Straightening things out

A post I made on August 15th seemed to have more response than I anticipated... and perhaps not in the way I had hoped.  I figured it was time to address a few things.  Not exactly certain on where to start, so I'll start with the post itself.

My overall intent on making the post was to highlight and support fellow Nerf fans who, based on the widening gap of exposure compared to another channel, I felt should get more attention for the quality of the content they provide their viewers.  Specifically, I meant to promote Coop772, Drac, and Bobololo.  In doing so, I also threw Nerf Boy Productions under the bus by using his presentations as a drastic contrast to the kind of information supplied for reviews of Nerf blasters for those that I intended to support.

The entire article was actually sparked by the realization of the huge gap in viewership between two very different types of "reviews" of Nerf products.  I brilliantly overlooked the fact that, even though young adults / college age / older kids who play with these toys that Nerf is intended for use by children.  This can obviously reflected in that viewership gap that, at first, was surprising.  Instead, I was under the impression that people were actively seeking out Nerf Boy Productions over the reviews of Coop 772, Drac, and Bobololo and, after taking in the backlash of comments, it makes sense.  There are more kids borrowing mom (or dads') iPad to watch YouTube videos made by other kids about toy blasters than there are older kids (or young adults?) to look up informative and objective reviews about toy blasters.  My thoughts represent a small percentage of those who enjoy this hobby like I do.  Essentially, I was caught up in the concerns of a niche market and missed the mark.  Had I figured that out first, I probably wouldn't have even bothered making a post like that to begin with, as my concern would've been invalid.

Regardless of whether I should or shouldn't have made the remarks that I did, an underlying issue rose up that I think DOES need some addressing.  How the community seems to have responded to this is very mixed.  On the one hand, a lot of you helped me realize my short-minded take on things and I thank you for that.  On the flip side, there were a lot of fans who took this opportunity to bash on Nerf Boy Productions, Bazookafied, Drac, whomever.  There was a lot of mud-slinging going on and, while I may or may not have been the direct cause or fuel for these kinds of actions, it's still not an acceptable response.  Flaming, trolling, and general bashing isn't conducive to a positive outcome.  As some have pointed out, I should have talked to him to improve his content or at least offered advice to enhance the reviews before throwing Nerf Boy under the YouTube bus.  And, while I would hope that the remarks of a tiny blog like mine wouldn't hurt a giant channel, it's still something that I agree I should have followed a more helpful approach first.

Perhaps that's what bothers me most about a situation like this still.  I had the opportunity to try to connect with a fellow Nerf fan, regardless of our different views, and inadvertently started a big mess.  With the kind of exposure, consistent content release time, and availability of products at his disposal, Nerf Boy Productions has the potential to be a great channel.  There could be a balance between the excited ether that comes over nearly everyone who owns something new and the fact-centered analysis of these products that could be objective as any.  I kinda blew that chance the way things have panned out.

When I take a step back from this, I not only realize that the original intent of my blog was mostly lost and overshadowed by the response of NBP bashing, but I also find that my approach to addressing this and the entire "original intent" was kind of a moot point to begin with.  Want me to apologize?  Sure.  I kind of just did.  Want me to shut down by blog?  Nah, I'll keep doing my thing.