Vlogs across the board have been in decline over the past 3 years for several reason. In my opinion it is beacuse of youtube's preference for Shorts, new Ai technology and IP Theft from bad actors
I'm probably wasting my time writing this since you have been very clear that you don't look at comments, but here goes. First, I've been watching your channel since nearly the beginning. Secondly, I'm ex-Navy, so I'm no prude. With that said, here goes...and I'm sure I'll get blasted for this. Your channel has changed considerably in the years you have been doing it. In the beginning you seemed very humble and I enjoyed seeing you make do with what you had, repairing the boat, sailing the world, learning, etc. Fast forward to today and it seems more like the Hugh Hefner in a boat or fancy restaurant. I have nothing against success and T&A (its to be applauded), but that seems like where your channel has gone. Maybe that is where is has to go, I don't know. I'm just giving you my personal observation from years of watching and enjoying your channel. The other problem I have is that it used to be easy to follow along with where you where in relation to time. Now, you bounce around so much it almost gets convincing. Lastly, I miss you having your own sailboat and going to remote places. I understand its because you are using charters, but the channel was far more interesting when you went off the beaten path and had to survive on what you had for weeks/months on end. I personally watch to see the struggle, overcoming the odds, etc. But there is always a market for what you are producing now, too. Everything runs its course...but I for one would like to see more vintage Bobby. Any, thanks for your content. I know you work hard on it and are doing something I could never do. Fair winds and following seas...
I rather like the girls but you are right the hopping around is what I don't like. I'm not into the charter boats, it was more fun when you just had your boat, at this point its hard to really know where you are.
I think you hit it right on the head. Yeah the T&A is a love-or-hate thing for viewers, but it's the charter company ads and marina bar hopping instead of sailing that makes this channel 'meh' for me these days. This podcast is more interesting than his last ten episodes even though he's just talking to the camera--because he's talking about real stuff. It gives me some insight into why he doing what he's doing.
Well said, and yes, he should read the comments. I'm also ex-Navy and not a prude. However, the booze and behinds become tiresome. Also, lose the dog t**d that you're sucking on. Check out Leading the Escapade for something real without the whining.
I actually can agree with you on this. My husband has even mentioned this very same attributes of the love of sailing. Which is the gorgeous water views the scenery. Boat maintenance. The busy ladies and showing booties is not what sailing is about. Sorry. Not watching to feel like It's a revelation of going to a strip bar. I'm prior navy as well. I think he needs to go back to modest videos and bring back the integrity of the sailing. ❤
Your comment and the others below it? Nailed it. I appreciate the scenery but I followed because of the sailing way back when. Now watching a new episode makes me check if I'm watching an old episode. No idea where he'll be next. My favorite season was the first Pacific crossing.
Bobby, whatever you decide to do please continue to do your Regular videos here on the main Sailing Doodles RU-vid channel. The ones that are 10-15 mins long. We love these. Interesting to watch this video and hear your take on things. Thanks for always being transparent. Safe Travels!
Enjoyed your perspective, Bobby. Always interesting to hear from those who have been at this a while. My hubby and I enjoy the Sailing Doodles channel content and tune in for the varying people you bring aboard, the yachts you choose to cruise/sail and the locations you visit. We also like the fact that yes you show the fun but also some of the labor/burden of boat life. Thanks for sharing.
Everyone was tuning in while we were stuck at home during the 'Vid. I think today's numbers are more realistic. Your channel is doing about as well as everyone else of similar content these days, so... No matter, you do a great job and have been very dedicated to all of us. That matters to me more than anything. Since 2020 I pretty much only watch YT, FYI. Cheers from the PNW!
I think Bobby and a few other started this sailing boom and like anything in life it fades and everyone is onto the next thing. I used to follow 5-7 sailing channels and now only 2. You were my first sailing channel so I’m with you till death. Been here since season 1.
I think Bobby is spot on with this assessment. It's like photography - selling prints or stock photography is tough - especially the latter with the future of AI. The way to make money is to guide people to see whatever it is you're focused on and teach them photography skills. Similar for sailing, allowing folks to rent a room for a week or 2 or a month is probably the way to go.
Hey man this was very interesting. I'm an old dude, a sailor, diver, worked in aviation and for a number of years I have been following your blogs as well as many you mentioned. What I have always found interesting and compelling is the honesty and realism of the earlier blogs. I couldn't give a rat's ass over special effects and music in the video. I want to see real situations with real people, good and bad but not Reality TV. What has made me lose interest at times is because there are now kids in many of those top bloggers. Like I said I am old and it just doesn't interest me even though they are top notch folks. In your blog I have always enjoyed the interesting characters like Geraldine for one; smart, sassy, beautiful and realistic. When your crew gets too young I wonder if they would rather be looking for a new lip gloss, or be on the boat on an adventure. I cut my teeth before vlogs on the magazine Latitudes and Attitudes, did some chartering in the BVIs as well as cruising back home in eastern Canada. In my opinion the key is to; keep it simple; have the right crew; throw in some colourful antics, and treat it like a laid back cruising guide. Good luck man; I look forward to what you generate in the future.
Been a member of the Delos Tribe since I discovered their channel in 2014 while deployed in Afghanistan. Joined this channel at the recommendation of RU-vid and though I’m not a dedicated watcher, I do enjoy the content.
Hi Bobby, This Vlog covered a lot of ground & a lot of issues. Only you, will find your answers & the direction that you want to move in. I'm a 75 year old Canadian from Toronto. I've had some sailing experience & did own a small sailboat for a few years on Lake Ontario. Covid brought me to RU-vid & now I would much rather watch videos than regular TV. I watch a variety of stuff but I subscribe to 5 or 6 sailing channels along with yours. I like to see the scenery & you take the time to give local & historical knowledge. You also cover boat tech & repairs as well as sailing & boat related techniques. You basically cover the things that interest & educate me. I will always watch your channel as you move up to the cat & take it to new places. In short, keep up the good work. Cheers, Jack
I Love Sailing Doodles.... I love to see the sailing and problem-solving associated with owning a boat. I can't travel as much as I would like, but seeing where you go, experiencing the different cultures and learning as we learn is awesome. Thanks for the thoughts, glad you are still here.
AI gets scarier everyday...And yeah Tik Tok and Millenials are the one responsible for the Short Attention Span videos...I honestly hate Shorts and Tik Tok...And I love your vlogs and 20-30mins videos. Keep em coming for our generation! (Gen X here haha)
I started watching you a little before you went to Vancouver Island to pickup a boat to sail to Thailand. Along the way you stopped by Nanaimo where I lived and then picked up Laura. It seems a long long time ago. But I'm still subscribed and watch, not all but still watch. Thanks for this talk. See you later and CHEERS to you for hanging in.
I'm in the "I'll watch no matter what" category Bobby Personally I don't like "shorts" The changes to RU-vid is in keeping with the generation that have the shortest attention span. Quality, story form content is not popular any more. Being that I'm "over 40", my preference is for the story form content. I'd suggest if it's possible, do 2 versions. The shortest possible for the short attention span people and for the rest of us, do the long story version which can be launched from Patreon
"The changes to RU-vid is in keeping with the generation that have the shortest attention span." This is wrong. Younger generations do not have shorter attention spans but their attention is expected to be divided over a multitude of competing systems so it seems that they doom scroll through lots of content, not really absorbing it but the truth is, if they find content they like, they watch the fk out of it, whether its 30 seconds or 10 minutes. Saying younger people dont have attention spans is such a boomer comment to make and shows a complete lack of observance and understanding of corporate social media.
Denigrating his comment doesn’t make it less correct. I see the reduced attention span for sure. The cause probably does include divided attentions as you suggest, but I don’t see that as different, merely a cause of the problem. This shows up in industry as lack of focus, rigor, discipline. I saw that every day when I was still working. It’s real.
Bobby, no criticism here, no judgement.. A bite of reality... you nailed it. Lots of professional vloggers dd well during Covid... basically drank the "wow, we're so good, so loved kool-aid"... with Covid being basically behind us, people, including myself just do not have the time to watch travel vlogs.. If anyone interprets this differently, let's look at the facts, facts are easy to get to, you showed them, post Covid vlog clicks diminished by X% across the board... Period. So what you see now "is the new normal", welcome to making a living post Covid... AI... gimme a break, it's so new hardly anyone even knows how to use it... It's a new normal coach.. Period
Hey mate, Geday from South Australia. I am not a patron but have watched every vid from the very start and always give you a thumbs up for the metric. That was a great vid mate and well explained. I understand why you need to do the T and A vids as well, but the old format is my preference. Good luck and I hope you can keep on pushing them out.
Sailing channels like sv Delos and la Vagebond were my favorites for years. But I think they loose view for three main reasons. 1) They got kids. In the past it was a dynamic mix of adventure, maintenance and great crew. With small kids it is a lot less adventurous to watch. Seeing them preparing a bottle for the baby is not the same as having some insane party with total strangers or go for some caves or go skinny dipping with at night. 2)buying/getting a new boat changes the type of content a lot for a while. With la Vagebond they went from great adventures to endles new cat video's that was maybe needed for some reason but nothing interesting happened for a long long time. 3) In the beginning it is all new to the viewers. But after years of seeing how the sailing life works it is a lot of the same you watch. Another sail, another tropical place, another dive with nice footage. It is all beautiful but after watching it for years it get's all the same. Also new sailing channels that start vlogging go to thr same islands and beaches. So after years you start to loose interest. Oh and for me personally it is great to see the repairs/ refit periods. We have our own boat and had others for years. And I am interested to see how they do it. When refit's are done or they just buy a new then the channel also is less interesting to me.
Interestingly, not being a boat owner, I dislike the repair and refit period videos. I want to tune out of work for a few minutes during my lunch break for a mini dream vacation. I'm here for the escape. I don't want to see more work that needs to be done. Just different strokes for different folks, I guess.
All I can say is I have been following you for a long time and I will continue. Thanks for educating us on the industry. Majority of time I watch the whole video.
I honestly miss the “maintenance Monday” vids. Miss the doggos too but totally understand putting pets through that whole ordeal…I’ve been here since the start so I’ll be here till the end…😊👍🏻
Could the economy be an issue for all "sailing" vlogs? Also, we prefer watching on TV just just to take in the scenery. SD to me is always refreshing and takes the viewer to great locations and we get to meet other sailors/Vloggers. We appreciate the research you provide for these locations. Both of these should bring more sponsors and contributors. I can only guess at how much time it takes to get ready prior to the anchoring. I am a retired AF pilot with 22yrs. in the AF and another yrs. 5 as a defense contractor so we are enjoying retirement. We have a lot of time so if you ever need volunteers to do the minusha paperwork, behind the scenes let me know. We owned a 29ft. SeaRay when I was going through F-15 training at Panama City, Fl. My PADI Divemaster rating is still current but my 6-pack CG rating is not. Always great to see you and crew, so keep it up. B. and D.
Hey Bobby, been following your channel for years now. It has progressed very well great videos. The last video of your new boat status was great. Any chance you could get someone from the build team to send you content a couple times a month as the build goes then you could narrate it. I think that many of your viewers would enjoy seeing the status a few times a month and this way it would save the travel cost to Thailand but give you extra content for the channel monthly until completion. Lookng forward to the future of all the Doodle channels, Thanks
The biggest thing vloggers have versus AI and shorts in my opinion is the ability to form parasocial relationships with their audience. The first real vlogs that I started to watch were from Kara and Nate, and young married couple who were in the process of trying to travel to 100 countries before Nate turned 30 years old. Not only did I get to see all of the cool places they went and see all the cool things they had done, I got to know *them* as people. Along the way I started watching other channels in the same genre as them, sometimes even going to the same places, but I still enjoyed it because even though the content was the same at its heart, the different personalities of the people shone through giving it interest and variety. I'm sure most people who watching Sailing Doodles are also subscribe to a number of other sailing channels for the same reason - it might be the same content, but since it's different people doing in their own different ways, it's still interesting. I don't think shorts could capture the nuances of that, and AI I think will always fall into the trap of being generic - think how everyone paints the inside of their house the same color when it comes time to sell. Hopefully then, the vlog is not dead, as long as RU-vid doesn't do anything too nuts.
Ive enjoyed all of your video's Bobby. You and all the girls and of course Goose and Maverick (RIP Pups) have kept me entertained since you started this journey. I hope you don't quit doing the videos completely. Please keep up the good work. Randall Lawless
Bobby I love all your vlogs and videos on RU-vid....understood on the vlogs; however, I will still remain watching your content as I really enjoy it. Happy sailing and travelling!
Wow, I love to watch my favorite channels. Sailing Doodles, Winds, Zatara, Atticus, Parlay, Delos, Intermission, Sam Holmes, O'Kellys, and others...perhaps the market is saturated.
After a couple of years, the content gets repetitive, or the channel goes in a different direction, or family comes into the videos, or the creators start to live the big life that's hard to relate to. Many reasons
I think alot of older youtube sailing channels are losing viewers is because they went to a place that the average person cannot do. The channels that are starting or sailing a 50-80K boats are doing well but the old channels that are now buying 1 million dollar cats have lost the viewers. Most want to see a couple struggle and do it on an average income. They want to dream of something that actually is attainable in the future. Channels like Spear it animals, Sam Holmes, ocean bandit are all taking the views from the older channels that have moved to the Cats that are out of touch with the average person dreams. No offense to your new boat but it does alienate some viewers.
Yeah, I started out watching Uma, and while I am still subscribed, I'm not quite as eager to watch when they show up... I am looking at Spear it Animal ... and the others that are finishing or have finished an upgrade or refit to a less expensive boat. ... like For Love Of WInd... and older couple that sold everything and put it into a boat, had issues, and are struggling a bit, but are very entertaining.
Right on! Sailing GBU is a good example of a channel that people could relate to. Then they went a different direction and I’m sure it has hurt them big time.
You need to go all out luxury craziness with clickbait titles and photos "$100m catamaran sails through heaven with 10 supermodels" or other side is where people can relate like you said. The middle point with neither does not work. There are too many of those and it's not worth watching
I dont agree i think weve seen it all on the sailing channels. Most of the break downs, most of the places they travel. The sailing channels are just boring these days.
Hi Bobby, I love your vlog and have been watching since the puppy's were sailing with you. I think another reason sailing vlogs are falling off is over saturation. When I first saw sailing vlogs they were something new and started off with Delos. I thought it was so exciting that 2 brothers were taking their own sailboat and heading across the Pacific; fishing off the back and scuba diving at different islands. I was amazed that people actually could do that. lol. Then LaVagabonde came along and I thought they were great and then I saw your program next. I've been watching sailing vlogs now for over 10 years. But I've started to watch less and less because I find a lot of the content being put out now is boring. I watch these videos to see you guys in beautiful places and diving with manta rays or dolphins or to ship wrecks. But lately as everyone has gotten older, we now have kids in the mix, which for me is a real turn off. There's also a lot of, 'In this video we're going to show you how we paint the bottom of our boat' or 'We're going to show you how we repair our engine. I find these types of videos very boring. I know some people may like that stuff but for me I want to be in the water with you guys, swimming around with the fish. I watch you the most now because you still have content with beautiful women and you go to nice beach restaurants and show the beautiful views of the ocean and sunsets. Those are the things I watch for. Anyway, don't worry about shorts just keep up the great 10-20 minute content. May the wind always fill your sails.
Hey Bobby, to answer your question relative to kids attention spans, I am a 15 year old highschooler and have been watching the channel since 2019 and have always had a love for the water and fishing and have always loved and enjoyed watching your videos. But I agree that kids my age can’t sit down and watch or understand something quite like sailing or ever going outside. Keep doing what you love and I hope you continue the vlogs!
I think every medium has a life cycle. I started as a video editor when it was all one inch or 3/4” tape. I had tape machines that were $50k apiece. We were charging $2.5k per finished minute. Then non-linear editing using computers made it affordable for the masses. We thought we had distribution locked in with DVD and BluRay. Online bandwidth would never be enough to distribute online, right? Then they figured out high speed internet and wireless technology. Finally, some young fellow came along and decided he could make a living streaming video using a satellite. The trick is adapt and change. If you get in early enough, you can make money. If the market gets loaded with copycats, nobody can make money!
I actually like to listen to you. Talk more than I like watching your recent videos. I think you have a lot more to offer than what you show in the videos. I'll check out your podcast. Thanks!
I often found a disconnect between the video preview title and the actual video. The teaser would be about sexy women in bikinis but the video would be about sailing or destinations and skip Ed over any “sexy” type of behavior.😢
To be honest, i think there is a phenomenon, which i can only describe as content fatigue. There is only so much content people can create or cover, and after a while the viewers get burnt out. Being honest, a part of me is glad because i think social media has been the death of human experience, especially in terms of adventure and discovery.
Views are off in other verticals as well - we have 4 channels, and 3 of them are seeing a decline. While one of them has stayed relatively strong. Also - each vertical has the same revenue split with RU-vid. But one of the verticals (cooking) has a much higher CPM. Mostly because it's 'Safe', and the advertisers are willing to pay more for the viewers. It also doesn't help that YT allows others to use a feature called "Shorts remixing" which allows others to create Shorts using content from your video. It's allowed by default and you as the content owner have to turn it off.
The numbers are down for a simple reason, most of the other vlogs have allowed themselves to expand from 15 min to 30-45 min. That's way too long. Vlogs should be in the 15 minute range, any more than that and you lose interest and/or simply just don't have the time to spend 30 min on a video.
Do you think the sailing channel space is just getting saturated? I get a TON of sailing channels I have never heard of on my RU-vid. If there are too many channels that seem like it would take views away from established channels. I would be curious to see if the total views of sailing channels in general were up, down or sideways.
Hey Bobby. Been following you for years and enjoy your vlogs. I have a different perpective though on what's been going on with the downturn for the "big" sailing Vlogers. I began watching Delos back in the day when they 1st started out, same with La Vegabond, and same with you. Those 4 or 5 years of videos featured ocean crossings to remote locatations, dealing with bad weather, things breaking out in the middle of knowwhere, and island locations not everyone ever gets a chance to see. Exciting content. As the years have gone by these bigger channels aren't doing that so much anymore. It's more Island hopping in Greece, Bahamas, Thailand, etc. Anyone can hop a flight, charter a boat and do these things reletively on the cheap and without much of the "danger" factor involved as when we used to see these long passages. So..not to be a dick but, maybe it isn't so much the "end of the Vlogs" but more the aging (mellowing) of the Vlogger? It's all about the content. I just watched a great Vlog fom a channel i've never seen before, Sailing Tela Ru. Very exciting content that I think will garner a lot of views. You should check it out!
Found you during covid and thoroughly enjoy your content. Sad to say this one was the first I've ever said was poor. Stick to what uour good at. Disjointed and the cigar was pointless.
At the begging it was very interesting watching videos on sailing and the journey. It was interesting to see the bad and the good. Now is boring because you started to show only when you are at the beach or a hotel with girls on a bikini drinking beers. There is no drama, no suspense, no risk, no fights… no romance, no doggies. 😢
Interesting - do you see sustainable growth in external financial backing from supporters using sites like Patreon? Or is that subscriber backing also dwindling across the board?
Trying to give productive helpful feedback. I enjoyed the channel when you were sailing. An example was when Taylor was with you. It seems lately it has become drinking doodles. That doesn't interest me at all. Same thing with SV Devo's. Let's get back to actual boating content.
I totally agree with you. I really like Bobby and I want to know what is happening to him but I find the channel to be a bit repetitive lately. Motoring to an island, showing the girls in bikini, going to the beach with the girls, drinking with the girls and repeat. I really like the serie in Greece last summer, the stories were really good, the scenery were new and the vide was great!!!
Thanks, Bobby. I think you're on to something when you note that short-form content is something to target if you want to appeal to younger audiences. I am older and like the opportunity to immerse myself in a single video for longer periods, so I gravitate to those types of content. Perhaps what is coming down the road is an increasing separation between those two types of mediums. It would likely be a mistake for RU-vid to sacrifice the appeal of longer-form content creation for the sake of pushing the short-form product. There should be room for both, properly handled.
Hey Boby thanks for the interesting video I’d like to leave a comment and share some thoughts. First thought is local is always king; KC nice that made the primary character in his news videos blogs about New York. Second point is every story has four parts; there would be the candy store the meat and taters and fruit and vegetables and then Darray. What do I mean by that; there’s lifestyle in the sport of sailing but there’s also sport in the sport of sailing; in the United States and around the world there are 4000 events in a five month period of sailboat racing different classes different size of boats. Knowing how to report on a journalistic story 98% of these events are not covered there’s one sailing news channel on RU-vid sailing illustrated that reports the news; but a larger podcast is inside great lakes sailing which stands for a very local group of events. Both channels do well but they have no competition. this may help you become on typecast on the platform which I think is been a major problem is that you only have a small group a democratic eyeballs most sailing channels like yourself don’t have the guts to reach out for a different level of eyeballs. I recommend you investigate going after local small vessels sailboat racing and reporting on events and make that 10% of your video creation. Once again keep in mind Mr. Nice stats primary character was a city he was his sub character and his primary style was news journalistic reporting. I like your Contant I don’t care how you choose to edit shortcut or long cut does that make any difference to me. John the video editor Sailing instructor from Kansas City
It’s a hard slog Bobby, but you’re doing very well compared to the most. I agree shorts have allowed RU-vid to compete with IG and TikTok. But they are making the cash off the back of the creators. I’m still with you and your Vlog.
I think it’s deeper than some of the points you mentioned. Influencers lie about the lifestyle, whatever it is, travel, sailing and many other niches. I’m not even going to mention how weird and terrible the sailing community is in Baja. People knowing this could be avoiding sailing videos as well. Sailing vlogs have no new points most of the time. It’s mostly been sailed to and videoed before. The life is interesting but not very exciting to other’s maybe?, not really sure. But that trend the past few years doesn’t look too good
Sailing La Vag haven't actually been sailing for a whle - they've been building their boat. Surprised Delos have dropped so much they're really good although I suppose that the overall competition is higher than it was.
Honestly, I watch mostly for the scenery which includes some of the girls like Geraldine and Taylor over the years. But I respect and appreciate the work you do Bobby.
Yeah, once they get their dream cat I’m gone. I own a C&C. Doodles started with a C&C. If I see a vlog that screams, “look what I’m doin’, look where I am, look who’s bending over on my boat….” i’ll go watch Ran, or Sampson, or Arabella. Regardless of the money they generate I enjoy their Content. I think the travelog approach to vlogs is getting long in the tooth. Build, fix, modify something, you got me. Even that SVSeeker guy is always grinding on something. The boat don’t sail for shit but he doesn’t give up. Hey, it’s a motorsailer. My 3 cents.
