VOLUME 57 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 21, 2020 P125
never really were.
I'll admit to being rather
disappointed with his response.
YouTube has become the defacto
publishing platform for, well,
everything and everyone. Anyone
with a phone can get on and
deliver motorcycle content, rather
than require at least some form
of technical training in the art of
delivering honest and researched
information. His response made
me ask myself the dreaded
question: Is the written word for
motorcycle content dying?
I know it sounds like I'm hav-
ing a go at YouTube, but I assure
you, I'm not. I rely on the plat-
form for at least 50 percent of
most reviews I compile for Cycle
News (text and video). I also
watch most of my content on the
platform, too, mainly because
cable TV can absolutely jump off
a cliff.
However, I am a student of
writing, and a good writer can re-
lay feelings and information most
people with an iPhone simply
cannot. If you have not yet read
motorcycle aficionados like Mat
Oxley or even our own Michael
Scott in his In The Paddock col-
umn, I implore you to do so.
The big problem with YouTube
is it is incredibly difficult to create
top-level content that doesn't re-
quire you to lose your ass when
the bill comes. A writer needs
his or her brain and a keyboard,
whereas a top-level YouTuber
needs a cameraman at least,
and then a sound guy, an editor,
god knows what else. And all
those people (usually) still need
to get paid.
That's why so many YouTube
channels are essentially just
sponsored content pages, be-
cause to make the content to an
acceptable level requires a vast
financial input that is almost un-
recoupable, at least in the short
to medium term.
Content and the way it is
delivered is changing so fast it
is very, very difficult to stay on
top of it all. There are so many
streaming services, so many
apps who target very specific
age groups and demographics,
and the fact so many people
consume content on their
phones means, it least in my
mind, that long-format tests,
race reports and news features
must surely be heading for the
boneyard.
Or maybe not. This past
month, we had a very encourag-
ing meeting at Cycle News HQ,
where the big cheese Mr. Finley
relayed information to the team
that we are growing, not declin-
ing, in the number of people
visiting this site. In the current
climate of a declining (let's be
honest here) industry, this is the
best news we could hear.
Still, the new decade should
bring with it a new perspective,
and I would like to throw this
over to you, the reader, to ask
your opinion. Going forward,
how would you like your motor-
cycle content delivered? Are
you trending more towards just
watching reviews on YouTube?
Are you gravitating back towards
longer, more in-depth written
features, or a little bit of both, or
do you just stare at Instagram at
every possible moment?
We are here for the long run,
we've been doing this for nearly
60 years so it's always been
a long run for us, but to keep
growing we must adapt to what
people out there want from us.
So, over to you, guys. Leave
your comments below. CN
