There are many people on YouTube who have history channels. It is rare to see a person trying to write anything about history on a site or a blog. This is a problem that we have had with cyberspace since the social media era has begun. People are not interested in reading as much anymore; I generally spend my time trying to divide screen time and reading time. However, the temptation is strong to sit down and watch a two-hour video essay instead of reading a non-fiction book, which has more insightful content to show. This is why I started writing on this blog, to get people interested in reading history.
YouTubers are popular now but an issue with the site is that their history is more about being infotainment rather than being truly educational. It is important that we have sites that are not just about entertainment but are trying to teach something. This does not mean that non-fiction cannot be entertaining, but I find more value something that does not ads popping up on the sides trying to get my attention. While there are ads on blog sites, they are not the variety that auto-plays or pops up on the screen. Continuing to write is a passion of mine and I continue to endeavor to interest Americans and the globe in historical concepts.
The reason why people make videos on YouTube over writing is simply because it is easier to make as well as to monetize. However, YouTube has not allowed for customization for many years unlike WordPress and other sites such as Squarespace. With a site that you own, with a domain name, you are controlling the content. YouTube is easy and gives access to many people, but it does mean that you are adhering to their rules and you do not have an opportunity to go outside of any regulations they have. This leads to crazy situations of censorship on YouTube.
YouTube is great but it’s not the only site that someone should be using to promote them content. The internet is vast in size and people have choices.
However, considering its great scale and ability to communicate with millions, YouTube is the only choice for many. Only the big corporations have the pockets deep enough to promote videos that run on their site. Either you have the money or do not have it, and most choose to upload on the various video sites in order to save money.
YouTube also has another major advantage for bloggers. It allows for people to communicate with each other in a centralized location. While this has disadvantages of people manipulating such networks with their bots, YouTube allows for great amounts of communication to take place between many types of people. When you are on a niche website, that is harder for it to happen.
However, writing history is still better than just making videos. YouTube is great for visualizing information, but a great narrative written in text still cannot be surpassed in that way. Writing about history allows for words to flow and not be confined to the expressions of the human face and the flashy nature of their graphics. YouTube is great asset for writers, but we still need to respect the art of composing great words on the screen to communicate to our fellow humans.
Byzantine-Empire.com 