No, I'll be starting a fresh virgin channel from scratch, specifically for the sailing adventure. I'm still working out the most effective name. I want to choose something that's relatable, memorable, and rolls of the tongue well. As much as I would love to name the boat "Sea Whores", I need the channel to be family friendly. Something old and young people alike, can openly talk about among any and all company. The name can't have been used on YouTube before and it would be great if the web address for the name is available too, without having to creatively word it. Like if I named my channel "Sailing Bananas" yet sailingbananas.com was not available but bananassailing.com was. I want everything to be congruent, purposeful, and planned.
The undertaking of this whole endeavor is absolutely massive. I'm taking it very seriously and going to do everything I can to create a successful channel and ultimately a successful business out of the venture. I wish it was just a matter of buying a boat and camera and shoving off into the sunset. But, it's creating and managing every possible social media avenue, creating and managing a website with a forum, storefront, and the networking needed to make the current status of the vessel available to anyone visiting the site... location, heading, speed, battery state, fluid tank levels, sea state, all of it available for anyone to see at any time of day. It's coming up with creative products to sell, how to have them made, and how to distribute them world wide. How to inspire people to genuinely want to support the project and donate a few bucks every month through avenues such as Paytreon and Ko-fi. And so much more.
I'll have to learn how to effectively capture video that people want to see in a way that's most pleasing. Additionally, I'll need to learn how to edit well. Learn how to create and deliver a pleasing storyline that keeps viewers attention and leaves enough hanging fruit to create a craving that draws the viewer into watching episode after episode.
As much as I envision sitting on a beach, hundreds of miles from any people that aren't part of my immediate group, and doing absolutely anything or nothing with my time for days on end, I think that's going to be ultra rare. There's just so much that will need to be done. A schedule will still be my master. Once things take off and I can afford to have other people do editing, merchandising, and bookkeeping, then I'll be able to relax a little more.
Here's a link to view a bubble chart I've created to help get some of this stuff out of my head and on to paper, so-to-speak. Don't bother opening the link unless you're really board or really interested. If you do, I'm open to any and all input.
Seth's Bubble Chart
I think I'm going to get the channel up and running in January, even if I don't have a sailboat yet, because even getting my life organized, belongings liquidated, learning what I want and don't want in a boat, and the process of procuring the boat itself is part of the journey and can be a success worth sharing with potential viewers. Shoot, liquidating everything I have in my 30x14 storage unit could be an entire season of Storage Wars, American Pickers, or Hoarders episodes!
Anyway, I plan to present the videos in a format that draws the viewer into the journey, like being there without being there. Instead of what most other channels do... "here's what we did this past week" progress report style video. I want the viewer to feel as much of the same sense of adventure as I do in the moment.
Some other things I intend to do to differentiate my channel from other's is, every destination make a point to intentionally make it a better place. Consolidate and burry, or burn ocean trash that's found it's way onto an uninhabited island beaches, help a local with a task on a populated island, clean the growth off a fellow sailors hull, plant something, clean something, whatever! A portion of every video will have me and my group making some contribution to the betterment of another human being's day. I think that's something viewers will look forward to seeing in every episode, it's something I will be proud to present, and I feel it's generally a good thing to lead by example. Maybe, when there are natural disasters, I sail toward them and help with whatever need helping. I intend to give way more than I get out of this whole adventure.
I'll appreciate you following along and staying in touch, Rich. You should come out and meet up somewhere along the adventure route. If you're game, let's make it happen!