Amazon Web Services had a large scale outage today that impacted millions of users around the world. In watching coverage and also watching my usual YouTube videos I think I finally hit the consumption wall.
About 4 years ago I was a prolific content creator.
I was writing for two blogs of my own, several freelance websites, and side work for local businesses. I was bringing in some extra money and generally having a great time. A couple items derailed that. COVID exhaustion preventing me from creating the content I needed to, and a shift to consuming versus creating. Not long after this I started a project to upgrade my Jeep that has also gone stagnant for far too long.
Tonight was the night.
I was watching YouTube videos as I often do and realized that it was just more of the same drivel. A few photos with some OK music, cinematic furtive looks, people walking and being dramatic for no reason, and then every photo shown listed what preset was used and how to buy it. It hit me that almost every video I watch these days is just a long form commercial. There are some creators who aren’t but the photography genre in particular seems to always be selling something. It became more apparent as I pay for YouTube Premium and still had an add in every video I watched.
I don’t know yet if this is a return to creation that I want it to be.
I’ve been unmotivated to pursue bigger things. I take photos, I work on Jeeps, and I build small things, but the larger projects elude me. I’m hoping that finally, maybe, I am ready to get back at it and finish my Jeep build, document the world, and share it sparingly so as not to lose the joy I find in creating by turning it into work.