Delayed Input 203 Post-Show Assessment

This was a weird episode. The Activision-Blizzard news dropped Wednesday night, so it was a relatively quick turnaround by Delayed Input standards. Up until I read the story I was planning to an episode on Ubisoft's XDefiant, but really even when I was developing that idea there was a feeling that I shouldn't be covering this game without also talking about the Ubisoft Singapore story (if you're curious: https://kotaku.com/the-messy-stalled-reckoning-at-an-assassins-creed-co-d-1847336158 ) Just indefensible stuff that there's no humorous take on. A lot of writing for me is not actual keyboard tapping time, but just kind of being in thought. You could say I was in my thoughts a lot this week, I actually didn't start recording until around 5am Wednesday night (Thursday morning really).
I want Delayed Input to be a light, silly show where I try out dumb ideas and talk about video games. Last year especially I thought a lot about the phrase "silence is compliance," and how it applies to my stupid stuff. I think there's an invisible metric that just has to be felt. For instance, I believe pollution is bad, but no one would expect that I support pollution just because I'm not talking about it. But sometimes something causes that invisible metric to fill up, and you're feeling like saying nothing is absolutely suggesting something. I guess I basically mean I don't feel I get the right to have a Patreon-funded goofy video game show without also accepting the responsibility of acknowledging non-goofy truths.
Now that the video is published I'm questioning the logic behind "this show has Shrek, sometimes you can't have it both ways." I wonder if an episode completely dedicated to Activision Blizzard, and how we cover these topics, would have been better. This probably won't be the last time an uncomfortable, unfun story is the leading headline of the week, I feel slightly better equipped to tackle it next time.

Questions from you!
The first couple comments on the video are "Commiefornia" and someone getting angry for being called out for using "gay" as a synonym for "stupid." Does it weird you out that there are people who watch your show (and give you money maybe?) who just straight up suck?
Yeah it's pretty weird. I'm tempted to believe that people who suck won't always suck, but also acknowledge the reality that there are trolls who will always feast on the pain of the others.

Do you think being a bit of a niche content creator in the gaming space attracts more of an enthusiast audience who is likely already somewhat informed on the headlines that come out, or do you think a majority of your audience doesn't catch some of the heavier stuff?
For this week's subject, I think it's the kinda thing where it needs to be addressed even if 95% of the audience already knows. It's interesting though that there are a few comments here on Patreon even from those who hadn't heard. I get what you mean by "preaching to the choir," I usually only try to bring something up I feel I have something to add.
Generally though I think it's best practice to introduce things as if your audience knows almost nothing before today.

what are the considerations for you personally when deciding how to handle heavier subjects? Do you worry about views and subscribers dipping or backlash negatively affecting how the algorithm recommends your videos? Are these things even considerations when putting the show together?
With heavier topics, my concern isn't the backlash from people who don't care, but from the people who care. I just don't want to make a bad video and it's extremely easy to make a bad video.
When it comes to optimizing the show for views and algorithms and subscribers, I'm pretty careless about it to an almost irresponsible level. I don't have monetization on, the thumbnails and titles could be better, I don't really do metadata, generally I'm just making the kind of stuff I want to make and putting it on the sidewalk. We could be doing better business here but maybe I appreciate not having to stress about that and maintaining a level of simplicity.

Since it's been a fair number of episodes now, have you settled into a general production schedule yet?
The general production schedule is: Write Tuesday, Record Wednesday, Edit Thursday. This however gets pushed back by unforeseeable complications and creative difficulties on a regular weekly basis.

Your video title created the impression that Activision story is the main story, but it was already over and done by the time the intro rolled. And it didn't feel weighted more than the rest of the stories. Maybe there is potential for improvement for how you label stuff here?
I tried a few different titles for this episode. Activision Blizzard Sexual Harassment & FFXIV Tips being in the title together looked a little gross to me, like they're sharing equal billing in my attempt to get viewers interested. I feel the current title emphasizes what is most important.

Thanks for your feedback this week. I'm looking forward to continuing to progress a little each week until this eventually becomes a good show. Something I've been tossing around in my head for the next episode is seeing what would happen if Delayed Input had a good joke in it.