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So far, I’ve loved working on the Fairmont Project. It’s made me think and work in different ways than I have in the past. Because of that, I’ve really gotten into it. I’ve discovered I love to build things. I still like to fix things, but I really love to build things.
If my channel took more of this direction, what would you think?
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I had a long and somewhat rambling message put up here that I deleted in favor of something more concise.
ETCG was originally founded around the premise “ETCG is where you go when you’re broke and your ride is also broke.”
What you’re talking about now would change the very character of the board. The people who came to your website for repair advice might lessen over time, as your focus would no longer be on repair videos of the sort that brought them here in the first place. The board moderators (ToyotaKarl and CollegeMan) would likely keep the repair forums humming along, but if the Site Operator (you) had changed their focus, then that will have an affect on traffic.
You would start attracting people with more discretionary funds.. those that CAN afford to toss a few kilobucks towards a car build. They also might be more technically adept than the average DIY-er, as you generally have to be to pull off a build that involves retrofitting or fabrication. These are skills the average maintenance-minded DIY-er doesn’t have.
Ultimately, the decision is yours, and I’m sure that the majority of your fanbase will support whatever decision you make.
However, I would be remiss if I did not mention that you undoubtedly will lose viewers and subscribers of one faction (The repair-based DIY) just as you might pick up others to replace them from the other faction (The DIY-er that can afford builds).
For what very little my opinion might matter.
-Hinoki
Be good to find a happy balance on both topics , some people may not like the new direction, I say why not .
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
[quote=”Hinoki” post=166330]I had a long and somewhat rambling message put up here that I deleted in favor of something more concise.
ETCG was originally founded around the premise “ETCG is where you go when you’re broke and your ride is also broke.”
What you’re talking about now would change the very character of the board. The people who came to your website for repair advice might lessen over time, as your focus would no longer be on repair videos of the sort that brought them here in the first place. The board moderators (ToyotaKarl and CollegeMan) would likely keep the repair forums humming along, but if the Site Operator (you) had changed their focus, then that will have an affect on traffic.
You would start attracting people with more discretionary funds.. those that CAN afford to toss a few kilobucks towards a car build. They also might be more technically adept than the average DIY-er, as you generally have to be to pull off a build that involves retrofitting or fabrication. These are skills the average maintenance-minded DIY-er doesn’t have.
Ultimately, the decision is yours, and I’m sure that the majority of your fanbase will support whatever decision you make.
However, I would be remiss if I did not mention that you undoubtedly will lose viewers and subscribers of one faction (The repair-based DIY) just as you might pick up others to replace them from the other faction (The DIY-er that can afford builds).
For what very little my opinion might matter.
-Hinoki[/quote]
I agree with Hinoki, very well put. I would personally miss the tremendous value you’ve brought to the DYIer all over (the world I’ve noticed), but it’d be cool to see you spawning into a new venture as well. Have you given thought to perhaps just starting a new channel dedicated to builds like you did ETCG1? This way you can keep ETCG going in its current format. In fact, doing that might help you continue to get the support of your sponsors that help and donate parts for your Fixing it Forward and perhaps the builds as well.
My penny’s worth.Put shortly, I came here for the repairs.
There are a plethora of build shows out there…. but not that many, that makes actual repairs and how-tos. Most on Youtube attempting to show a repair are just hacks.
Throw in an occasional build like the Fairmont project for variety, but don´t make it into a build show.
[quote=”Hinoki” post=166330]I had a long and somewhat rambling message put up here that I deleted in favor of something more concise.
ETCG was originally founded around the premise “ETCG is where you go when you’re broke and your ride is also broke.”
What you’re talking about now would change the very character of the board. The people who came to your website for repair advice might lessen over time, as your focus would no longer be on repair videos of the sort that brought them here in the first place. The board moderators (ToyotaKarl and CollegeMan) would likely keep the repair forums humming along, but if the Site Operator (you) had changed their focus, then that will have an affect on traffic.
You would start attracting people with more discretionary funds.. those that CAN afford to toss a few kilobucks towards a car build. They also might be more technically adept than the average DIY-er, as you generally have to be to pull off a build that involves retrofitting or fabrication. These are skills the average maintenance-minded DIY-er doesn’t have.
Ultimately, the decision is yours, and I’m sure that the majority of your fanbase will support whatever decision you make.
However, I would be remiss if I did not mention that you undoubtedly will lose viewers and subscribers of one faction (The repair-based DIY) just as you might pick up others to replace them from the other faction (The DIY-er that can afford builds).
For what very little my opinion might matter.
-Hinoki[/quote]
I’d say you’re partly right. My focus would not just be on the builds. It would also be on the principals behind the engineering of a vehicle. For instance, I have a series of videos coming up on rebuilding the Fairmont differential. Not only do I have videos on upgrading it, I also have videos on differentials and their different parts and how they work. For me, it’s not just about the build, it’s also about educating on how the different automotive systems operate to get you down the road. You can’t modify something if you don’t understand how it works. My focus would not be on repair so much as educating on how vehicle systems operate and work together to get you down the road. The ‘build’ is sort of a framework.
In short, the educational component of what I do wouldn’t change. In fact, I hope it would get better and more interesting.
Also, Fixing it Forward will be coming back in a different form after I finish the Fairmont project. That will contain some repair videos as well.
One of the main reasons for this potential move is because I feel I’ve done plenty of repair videos. I’ve been doing them for 8 years now. I’m getting a little board of the camera following me around replacing this part or that. I’d rather DO something over ‘fixing’ something. To put a finer point on it, I’d rather build things like Oliver and deal with those challenges over another Barbara’s van situation. Not that I didn’t enjoy helping Barbara, but it kinda felt at times like I was fighting a loosing battle.
Fixing it Forward was in part a way for me to bring new vehicles with new problems into the shop so that I could make more diverse repair videos. I was happy to be helping the people in the series, but truth be told, those videos didn’t get the views I had hoped for. Perhaps that was the format, or the videos themselves. Either way, it showed me that my ‘repair’ videos needed something new if I wanted to get the views I was looking for.
Lastly, this really hasn’t been decided yet. I’m going to wait until after the Fairmont videos come out to make a final decision. If those videos are well received, then I’ll consider adding more ‘build’ videos. If they aren’t well received, I’ll figure something else out.
Thanks for your input.
I’ve appreciated everyones input on this topic. There’s something else I’d like you to consider if things go in this direction.
Some of you think that if I did start doing builds on my channel, it would be just another ‘build’ channel. I don’t agree with that. I think my repair videos are popular because they aren’t like other repair videos. The same would be true for the ‘build’ videos. I don’t want to do what the others are doing in this regard. I want to do something new and put my own spin on it.
Once again, this hasn’t been decided yet. I’m going to wait and see how well the Fairmont videos are received. If they are, then I’ll start doing more videos like it. If they’re not, then I’ll figure something else out.
Thanks again for everyones input.
I like seeing builds and the expertise and research that goes into a given build. I also think it would be a great way to educate people on how systems relate and how changing one part of the vehicle can effect drivability or the overall safety of the vehicle. Those of us who do this for a living understand this but your average DIY person may not.
[quote=”gmule” post=166520]I like seeing builds and the expertise and research that goes into a given build. I also think it would be a great way to educate people on how systems relate and how changing one part of the vehicle can effect drivability or the overall safety of the vehicle. Those of us who do this for a living understand this but your average DIY person may not.[/quote]
Exactly.
Is that what people are after, though? Or are they after help fixing a more immediate problem?
That’s my concern. I love this site, I really do. I worry what might happen if the focus changes, and those that need the more immediate help go elsewhere for assistance.
Would they gain knowledge by going through the forums, and watching the new content about builds? Sure. But think of the last time you Googled for a solution to a computer problem. If the header didn’t look like it was applicable, then it wouldn’t matter if it were or not; you’d have moved on for something that looked a bit more like what you needed.
I guess the only way I can try and summarize it is to use myself as an example. I had a failure in a vehicle, and I needed help fixing it. I Googled, and found my way here to ETCG. Been here ever since, too. But if I had seen the Google results for ETCG and saw that the site was more geared to builds and mods, then I can honestly say I probably wouldn’t have come in and would’ve wandered the net until I found something that seemed more applicable.
I hope that helps relay the concern I was trying to.. I can’t think of another way to put it.
Now, me personally, I look forward to seeing the Fairmont build through to the end. But I don’t have money to throw at a build, nor do I have the facilities to BUILD or modify a car to begin with. I came for help, but I stayed for the friends. The new Net Wanderers might not make it that far. And those that do come in would be more affilated with the mod/build mindset. They and I wouldn’t have too much in common.
Anyway, I ramble.
That, I believe, is the last .02 I have for this topic. I look foward to whatever comes next.
Eric, as far as covering every repair that a DIY or shade tree should be trying, you have more than covered it. Sounds like it’s time to move on to the next phase. Unless you delete your old videos you won’t lose anyone, just gain more. Maybe a 3rd channel for builds or it might be too late for that? I don’t really watch many of the repair videos but love your topics about the industry, and you speak well of it from the shop floor. What impresses me is that even though you’ve been out of the field for a while you haven’t lost your “tech”, unlike what seems to happen to even good techs that leave, such as those who become instructors, they just lose their grip on the real world.
Eric and Mike Rowe should run for president and be the Dirty Party. 🙂
Yeah I like fixing it forward but when you “fix up” a vehicle that belongs in a scrap yard, other unrelated things will always come back to bite you. Especially when they came from people who didn’t (or weren’t able) to take care of them in the first place. And, I did get a little bored of seeing every vehicle get the usual things like brakes, calipers, wipers, and everything else that most people don’t pay attention to. There’s plenty of those videos out there which I’m guessing is why the views weren’t what you expected.
But I like the channel so I’ll keep watching.
I would love to see more videos like those on here! I have always wanted to know how to modify cars and get them to be truly mine. There are videos out there but none of them are really as extensive with information as yours are and I would find that really helpful. The channel that has gotten close to helping with upgrades is mighty car mods but even their videos are not all that helpful. That is one benefit but also, its something you like. I understand that you try to do things for the community here and I can appreciate that but ultimately it you are not happy with what you are doing, do what does you know? Go for it Eric 🙂
[quote=”c918″ post=166718]Yeah I like fixing it forward but when you “fix up” a vehicle that belongs in a scrap yard, other unrelated things will always come back to bite you. Especially when they came from people who didn’t (or weren’t able) to take care of them in the first place. And, I did get a little bored of seeing every vehicle get the usual things like brakes, calipers, wipers, and everything else that most people don’t pay attention to. There’s plenty of those videos out there which I’m guessing is why the views weren’t what you expected.
But I like the channel so I’ll keep watching.[/quote]
Yea, the FiF videos weren’t as well received as I had hoped. The concept of FiF is sound and I plan to pursue it further. Any videos from that initiative will be different than the ones in the past. FiF will still exist, just not in the same form. In fact, I hope to make it even better and help even more people in the future.
I have to say i envy you and guys like Marty and Moog at MCM, they have a nice set of stuff to work on their cars and a group of friends to do it with, most of my friends hardly change their oil in a decent time frame lol!
If i had the time and money, and the friends to do it with i might start a show on modifying a Pontiac Grand Prix into a sleeper like your fairmont, i am happy for you Eric, in a way i envy you but i am happy you are doing something with your life you find joy in.
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