#worth it

[eloise-t-g]

i think for me, the watcher situation comes down to this:

it's absolutely respectable that the watcher team wants to grow and produce better quality content. it's respectable that they don't want to stagnate and end up pushing the same content out over and over again. that's not satisfying for them creatively, i get that.

however, if higher quality, more heavily produced content is not what your fans are asking for, then you can't ask them to fund it.

this all-or-nothing method they've gone for is frankly bizarre. it feels like they leap-frogged all other alternatives to improving their finances and ended up here, alienating and frustrating the majority of their fanbase (the fanbase they thanked for getting them to where they are).

i think this could have gone a lot better if they:

Hadn't hyped up this video for a week.

Hadn't announced the worth it successor just beforehand.

Hadn't put out a wishy-washy, "boo hoo we're so sad about this", over-produced video.

Hadn't made it $6/month (more in a lot of countries given exchange rates).

Had considered that this means fans in specific countries literally cannot pay for the subscription due to geo/region-locking.

my ideas for improving their funds, aka things they could have tried before blowing their brand up: create their own website with two options - a free version with ads and a paid version without ads, OR make better use of their patreon/make their website extra content, not all their content, for example:

Put the ghost file debriefs on there.

Put shows like survival mode on there (or even shift that show from pre-recorded video to live-stream - live stream access to patrons and VOD access to everyone, maybe).

Put episode commentaries there.

Do reaction videos to their old buzzfeed content, talk about memories and BTS, and put that there.

Put one/two episodes of each show, per season on there (and ONLY there).

Put the episodes up there a few days early.

Make specific, website only content (that's not your main and most popular series aka ghost files and puppet history).

Record the live, in-person shows and put those VODs up there.

EDIT (thought of something else lmao): put extended or even uncut versions of ghost files on there. Paranormal Detour on Detune's twitch channel has shown that people will willingly sit through 6+ hours of a ghost investigation.

EDIT: idk, do livestreams once a week where you watch scary movies with fans on discord or twitch.

(side note: the fact that they're not taking down their patreon and instead shifting all of their podcast content on there, something the patreons who have been loyally giving them money for years didn't ask for, is ridiculous and greedy. add to this the fact that they don't even get a free sub to the new website, instead get 40% off - a measly 10% more than anyone else who subs before the official launch).

the thing for me is that they're claiming they want to make "television" and "television-grade content". that's completely fine. what's not completely fine is acting like your four episodes a month is equal to netflix's entire catalogue.

this really felt like it should have been something they told us they were progressing towards, not something they revealed to be on the imminent horizon. idk, it just feels out of nowhere. no, they don't owe us all of the info about their company. but something had to be better than this.

final thought - it's okay and valid to be upset at the team for this. for a lot of people, it's a complete betrayal (especially the comment that $6 a month is something "anyone and everyone can afford", i mean yikes). i do think some people's anger got the best of them, and some of the comments i've seen across youtube, twitter, and tumblr are plain bullying, racism, and harassment. until we have the whole story, we can't decide that one founder (aka steven in a lot of people's minds) is solely responsible. i know a lot of these awful things are only coming from a small minority of the fandom, but they still get seen.

at the end of the day, all three of them got up in front of a camera and made this video, together. that can only lead us to the conclusion that they made this decision together. acting like these men in their 30s couldn't stand up against it if they truly wanted to, is so strange and parasocial lmao.

tl;dr there were much better ways of going about this announcement, if it even needed to be made at all. however, that doesn't excuse the hateful shit being spewed at the team. for now, all we know is the three founders decided they were done with youtube, and done with their loyal youtube audience.

(i have so many more thoughts on this but i need to stop lmao. however i do wonder how different things could have been if 1. they had hired someone with actual business experience as their CEO from the jump, and 2. this video was more of a "hey we're broke! this is a last-ditch effort to save our company!". guess those questions will remain ... well ... you know ...).

[depravedsafehaven]

[cherry-waves66]

everyone who absolutely fucking VILIFIED and demonized Steven Lim, and reacted to Ryan (and Steven) with such visceral racism don’t deserve to watch their new content btw 🥰🥰🥰

[empanadazul]

In the first picture Zagreus is shorter than Persephone because he is standing one step below, he is still the youngest member of the family and barely stepping into his role on the house as Prince. He is supperposed with the image of his parents gazing lovingly into each other, he is integrated with his figures but still feels like slightly distanced from them, like a teenager trying to find the way they present themselves. After seeing him the whole game with other clothes it feels weird to see him wearing that tunic and his lance is comically big.

In the second picture he is taller than his mom and almost at the same level as his father, he is being embraced by him but his head points out from Hades's shoulder, he is fully integrated into the family but is also respected and acknowledged by all the gods as the one who reunited them. He mimics the posture of both his mother and father, leaning over Melinoë (bathing in her light) and embracing her with his hand (ready to protect her). His elegant clothes fit him and resemble the style of the Palace, even without his crown you recognise him as a Prince of Hades.

He grew up so much between this games. Probably embraced his role as a protector of the underworld population. Seems comfortable wearing his father clothes, he holds himself with authority, he earned respect in his realm. He became an adult. He loved his little sister, look at how his gazed is fixed on her, his smile might be even bigger than the one on his mother.

Hades looks peaceful and calm, he is probably smiling too. Persephone is wearing a light dress, similar to the ones she wore on the surface, without obligations. She wrapped her daughter with a shawl like the ones she used to wear. They are all dressed without their "royal" outfits. Before being the underworld rulers, they are a family welcoming a baby. They loved Melinoë so much. They would have devoted their lives to her until she was old enough to stand on her own. They would have given her all of the time of the day. They were ready to do things right this time.

.

Death to Cronos.

[superfast-jellybitch]

I've been seeing some....odd takes about the Watcher situation, and as a huge fan of Puppet History, I have really only one thing to say about it:

Worth it.

If you're really struggling financially to keep up the production, to the point that you're making the rash decision of starting from the ground up on an entirely new platform with no consumer rapport, why bring back a series that is, by its very premise, exorbitantly expensive?

The extra $6 a subscriber that they were banking on (Which, let's be real, even with their "Everyone can afford it" attitude, they had to have known that not all 3 million subscribers would have paid for it) isn't going to the art. It isn't paying for the studio or the employees or the existing Watcher content or brand.

The extra money is so that Steven Lim can afford to bring back an already costly show at a higher production value than the original Buzzfeed production, which was already needlessly expensive to begin with. Whatever's left over might go to Watcher.

Additionally, I think of all the Buzzfeed originals to revive, Worth it has to be the most tone deaf in this economic climate. A large big mac meal at your standard McDonald's drive through is $9.19. Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. It is no longer entertaining to watch people spend money you could never dream of having on a Michelin star restaurant. It is even less entertaining when you're the one funding it.

I agree that Watcher should be fairly compensated for the content they produce. I agree that something probably needed to change in the business model to help bring in revenue. Hell, I don't even disagree with charging fans something for new and upcoming content that we've previously received for free.

But if this was really about them hurting to keep their company afloat amid rising production costs, they would not be advertising a new series where the cost that we as the consumer do actually get to see onscreen is the equivalent of (this is specifically taken from Buzzfeed's "Worth it: $4 burger vs $777 burger video", where the estimated cost of the food alone is $2,397. Not including tips to waitstaff, other items purchased, and assuming they did not feed Shane. Also not adjusted for current inflation or price gouging) 260 large big mac meals at McDonald's.

[girl-of-ink]

just realized that the watcher debacle is not only gonna cost the staff (annie + etc) their jobs, but ALSO they literally have brought andrew and adam onboard just to tank the company.

[beardedmrbean]

[booliever]

i think at this point we need to have a deep discussion on hero worship, parasocial relationships, and how corporations and large scale content creators function. also - demonizing the two poc on a team of three while saying shane is so anti-capitalist and would never do this is also weird and strange! y'all go off ab this and that while ignoring that creating scenarios ab "behind the scenes" is fucking weird, it's like the ned fulmer affair all over again! we literally do not know this people deep down, do i need to point at the sign again!

[peraltiagos-paper-rings]

not the try guys couch lmaoooo anyway pretty good apology, the change being that the subscription platform just enables you to watch videos early and they'll then be uploaded to youtube does kinda just sound like patreon BUT HEY i'm not complaining!! glad to have them back on youtube!! and it's good that they listened to their audience and came up with a solution, i know they must've been panicking when they saw all the negative feedback and their subscriber count dropping 💀

[harley-the-pancake]

Ok I just thought about it

I see people criticizing Steven’s content due to high food price points

But also. He literally isn’t the only one who does it.

He may be one of the firsts perhaps, but Rhett and Link technically has a show segment that is literally just Worth It of their cast & crew’s favorite places or food plus frozen option

Like I get it. But also there’s a lot more I feel to unpack.

[writtenonbone]

All these ppl shitting on worth it have yall watched any of the episodes or are just shitting for fun???

Cause the show have always highlighted and supported small businesses esp poc ones?????

[skipppppy]

Back by popular demand. English Willy part 3

(Idk if I'll do another bc I feel like its run its course and unlike Scott Cawthon I would like to end my series on a high note! But to everyone who sent in asks or showed support or generally took part I love all of you and had so much fun with this. I might do more in future but I don't want part 4 to hang over me as something I HAVE to do)

[nymori]

I've been stitching some cicadas lately. This year is going to be a big one for the screaming bugs!

For those interested in making their own cross stitched cicadas, the patterns are available for sale here and here! (Please note: my software skills mean that I had to freehand the AAAAAs rather than place them in the pattern itself, so those are not included in the patterns. This does mean that you can make these little guys uniquely your own and add any sort of scream that you'd like, though!)

[helpwhatsthis]

steven lim: we actually need more money for higher production value so that you guys have the best! and we're bringing back a super expensive show! for you guys, the fans!

the fans:

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[sprintingpastsanity]

can’t wait for the next season of Make Some Noise