I last wrote about DIY TV shows a few months ago and ended that post with a bit about Jimmy DiResta, a craftsman in New York that puts out a YouTube video every week for MAKE magazine. Those videos sent me spinning down a YouTube rabbit hole of vast proportions. Each show I found led somehow to another, until I racked up a dozen subscriptions to various channels.
Most take the form of a tutorial, shot from a tripod by sole proprietors, following a single project from start to finish. However, cheap equipment and new techniques have led to some interesting evolutions of the form. It has also given rise to a new sort of freelance content creator able to make a living off of multiple trickles of income: YouTube ad revenue; tool sponsorships; Amazon Associate tie-ins; site subscriptions; merchandise sales and kit sales on Etsy or Cargo Collective; or straight-up donations through platforms like Patreon.
Here's a quick selection of some YouTube channels I've been watching lately. I've been picking up project ideas, finding interesting new makers to follow, and learning how to evolve my own DIY tutorial game.
Read More