Whenever we use some form of process for measurement, we need to be assured that it is calibrated in some way. It seems to be that there is a very considerable amount of uncalibrated advice circulating via the internet and television. The written form has needed calibration since the advent of web.2.0 and as YouTube has bloomed, the need has become ever more immediate.
Advice and Critique have similarities in that the provider of either needs to have the necessary skills to be considered valid. The whole aspect of comment, criticism and responses is one for another post however.
In this instance when first encountering any new information we should arm ourselves with the full ‘Internet News Defence Kit’ (see below) and immediately ask ourselves the fundamental question:
‘Is what I’m hearing or reading likely to be true?’
Sadly the overwhelming majority of humanity seem to fail at that first hurdle and just believe everything they read/hear. We can and should do better.
The second step is to do with calibration of the source. This takes time but is worth the effort as it both saves time later and makes the most effective uses of the experiences of others.
Such a calibration process composes two essential questions:
Does the source have the observable expertise and possibly experience to give their comments credibility?
How close have previous observations by the source come to my own real world personal observations?
This second point is a particularly subtle one as there is not necessarily an implication that the observation has to be accurate, merely that it coincides with one’s own view. So if a reviewer says that the Nikon 43-86mm zoom was the best zoom in that range for ai mount cameras and your own observations reflect that, you are in sync. (You’re both wrong as it happens but that’s not important)
Consider YouTube Photography Videos
The expertise/ experience and mastery aspects are the most difficult to calibrate, it would seem. In order to perform the calibration, one first needs to establish the mastery/experience/intention relationship for the YouTube channel. There seem to be two main contexts for the production of Vlogs.
I have knowledge, experience, familiarity or mastery of an aspect of Photography and I am going to share those with you. I am going to teach you.
I don’t have experience, familiarity or mastery of this aspect but I am going to share my learning journey with you in the hope that it might help someone else just starting out. Sharing learning.
These categories, even though they may blur, are sufficient to be used as a tool for thinking. There is a third, in some ways spurious category of the YouTuber or Internet writer who simply sets out to be provocative in order to garner likes and followers. We do of course have to overlay the entire aspect of advertising on top of these categories. We need to be sure we are hearing genuine experience and not ‘experience’ which has been influenced by advertising support or endorsement.
Beware the enemy
Who is the enemy? The enemy is POPULARITY. It’s as simple as that. Consumers are failing to assess the sources of their advice against the criteria above and allowing simple popularity to be their metric.
If the YouTuber / Blogger has enough followers, they must be good. (Utter and dangerous nonsense.)
They ‘might’ be good, they ‘might’ be outstandingly good but popularity is not the way to measure that. Watch them, calibrate them and make an informed judgement as to their own level of mastery. There are plenty of fine photographers who do not make YouTube videos or write Blogs. They know they are not interested in such things or they may not be capable communicators with the spoken /written word, they do not connect with an audience. They may even feel that their time is better spent making photographs.
There are essentially four states:
High level of mastery and very popular
High level of mastery and not popular
Low mastery and popular
Low mastery and not popular.
Pretty much all YouTubers fall into one of these categories. Each also has an associated entertainment value which may overwrite the level of mastery. What matters is that you the recipient are aware of which one you are watching.
Good YouTubers are engaging, they make you feel good, they are usually pretty slick (unless their lack of slickness is their own unique selling point). They are good at communicating and they rightly draw huge audiences whether sharing skills or reviewing equipment or sharing their own learning journeys. This is different from mastery. They are expert communicators but that does not make them expert photographers. Imagine you wish to learn to be a cabinet maker, you’d start with someone who has made beautiful cabinets.You would wish to see examples of their work not merely count their likes on Social Media. If you want to know how it feels to be an apprentice cabinet maker, that is another question entirely. Be critical if not skeptical about everything that you read/hear.
Calibrate your sources, be skeptical and use the INDK (Internet News Defence Kit). You’ll be better informed and less likely to increase the circulation of nonsense.
INDK
(Internet News Defence Kit)
(This process can be used whether the ‘facts’ being presented are on a Vlog, Blog, Social media, Newspaper or National News).
Does this sound likely to be true?
What other sources corroborate these views?
If the words ‘copy and paste this onto your timeline’ appear it will almost certainly be nonsense.
Use sites such as Snopes or HoaxSlayer to quickly review dubious statements.
Who controls this channel? What is their agenda?
Who stands to benefit from this information being circulated?
If I’m being presented with research: What other research is there from alternate sources? Where are the peer reviews? WHO FUNDED THIS RESEARCH?
Acquire some of the skills and knowledge below:
Understand the difference between a relationship and a causal relationship.
Understand the difference between Mean, Mode and Median (this is essential whenever anyone uses the word ‘Average’.
Understand the concept of a Normal distribution.