review – January 22, 2017

Another slow week in some respects, but I felt pretty busy. It was back to school for my daughter, and she’s started doing something: reading! She’s now learning to read words, rather than just letters. And she’s learning quickly. I’m impressed. I can’t wait until she can read a book all by herself. So, what else happened?

Reading

I finally started reading Animal Farm by George Orwell, and I was able to finish 47% of it in one day. I think I’ll finish it this week easily. With two books finished this year, I’ll be ahead of my monthly goal by one.

Writing

Although not writing, I’ve been preparing to work on some world building.

Videos

I only uploaded three videos on my main channel, but I’ve returned to my normal video-making pace this weekend. I’ve also announced that I’ll be working on world building videos. I’m still trying to figure out the new video editor.

Patreon

Nothing. Major revamp coming very soon!

Languages

Nothing, but feeling motivated to work on Japanese, French, and Norwegian. Yes, Norwegian.

The Blog

Nothing special in the past week, but continuing with once a day posting. I’m also keeping a very close eye on my stats. You see, I’m approaching a huge milestone. I may achieve it before the end of the month. However, when I resumed twice a day posting, my stats returned to what they were before. Back to once a day, and it’s slowed down again. It’s all about the number of posts, it seems. But also how much I use social media and comment on other blogs. Must get back to work on that!

Studying

Nothing.

The Next Week’s Goals

Catch up on social media for both videos and the blog. Keep up to date on comments, and comment on other blogs. I need to do that all again. Also, I intend on doing a Star Trek Project post, as well as the Argentina book post. And more!

How was your week?

Hit By the YouTube Subscriber Glitch

Have you heard of the subscriber glitch on YouTube? In a nutshell, what happens is that the moment you upload a video, you lose subscribers. Many big YouTubers have been complaining about this for months. I didn’t complain about it, because it didn’t seem to affect me at all. I had solid subscriber growth. Until about a month ago, that is.

It seems that I lose subscribers as fast as I gain them, and the losses are almost always the very moment I upload a video. You think it may be because someone just didn’t like my video? That may be possible, but it’s happening to far too many people, and the decrease in subs happens the very moment videos are uploaded.

A couple weeks ago, another booktuber sent me a message, saying that she was no longer subscribed to my channel. However, she never unsubscribed from me. She was just suddenly unsubscribed. She subscribed again, and everything is fine. However, many of the people who are unsubscribed never notice it, especially if they watch videos from many different channels.

I personally haven’t noticed being unsubscribed from other channels. However, it’s very possible that I have been unsubscribed. I watch so many channels that it’s easy to miss just one or two.

This problem is something that YouTube seems to be just pushing aside and not properly addressing it. They’ve even commented that they don’t unsubscribe people from other channels. They say that if you’re subscribed, your subscription won’t be removed. But the thing is, people are being unsubscribed without their consent all the time! This is a problem for those who use YouTube for their main income. If they lose subscribers, they lose views. That lowers their revenue. Not good.

If you make YouTube videos, have you been noticing a sudden drop in subscribers when you upload videos? Let me know in the comments below.