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Love child of Bob Ross and Jim Henson ...
Posted by Dave Bull on May 29, 2016 [Permalink]
Well.
That video a week ago has really turned out to be something special. At 28 minutes long, I hesitated before uploading it; I couldn't imagine that people would actually sit there and watch the whole thing. Break it into two parts? I considered that, but thought that this would be worse, that people just wouldn't move on to Part 2.
So, I just uploaded it and sat back to see what would happen ...
What happened was that within a few minutes of it being online, somebody posted it to the 'Documentaries' section of Reddit. And I sat there and watched the 'as it happens' information on the YouTube page, as the viewer count began to climb and climb.
By the end of the first day it had climbed to over 30,000 ...
... and it's still climbing as I write this, a week later.
But what has really turned out to be fun about this one are the comments!
There have been literally hundreds of them posted, both to the original YouTube page, and to the thread on Reddit. Now Reddit comments can sometimes be ... shall we say, 'difficult' ... but this has not been my experience there. A number of my videos have been posted on Reddit over recent years, and the comments are usually quite polite.
Here are a few goodies from this recent video:
- Hello David, Thank you so much for the story. I'm having trouble at work and the words ' It's just a hobby for you' hit my heart. I see the light now and will go back and do what I should! :)
- I've never commented on a Youtube video ever in my entire life. I just want you to know that I feel my life has been enriched now that I've heard this story. Thank you for taking the time to share. That was truly wonderful.
- You need to do a whole story series, you're an exceptional narrator and the stories you've told just in this one part kept me hooked until the end.
- I don't know how I got to this video, I don't know what woodblock carving is, and I had no intention of watching a 28-minute video when I sat down; I thought I'd spend 30 seconds on this, max. Watched the whole thing. What a great story.
- I don't normally comment on such things, but you are a WONDERFUL speaker. I skipped through the video for the "gist" and had to go back and re-watch everything from the start because your story-telling was so engaging.
- Thank you for sharing this with the world. I can only hope to live as skillfully.
- ... love child of Bob Ross and Jim Henson.
And hundreds more ... This is so much fun; thank you very much to all those who are enjoying this as much as I am!
(But now I'm nervous about the next one ... What do I do next?)
Added by: Paul on June 5, 2016, 3:45 am
Ha, nervous about the next one! I don't think you've uploaded a single thing I haven't been delighted to see - or when I had the pleasure of visiting your shop and spending a couple of hours with you, said a single word that didn't communicate expertise and enthusiasm. That's what people are enjoying. I knew nothing about ukiyo-e when I visited and I'm carving a third key block right now!
You couldn't make a bad video if you tried - glad you're getting the proper recognition for it.
Added by: Barbara Mason on June 6, 2016, 2:05 am
I watched it again...and was just as interested as the first time...I have always said you should write a book, but maybe the videos are your book. Amazing story. It is a great pleasure to have met and know you, Dave, You are truly an inspiration. Whatever you do next, we will be waiting and watching and appreciating.
Added by: mike on June 6, 2016, 1:18 pm
Even for those of us that have been following you and your work since the 90s love these videos and eagerly await them all. That you got some good, outside publicity is even better. Don't think too much about the next one; just do what you do. We're keen to watch and find out what happens.
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