Yep, still here! In fact, more here than ever.
As I talked about on Ep 11 of the Pixels and Puppets podcast, thanks to many shenanigans and shady dealings from the ever-increasingly awful Etsy, it’s come time to enter a new phase for Operation: Puppet. After several meetings with Gus the Marketing Yeti, we have decided* to call it Phase II. Because we’re bad at names.
As I said on the podcast, I’ve always been content to be a small player in this space. All I want is a bit of an audience to enjoy my work, and to keep the shop running so I can keep making entertaining media. That’s still true, and once upon a time that would be a completely achievable goal even in as small a genre as puppetry. Once upon a time social media and other socially-driven sites like Etsy would have encouraged that. That’s increasingly not the case, so it’s up to individuals to take control of their own media presence. That’s basically what Phase II is. I can’t rely on whatever nebulous and vague algorithm might send my way. I must push.
While the “puppetsphere” (as I call it) is small, it’s not as small as you might think. I’m still relatively new to the field. The O:P YouTube channel certainly isn’t unknown at 714 (currently) subscribers, venerable puppet building guru Adam K currently has 143 thousand. Adam’s been doing this a long time and has put in the work to build that audience, so I’m looking at that as a ceiling.
What it means is I need to just put out more, for lack of a better word, “content”. But as I’ve learned already, if I’m not enjoying it, I won’t keep at it. Sustainability is the key. I’m still thinking about what that ultimately will look like, and as always things will adapt over time. But the practical upshot is you’ll be seeing a lot more of me, Frankie, The Oracle, Jellyroll and yes even Gus, in the future and going forward.
As I’m just one person with a limited amount of time & energy it won’t happen overnight of course, but I’m determined to build momentum and grow. Building a community doesn’t happen passively and doesn’t happen without you. I strongly believe in what O:P does. Puppets may be silly and frivolous, but the goodwill and kindness that a community built around such things generates is a force for good.
Welcome to Phase II. After coffee.
*Gus decided. I just sat there and tried to get a word in edgewise.