Question for Insiders: Why not monetize yourselves?

[Epcot_Imagineer]

I decided to go on a YouTube trek yesterday and stumbled upon countless vloggers/podcasts that almost exclusively relied upon these boards and the insiders for all of their content. So this leads me to a question, why do the insiders here not just create their own vlog/blog/podcast/etc and monetize it through YouTube advertisements/sponsors/etc? From looking at the large number of people doing it, I'm assuming there's at least a good amount of pocket-change involved. I obviously love getting all of your information here, and am not encouraging you to abandon the forums, just figured I'd field the question!

 

[jaklgreen]

Well some people like their anonymity and do not want the whole world knowing them. With fame also comes a certain amount of danger. I have kids and would not want to put them at a greater risk from crazy "fans". No amount of money is worth that. I am kind of shocked at how many people post videos of their kids.

 

[larryz]

I decided to go on a YouTube trek yesterday and stumbled upon countless vloggers/podcasts that almost exclusively relied upon these boards and the insiders for all of their content. So this leads me to a question, why do the insiders here not just create their own vlog/blog/podcast/etc and monetize it through YouTube advertisements/sponsors/etc? From looking at the large number of people doing it, I'm assuming there's at least a good amount of pocket-change involved. I obviously love getting all of your information here, and am not encouraging you to abandon the forums, just figured I'd field the question!

And maybe there are more people like me, who, as an example only, although they respect @lentesta, and appreciate his inputs, won't pay to hear his opinions and inside knowledge.

 

[Epcot_Imagineer]

And maybe there are more people like me, who, as an example only, although they respect @lentesta, and appreciate his inputs, won't pay to hear his opinions and inside knowledge.

You personally may not pay, but you can't deny that he has a lucrative business and is making off just fine. He isn't exactly what I would call an insider though: he makes his money off of his analyses of the statistics/ops/logistics of WDW. What I'm wondering is why an insider here wouldn't just make a YouTube channel where they can say, "Disney is planning on making X attraction. It will open on Y date," instead of posting the information here for other people to scoop up and make money off of it for themselves (sometimes without giving proper credit).

 

[larryz]

You personally may not pay, but you can't deny that he has a lucrative business and is making off just fine. He isn't exactly what I would call an insider though: he makes his money off of his analyses of the statistics/ops/logistics of WDW. What I'm wondering is why an insider here wouldn't just make a YouTube channel where they can say, "Disney is planning on making X attraction. It will open on Y date," instead of posting the information here for other people to scoop up and make money off of it for themselves (sometimes without giving proper credit).

Well, I'd rather support the board directly with my paltry annual contribution, where I can not only relish the delectable tidbits from the quantitative analysts and insiders, but also wallow in the observations, opinions and prognostications of others like myself.

People who make money off of others' work (without a formal agreement in place and proper credit) are leeches and bums.

 

[Epcot_Imagineer]

Well, I'd rather support the board directly with my paltry annual contribution, where I can not only relish the delectable tidbits from the quantitative analysts and insiders, but also wallow in the observations, opinions and prognostications of others like myself.

People who make money off of others' work (without a formal agreement in place and proper credit) are leeches and bums.

I respect that decision completely. I am not saying there's anything wrong with this: I personally prefer browsing the Forums and taking everything in. My point is there is obviously a market for quick 10 minute summaries of Threads on these boards which a select few insiders have all knowledge on. It could be of monetary interest for insiders here to cut out the middleman and make their own content!

 

[eliza61nyc]

lol I am so not an "insider" but the successful vloggers and site owners that I know actually put a lot of time and effort into maintaining their you tube and other sites. Unless it allowed me to quit my real life work it's a real time consuming hobby.

 

[DisAl]

If and "Insider" cast member used their position of knowledge inside the company to make money outside the company you can be sure they would be an insider at the unemployment office in short order. I don't doubt that Disney sometimes uses some of these insiders to intentionally leak information for various reasons like getting a feel for how well an idea may be received or to get the jump on competition by stirring interest in something that is coming soon. But making money off your inside info would surely lead to a quick termination.

 

[rreading]

lol I am so not an "insider" but the successful vloggers and site owners that I know actually put a lot of time and effort into maintaining their you tube and other sites. Unless it allowed me to quit my real life work it's a real time consuming hobby.

I imagine this to be true. For someone who has a real job, then Disney is probably more of a diversion. But to go all in on creation would seem to make it more of a job.

edit to add: The converse of this is that I expect that some of the vloggers/bloggers don't have anything better to do

 

[marni1971]

I’ll just continue to spread misinformation and watch it get copied.

 

[MrMcDuck]

An insider can make a post here and there as info comes in and then not worry about it and spend the rest of his time doing whatever.
But a proper YouTube channel that relies on Patreon donations and sponsors and such is more like a job. The insider would either be expected to regularly provide information, which is usually not possible if the insider wants to keep his ability to be an insider, or provide info and then fill in the rest of the regular release schedule with time consuming content.

Also, once you start making money off secrets, you may find yourself receiving extra attention from those whose attention you'd rather avoid.

 

[Driver]

If and "Insider" cast member used their position of knowledge inside the company to make money outside the company you can be sure they would be an insider at the unemployment office in short order. I don't doubt that Disney sometimes uses some of these insiders to intentionally leak information for various reasons like getting a feel for how well an idea may be received or to get the jump on competition by stirring interest in something that is coming soon. But making money off your inside info would surely lead to a quick termination.

Thanks DisAl you are exactly right. Disney is very strict about CM's sharing certain things. If it's already officially released information then there's no problem. However any CM who chose to pursue sharing information not ready for release on a video that reveals their identity would most certainly become an insider at the unemployment line.

 

[drew81]

I’ll just continue to spread misinformation and watch it get copied.

 

[Janir]

You personally may not pay, but you can't deny that he has a lucrative business and is making off just fine. He isn't exactly what I would call an insider though: he makes his money off of his analyses of the statistics/ops/logistics of WDW. What I'm wondering is why an insider here wouldn't just make a YouTube channel where they can say, "Disney is planning on making X attraction. It will open on Y date," instead of posting the information here for other people to scoop up and make money off of it for themselves (sometimes without giving proper credit).

Many of those insiders will get in trouble with their employer if they go that public with their information. Then they lose their insider position with their primary job and no longer have content to feed out in a vlog. Not very good equation there. Best they can do it feed some forums and leave it at that.

 

[Raineman]

I’ll just continue to spread misinformation and watch it get copied.

Hmmmm...and just who might be the copier in this somewhat thinly veiled reference?

 

[JIMINYCR]

Not only is it a lot of work but It also takes a certain type of personality to put themselves out there. I see it like the reviewers on google & facebook and other sites, there are a host of people who think others are interested in THEIR viewpoint/reviews of every restaurant, store, service business etc. they go to. They post reviews good & bad, some very unfairly, that they think the public is interested in.
The ones who do succeed the most are the ones who use research, facts, humor, and have a personality that draws you in to keep coming back. not everyone can do that well enough to last.

 

[thomas998]

Their isn't really as much money involved in the Youtube stuff as their once was. My daughter decided to try and create a channel on a different topic beyond Disney... when I started looking into how the money actually worked out it became clear that it isn't enough money to make it worth most people's time. You need to get quite a viewing minutes before you even qualify to get paid, and then the payments are based more on how many minutes people watch the ads that come up on the youtube videos and how many times people click on the links... I think the example we saw was a channel that had about 25,000 views with about that same number of minutes of viewing and were averaging about 40 to 50 dollars a month.

I'm sure if you managed to get some hugely popular viral video it might make it worth the time and effort... but I just don't think it really makes much sense unless you just liked making videos to begin with.

 

[Driver]

I decided to go on a YouTube trek yesterday and stumbled upon countless vloggers/podcasts that almost exclusively relied upon these boards and the insiders for all of their content. So this leads me to a question, why do the insiders here not just create their own vlog/blog/podcast/etc and monetize it through YouTube advertisements/sponsors/etc? From looking at the large number of people doing it, I'm assuming there's at least a good amount of pocket-change involved. I obviously love getting all of your information here, and am not encouraging you to abandon the forums, just figured I'd field the question!

To answer your question from my personal perspective. I retired at a young age and have a pension that I live off of. So I am not financially motivated to work at the parks. It truly is to fulfill a dream or bucket list item. That being said, like many others here , I very much love and enjoy the parks. For me, monetizing would not be fun as I feel I would be betraying my love for the parks and my position as a CM. I understand your question, and feel it's a valid one. So my answer is meant to be genuine and from the heart. And not to be interpreted as snarky or rude in any way. Everyone has a different reason why they became a CM. Some simply needed a job. As you can imagine with 75,000 CM's +/- there is a high number of positions that have no guest interaction. Some of these are by the nature of the line of business they are in. Example, landscapers that cut the grass along the roads, or maybe an electrician, plumber etc. And still others don't have what it takes for guest interaction or simply don't want it. There is still a place for them, it's ok. I live for interaction and the awesome opportunity to " Make Magic" . That alone is what drives my desire and gets me out of bed in the morning to start my shift. I get to Make Magic at WDW and the thought of it still gives me the same rush as when I first started years ago!

 

[SirWillow]

People who make money off of others' work (without a formal agreement in place and proper credit) are leeches and bums.

I'm in agreement with this statement completely. It also runs into the area of intellectual property and copyright theft. It's one thing to be inspired by something and then make it something else completely your own. But to just take other people's information and pass it off as if it's yours is at the best low class, and at the worst unethical and illegal.

lol I am so not an "insider" but the successful vloggers and site owners that I know actually put a lot of time and effort into maintaining their you tube and other sites. Unless it allowed me to quit my real life work it's a real time consuming hobby.

Any vlogger worth their salt puts a lot of time and effort into it. Many do a lot of research that you don't see. It can be amazing how much time is spent planning/ scripting, filming, editing, etc. Then there's the promotion and follow up work to go along with it to try to get it seen by as many as possible. And the truth is the vast majority won't be seen by more than a handful of people.

It's a huge amount of work to get a YouTube channel to reach levels where it's not only monetized, but actually making money that you can see. And to make enough money on it where you can sustain it at more than a hobby level is an incredible investment and hard to reach.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I’ll just continue to spread misinformation and watch it get copied.

You can start by telling everybody that WDW is closed from 5/19 - 5/24. They'd believe it coming from you.