“I’m Back Witches! But Not On YouTube! Let’s Talk About It!" PART ONE (FROM MY SAGE’S CORNER SERIES)
*Sip tea & read time: 35 min approx
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*PLEASE NOTE: THIS POST WAS WRITTEN WHILE I WAS ON MY YOUTUBE HIATUS! AS OF APRIL 2024, I AM BACK POSTING ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL! THE LINK TO FOLLOW ME IS AT THE END OF THIS BLOG POST!
I’m back witches!! Did yall miss me? Yeah, I know. “You ain’t got to lie Craig!” 😊 Well, it has been a while tribe, and it certainly feels wonderful to be back. I have been into a lot and have done a lot since my two-year hiatus from posting on my witchy blog. And, I know that you've read the title already, so grab your coffee or your tea and let’s get into “the tea” with your favorite urban witch, Sage! Also, after realizing just how long this blog was during the editing process, I decided to break it down into two parts. So, this is part one witches! Enjoy!
WHERE HAVE I BEEN (OFFLINE)?
Welp, let’s discuss where
I have been offline first. I have been offline spending time loving, living, and laughing
with the hubs and with my rambunctious fur babies, of course! We have also relocated
to another area since then (but don’t ask me where, because it’s nunya bizness)! Also, we acquired more investment property and with that, more
responsibilities. But you know how it goes: To whom much is given, much is
required. The family business that requires all of hubby’s time, attention,
and focus is doing well also, so I give thanks!
As for me? Well, my small
(offline) spiritual business has been doing well, I'm grateful to announce. However, the whole expansion
of it all toward the end of the first year of my hiatus really humbled me though;
and, it made me realize that I was putting too much unnecessary pressure on
myself. I had to quickly realize that I am only one person, and I was either
going to have to hire some help (aka in-laws or a personal assistant) or, I was
going to have to scale back. I decided to scale back. So, I stopped making spiritual
soaps, scrubs, intention oils, and manifestation candles
in bulk and now I only create these specialty items on a case by case “preorder”
basis for my select clients and customers.
Now, my spiritual business is mainly focused on providing tarot/divination readings, dream interpretation readings, photo divination, psychic channelings and spiritual advice counseling sessions. I’m sure I left some other services out, but you get the gist of it. I also had to stop doing spiritual case work as well, because with the volume of clients I had and the level of drama that each client was dealing with, it had become too taxing on my emotional health and energy. So, I had to let it go. I now prefer to teach individuals how to spiritually protect and empower themselves rather than doing the spiritual protection spells and rituals for them. So yeah. I was doing a lot during my two-year long hiatus. And to think that I was still intending during that time to expand my business to offer spiritual services online as well! What the hell was I thinking? *chuckles *
WHERE HAVE I BEEN (ONLINE)?
And, as if this wasn’t
enough to keep my psychic brain going in overdrive while I was away from blogging, I actually had the audacity to delve into social media again. I tried my hand
at creating an online brand as a professional tarot reader and “witch influencer” on Twitter,
Instagram and then later TikTok, or what I jokingly refer to as “Tikky-Tokky.”
But with my ever-increasing business growth, coupled with the lack of time to
really balance home and work life successfully, that endeavor soon fizzled out
as well. Again, me doing too much! And then? And then came me testing the
waters as a “YouTuber?” 😐 It
started off with my main tarot channel, @SageTheUrbanWitch777 and later led to
my second tarot podcast channel, @TheHouseOfSage777. As it stands now, however, I have
stopped uploading content for both of these channels at the time of me writing this post which is in
the month of October 2023.
So, ladies and
gentlemen, this leads me to the topic of this blog post, or “the tea” if you will.
Because yes, I’m back witches! But as for YouTube? It’s a wrap for ya girl. And
there are a plethora of reasons why I have come to this decision. So let’s talk
about it!
WHY I’M BACK (ON MY BLOG
AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA) BUT NOT ON YOUTUBE:
1 “THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM IS JANKY STANKY!”
Yeah, you heard me right folks! The YouTube algorithm is shady as hell! Based on my personal experience coupled with my intuitive knowing, I have discovered that YouTube is rigged like a pyramid scheme. In other words, YouTube is purposely structured where only a few chosen and select content creators at the top can experience the accolades of YouTube success by being pushed into the top rankings of the algorithm. This makes it possible for them to enjoy all the fruits that come with that. Meanwhile, the vast majority of small content creators, especially content creators in the niche of tarot and spirituality, like myself, (and/or those of us who are also a part of a minority category such as race, gender, etc.) are crushed on the bottom of the pyramid desperately trying to claw our way up to the top. Moreover, most of us small content creators have tried to claw our way up by pushing out video after video just to be noticed by new viewers and subscribers and trying to appease the “Algorithm god!” 😖
It's like being shown a “Unicorn”
with the promise that all of us small content creators can become a unicorn too
with “hard work and consistent posting,” and all of the other yada-yada, false
pep-talk crap that these YouTube unicorns spew out of their pie holes. But as
soon as you believe that you’ve gotten a clear understanding of “the rules” of
how to get into the good graces of Mr. Algorithm, the goal post is moved yet again.
So, you are essentially chasing the proverbial carrot that continues to move while
being fed the malarchy that being a successful top YouTuber is actually attainable
when for over 90% of us content creators, it is not.
And, not that I'm the type to reference articles to prove my point because I rely solely on my empirical evidence. That, and the fact that I'm a highly intuitive witch and a spiritual beast who receive downloads from Spirit, downloads that are always spot on if not close inside the ball park! Nonetheless, in an article that I "stumbled across" while taking a break from editing this post, I discovered how during the pandemic, some YouTube content creators had filed a lawsuit against YouTube regarding its janky, rigged algorithm. So, I simply could not pass up citing a very revealing citation from this article!
That said, in a June 18th, 2020 Washington Post article written by author Reed Albergotti, he wrote about the experience of a plantiff in a lawsuit against YouTube based on racial discrimination. He cites: "After asking Frosch to sign a nondisclosure agreement, YouTube representatives told Frosch that the company's algorithms categorize creators based on race, among other characteristics, she wrote. That information is used "when filtering and curating content and restricting access to YouTube services, she said she was told. "The result is that the algorithm discriminates based on the identity of the creator or its intended audience when making what are supposed to be neutral content based regulations and restrictions for videos that run on YouTube," company officials told her, according to the declaration (pg. 1, Albergotti).
Boom! Need I say more?! So again, the reality is that YouTube success is NOT attainable for
all. It is certainly not attainable for the vast majority of small YouTubers who are holding up
the bottom of the pyramid and thus laying the very foundation for the content creators in the middle and at the top. This is sad indeed considering that it is the majority of the small content creators that help to keep the "prized YouTube Unicorns" viable and the YouTube platform relevant as the top
video sharing platform today! At least for now....😏
And I don’t know about you folks! But as an Indigenous/African-American woman…um, let’s just say that the idea of someone or something using my back as their solid foundation to stand on in order to reach their material and social success at my expense doesn’t sit well with me! At least with the discovery of the rigged algorithm though, I have been able to stop being so hard on myself and thinking that there was something that I was doing wrong. I was also able to stop stressing over if there was something that was not up to par with my content as I was creating and posting at one point, up to five to six videos a day with still little to no significant and consistent traction in terms of daily views and subscribers.
None of my struggles for YouTube equality and relevancy seemed to affect larger more popular content creators in my niche, however who were fairing so much better than me. Sometimes, even with the same topics and similar style of
content. Granted, my sound and video quality could have been a
lot better; but, considering that there were other tarot videos that posted totally “blacked out” tarot videos, and/or tarot videos with still photos or text-only tarot videos that were still getting
significantly more views than mine doesn’t explain the total reason as to why
my videos were lost in the crowd in the YouTube tarot community. 😕
Now this is a subject that a lot of YouTubers rarely talk about. Or want to. Quietly, however, everyone can admit that trying to become, and more importantly trying to remain relevant on YouTube is a full-time job! It is a full-time job that for most YouTubers does not pay like a full-time job, but more like an internship or a volunteer gig with occasional commission and perks. Or, shall I say "the promise of perks." And even the perks come with strings attached such as you will only receive said perks if you try harder and be consistent (as in consistently ignoring how fast you are headed towards burnout), and just continue to post more, more, and more! So, with the demands on one’s time, energy, skill set, and dedication that it takes to continue to create and post content as a small YouTuber, the level of output that is required oftentimes does not equal the ROI (return on investment) if you will. This was certainly the case for me.
And caveat. I’m speaking from the vantage point of a financially-supported (and financially-stable) wife and successful small business owner. So, I can only imagine how dismal the reality is for small content creators who are single mommy’s with little to no financial and/or emotional support, or for online entrepreneurs relying on YouTube as their primary or only source of income. Honey, I clutch my pearls at the thought! 😧
3 “YOUTUBE PROMOTES A TOXIC
HUSTLE-CULTURE THAT IS NORMALIZED TO A PROBLEMATIC EXTENT!”
Now don’t get me wrong.
There’s nothing wrong with good old fashion hard work. But when it’s the kind
of work where you are only rewarded based on how much, how fast, and how often
you can hit the proverbial target that continues to move out of reach, then
that is a problem. And, for its content creators, YouTube is set up in this
exact way, unfortunately. It creates a toxic culture of “hustle hard, and that “no
sleep” mentality and rhetoric that those delusionally-positive online gurus and
motivational speakers advocate. The problem with this so-called work ethic that
everyone buys into as a YouTube content creator, at least those of us who are
ambitious (sometimes to our own detriment), is that the work ethic and goals
that the YouTube culture propagates promotes an unhealthy work-life balance. It
also promotes unnecessary and toxic competition among other YouTubers which results
in doing some very cringy and undesirable things toward other content creators
in order to reach and in order to maintain relevancy in the YouTube algorithm.
This striving to “keep up with the Joneses” in YouTube land and to continue to have one’s channel pushed to viewers on the platform can also unfortunately lead to a decline of mental health. I personally noticed a change in my mental health as I increasingly became more irritable, lethargic, and unable to get a full night’s rest as a small YouTuber. I also noticed that I had become a bit neglectful with my tasks and responsibilities as a wife, as an animal mommy, and as a small business owner which is my real bread and butter.
For example, as a wife and a homebody, I love to
cook meals for myself and my hubby (even my fur babies on occasion get to enjoy
some gourmet doggie treats). But while I was trying to “crack the algorithm code”
and get my tarot videos seen by more viewers and gain more subscribers on YouTube, cooking
became less and less of a priority for me. Laundry, cleaning, and other
tasks that come with marriage, family, and homeownership unfortunately did as well. Not to mention all
the front and backend work of owning and running a small spiritual business. Outsourcing
these tasks was only a “quick fix” for me as well, because there are only so
many delivery meal plans and carry-outs that you can use before you just crave real,
home-cooked meals that you or your partner have put time, energy, and love into. I know you home and hearth witches feel me! 😊
Likewise, there are only so many times that you want to see strangers in your home cleaning it. It also gets old really fast using a laundry app to pick up, clean, and drop off you and your spouse’s laundry. I am an introvert and a homebody, as I mentioned earlier. My home is my sanctuary and I do not allow very many people the privilege of stepping over the threshold into my home and into my inner abode around me and my family. So, even the outsourcing that I had put in place to “free up” more time so that I could post more videos on YouTube was creating more anxiety for me rather than alleviating it. All because I had bought into the hype of being a YouTube content creator. Meh!
Never mind the fact that I
was creating and posting at one point up to five to six tarot videos a day (on
my main channel) for approximately nine months to a year consistently, while
receiving little to no traction or gaining of new and consistent views and
subscribers! That’s when I realized that, as far as YouTube (and apparently my
viewers and small subscribers) were concerned, I was simply another hamster on
a wheel as it relates to this “YouTube game.” Striving to keep up is a
never-ending game indeed. The more videos you post, the more videos you must
continue to post. Otherwise, you will be punished for it by the algorithm.
Meaning, your videos will drop “out of sight” instantly. As a result, as a small,
obscure YouTuber, you are pressured to create double the amount of
videos than before simply to get back into the algorithm “line up” for viewers
to actually see your videos and to even know that you exist!
It’s like the Hunger Games on crack! And it matters not if you have a family emergency, or if you or a loved-one become sick, or any other reason. No new videos? Immediate drop of views and ad sense. Period! Meanwhile, because of YouTube’s fast-paced culture of “more, more, more,” the more you post, the more your hate watchers and looney ass subscribers want and expect. Some even have the audacity to complain about the number and/or quality of your videos, giving you unsolicited advice and criticism, or their "two cents" when you didn't ask their broke ass, while they just sit back, eat, belch and not so much as leave a tip which is equivalent to a like, share, or subscribe. I mean, it’s the entitlement and the audacity for me! 😠
With that, I knew that it was time for me to stop playing this YouTube game that was not set up for little ole me as a small content creator to win. So, I exited stage left because I have no more to give in this toxic, one-sided relationship with YouTube where I was definitely giving more than I was receiving. For instance, not only I was over expending myself mentally, but emotionally, energetically and spiritually as well, as a witch and as a tarot reader/diviner.
Now caveat. For those of
you who are new to my blog, let me just tell you that I have never
been much of a competitive person, outside of being self-competitive and
striving to be a better version of myself each day. I simply do not feel the
need to compete with anyone because I feel that there is enough reward, money,
accolades, or whatever it is that one is striving for to go around in abundance. Therefore,
I stay in my own lanes, the lanes that I have created for myself, and the lanes
with my own rules to live and win by. So, competing with other people and
placing myself in situations and environments where I have been pressured to
compete with people, or where placing myself in situations and environments
where people have been compelled to compete with me has always been silly to me!
I also consider it to be quite toxic as well.
Unfortunately, I did not
take my “there is no competition” philosophy into account before I started
my quest to become a YouTube content creator and adding it to all the other balls
that I was juggling in the air. But I have since come to the conclusion that
for the sake of my mental health, for the sake of my work-life balance, and for
the sake of my philosophy of requiring balanced reciprocity, that pursing another added stream of income as a YouTuber is just not for
me. So, I’m done.
I’m also done with part one of this blog post witches! So stay tuned for part two which will be posted on the 3rd Sunday of January 2024. Also, make sure that you are following my Twitter @TheHouseOfSage and my Podcast "Sippin' Tea & Tarot With Sage Podcast" so that you won’t miss any upcoming posts and episodes! (The links are down below). See ya soon! 😊
So, how about you? Have you gotten fed up with how you are being treated on YouTube as a small content creator, as a woman and/or as a witch? Or, are you planning on leaving YouTube or just sticking it out? I would love to hear about it. So please do the following: 1. Join the One Wise Sage blog. 2. Share my blog posts on your social media, and 3. Post a comment! Again, let me repeat this for those in the back: JOIN, SHARE, AND POST! Got it? Good!
Until we vibe again,
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