The 2022 Roundup

 

 

Well, it's about that time again. The Festive Season is all over, the dust has settled and the New Year is in full swing. This time around I got stuck at work, which meant that my usual video that I churn out about this time of year proved impossible to make. So, I decided to do the next best thing. So without further ado, lets take a look at the highs and lows of 2022.

The Lows

Let's get all the negative stuff out of the way first. There weren't as many videos on the channel in 2022 as in previous years. In fact, I didn't even average one a month. There have been a few reasons for this, including social events, work schedules messing up my free time and so on, but the main reason is as simple as this: a lack of motivation. 

Now I'm not obsessed with The Numbers when it comes to Cask Theology as this is merely a hobby. But after a couple of missed deadlines I started to overthink things a bit, which inevitably led to the spark of making something dwindle. It felt a bit like I was paying a bill, not indulging myself in something I enjoy. I don't want to label it burnout, because I actually still enjoyed making the vids I did, but there seemed to be a sort of weight attatched to content creation. Once I got going, I really enjoyed the process, but it was just getting started that seemed to have become an issue. 

I don't want to promise any great sweeping changes or announce three times the content of last year or anything like that, but now that '22 is done with I do feel like I've turned a bit of a corner. Heck, even sat here typing away with my cup of tea is making me feel exited for making things, and part of the reason for this I'll mention a bit later.

The Highs

 

 

Right, let's chuck all that negative talk to one side. It's easy to get bummed out, but the good thing about the turn of the year is that it's a great time to stop and take stock of things. I thought that I would'nt have much to say about good things happening with the channel, given how I've been with content creation recently but guess what? I was wrong. By a lot.

2022 was actually a pretty good year for Cask Theology. At it's beginning I had managed to garner a total of 1540 subscribers, which was amazing. Allowed the use of ads and such. For total transparancy, I've only been payed by YouTube twice, the last time being in around October. To date I have made £160, so I doubt I'll be buying a yacht any time soon. 

One year later and I'm sitting at 2195 subs, which means I gained about as many as I did in 2021. I even did a celebratory "Dank Christian Memes 2" video. Let's hope this momentum continues into 2023, maybe even getting to 3k by this time next year. Hopefully by then I'll have shaken myself out of this funk I'm in. 

So in my last update video I outlined what I wanted to do, and well, I did some of it. I did indeed get out not one, but two Beer History videos, and three Church History ones. I also tried out being in front of the camera this year for a video about Shandygaff, which was actually a lot of fun to make. It's since got the cogs whirring for similar content I can make. Alas, the "Practical" videos I thought about never really came to fruition, but I did at least get to explain Alcohol Units.

The real highlight of 2022 came in the form of two chaps called Phil and Adam. They both host the Everybody's Dead Dave Podcast, which I had been thoroughly enjoying. I put myself forward as a potential guest for a certain episode and was thrilled to be invited on to talk about Red Dwarf and theology. I had an ace time, and the hosts, although tired from an evening of recording, were really nice dudes. They also make really good nerdy content. 

You can of course find the podcast on all good Podcasty places, my particular episode was called Lemons from season 10. To tie into it I created another pop culture religion episode all about Red Dwarf, which wowza, took off like a shot and currently sits at 1k views. 

It was bittersweet though, as the BBC slapped a copyright claim on it so that whole £1 revenue I made went to them. I'm not that fussed. I did use a lot of footage and images, wondering if Fair Use would cover it. Really enjoyed making that one. I hope 2023 brings with it some more collabs.

So What's Next?

 

Well, I guess it's time I laid out what I plan to do with things this year. Pondering it, one of the reasons I've been stuggling with making stuff is that I'm still covering the same topics I was over a year ago. It's one of the reasons I started making the pop culture videos, so I could cleanse my brain a bit.

That said though, I am determined to see the Apostolic Fathers and Beer History videos through to the end. But I am also aware that a bit of a shake up is needed, for my sake at least. Over Christmas I've been thinking about what that might look like, but for now I'm going to keep going with the videos I'm doing now.

After all, there aren't many Apostolic Fathers left to cover, and the Beer History videos are going to take longer to make now that we're heading into the Industrial Revolution, because a lot of stuff starts happening. 

Naturally, the videos will be Beer and Theology based, but I could do with a break from making mostly history videos. I've some ideas about doing Theology for Beginners, a series all about Pub Naming Conventions, videos on How To Pour a Beer, stuff like like that. I really could do with going to a pub and hashing them out over a pint or two.

So, that's 2022 all wrapped up. I hope to see you all soon! Until then, do go grab yourself a drink and keep asking questions.

-Matt