To Vlog or Not To Vlog

By: R.A. Rayne

Over the last few years, a trend that began during COVID has turned into a pop culture frenzy. What is that trend, you ask? It’s simple: vlogging. Vlogging started as a way to keep a video diary and share it online. It has now become a means of delivering, sharing, and informing the online community about our favorite hobbies. Whether it is politics, movies and television, toys, sports, or the theme parks, you can find a dozen or more channels posting daily content. But is the content for you?

Many YouTube channels seem to provide well-produced, informative content that is making them a lot of money and earning them countless viewers. Some provide news and updates, while others speculate and base their content on their opinions, rumors, or thirdhand reports, which begs the question– How do I know what is fake news and what is real news?

First, let me say I am not here to bash any of these channels or the content they are shilling, nor am I going to put anyone on blast. That is not the point of this article. I am writing it because I, too, have found myself spiraling down a rabbit hole that would make even Alice dizzy. I am writing this article to help you weed out which channels are worth your time and which ones are just there for their fifteen minutes of fame.

Let’s start with the film and television channels. Every time a new trailer drops or a film or show premieres, we get a slew of channels reporting on the “easter eggs” they have spotted, or think they have spotted. Let me give you an example. When the trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day dropped, multiple pages with thousands of followers were adamant that Marvel Studios digitally removed characters from the trailer to keep them a surprise in the film. They were wrong, but that didn’t stop them from making multiple videos about the topic. Now I know what you’re saying– Who cares? It’s no big deal!– And you’re correct. If that was the extent of it. But it’s not. Time and time again, these channels say one thing, and it turns out to be something else entirely. Again, I know it’s not a big deal, and we can choose not to click on the video.

But, as we have seen this summer, these channels persuade fans’ decisions.

Many of these channels either perceive themselves as experts and insiders who have heard it from the horse’s mouth, or they claim to be. By the number of subscribers and views, the average person could very easily believe they are legit. When you add all of this together, it becomes a problem, especially for the “fair-weathered” fan.

Okay, hang on a minute. Let me say this again– not all of the channels out there misinform people, and the majority of the channels don’t set out to intentionally misinform their viewers; however, it happens, and by then it’s too late.

Lets talk about the theme park channels next. There are many theme park channels that are fun and entertaining, giving those without season passes or the means to visit the parks a chance to see what they are missing. They can also be a great tool for those people, especially families, who have never been to one of the parks, giving them a chance to see what they are getting themselves into before they walk through the turnstile.

As with most film channels, theme park channels are notorious for offering their opinions or guesses about what is to come. Many love to walk around the parks and point out what is under construction or under maintenance. While a few do the research to understand permits or interpret the temporary spray-paint jargon on the concrete that identifies conduits, electrical locations, etc., nearly all of the ‘influencers’ do not have inside information about what is actually happening. Most of that information is a well-guarded secret that, unless you are an Imagineer, contractor, or a true insider, you will not know until the theme park wants you to.

Again, I know it doesn’t matter, and that it’s fun to speculate and see what actually comes to pass. It’s easy to say that, but some people are basing their once-in-a-lifetime trip on what they assume an expert is telling them. Look, I can tell you, as someone who is at Disneyland at least 3 or 4 times a month, that most of these vloggers are wrong more than 60% of the time, especially in the early stages of a project. I can also tell you that when they claim that “fans feel this way,” the majority of people at the parks do not feel that way, and that “fans feel this way” refers to how the vlogger feels.

I realize this article sounds as if I am doing the very same thing I am claiming they are doing and as if I am just venting my own opinions, but that is not my intention– not entirely. My intention, as I have said, is to help you think about the content you take in, not to tell you what to watch.

There are numerous travel, family, and DIY channels that are very helpful and entertaining.

Another popular type of channel is sports channels, especially professional wrestling channels. The funniest thing about these channels is that most are slanted toward one company or another, and they aren’t afraid to chokeslam whichever company isn’t their favorite. Even some of the ones that claim to be wrestling insiders are very favorable to one over the other. My advice for you about these channels is to stick to the true wrestling journalists and official channels. If you want to watch a fan-based channel, I would suggest finding the ones that love pro wrestling: ALL PRO WRESTLING. The ones who watch different companies and base their likes and dislikes on the content, not the three letters the company is known by.

As with the wrestling channel, the same applies to the toy and fan channels, of which there are many. While some of these channels are run by experts who provide well-produced content, such as “history of,” “character breakdowns,” or actual news reported from interviews, most are opinion channels run by non-experts. Most of these channels are giving you their feelings about how they feel their favorite Intellectual Property is being made, and how they feel about the company that owns or distributes said IP. Yes, these reviews can be entertaining and informative; they can also be very biased and make it hard for you to make your own decision. There have been many times when I watched a toy review about an action figure that the person absolutely hated, and when I got it, I loved it.

As I said, there is a lot of great content out there, but not everything you read, see, or hear online is true. Most of these channels just want you to like and subscribe.

Just remember–

Knowing is half the battle.