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ChetlovesMer

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Yeah, I remember when this happened. Too much was made of it in my opinion; and frankly, some of the problem comes from Asa's tone. I'm not criticizing here, it is just his speaking voice and manner. It can come across as a little pompous and I really don't think he intends to sound like that. I've grown to enjoy their podcast and I dig Steve's content as well.

 

On a related note... Is it just me, or is anyone else getting hammered by an absolute barrage of FWW email solicitations since the big shakeup occurred over at Pop Woodworking? It may be coincidence, but it sure seems like they are pouncing on a "perceived opportunity".

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I get a FWW email about every 2 days. They pissed me off when I took the 14 day free trial and they charged my card on the 10th day. I call about it and was told that they go ahead and charge people so that the transaction is completed by the 14th day. So if someone wants to cancel on the 14th day they won't hassle with reversing the charge. That is not a 14 day free trial and is bad business. I won't deal with them if they have to lie to make money.

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I have to say that one of the first video series I watched when I started getting into this was the FWW "getting started in woodworking" series and I found it very informative and well done.  about 30 videos, all free, and they walk you through a few pretty nice projects, very well thought out for beginning woodworkers and frankly very well presented.  so those guys are able to put together some nice stuff when they have time to plan their productions and so forth. When I saw Steve Ramsey's video blog posted in this thread I hunted around and found the video blog he was referring to and did find it a bit condescending, as I tend to think most of the viewers out there either are or should be able to sort out the wheat from the chaff when it comes to doing something stupid or dangerous...  but when it comes to simply "a different way to do x" I really see no problem with most of what's out there on the interwebs. 

 

also, steve ramsey is fantastic, I have to think that they were not referring to him with their little rant about the lack of expert reviewing on the web..

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I could care less. What got my attention was the first "viewer" question in the FWW video. I give these guys and Mark included the credit for showing folks how to do things without large machines or expensive machines. Its got to be hard to produce quality entertaining content for a pretty wide range of viewers from novice to advanced.

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I like Steve Ramsey but I think he over reacted here and made a fool of himself

I used to watch all of his videos and even gave $100 to his fundraising campaign. But honestly I think he has dumbed down his content too much. Maybe it is the pressure of doing a project a week, maybe he is just honing in on his target audience, or maybe my skills have progressed. It seems he used to build stuff that, while not necessarily complicated, featured really good design. He series on living furniture was cool. He made a cool wooden doormat that I want to build. But he has gravitated toward small projects, knick knacks and doo-dads that are not as interesting to me.

As far as FWW, Eric said it best. There is a lot of crappy content out there. And FWW's projects and content are consistently good. So Asa just sounded foolish stating the obvious and there was a hint if jealousy in his tone. When you work under a set of constraints, even self-imposed constraints, you start to resent people who don't operate under your constraints. It seems unfair.

FWIW, I still have a FWW subscription and am starting to enjoy their podcast, even though it took me a while to warm up to it.

Exactly!!! I don't mind the common fun project that requires a hammer, nails, and a jig saw. But when every week is nothing but MDF and 2x4s ... It gets old.

I feel he is under the time constraint on 1 project a week, and target audience. But do you blame him? He is making his living off this. Either pay more for materials, and reach a smaller audience. Or pay less for materials and reach a much larger audience. What would you do? He's found his comfort zone, and more power to him. I watch his videos as a form of entertainment now.

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That certainly explains why I like them so much. And by the wa...ooohhh a squirrel. <VJ runs out of house after squirrel, abandoning both laptop and current thought>

 

 

To be fair, he's only doing what sells. I've probably seen a hundred studies saying engagement rates are better on short videos.

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I prefer short videos.  I don't need or want step by step instructions or deep dives.  A quick 5-10 minute overview of a project is all I want, from there I will decide if I like the project and want to build it.  if so, I will build it my way and figure out the dimension, design and joinery on my own.  it is just the way I prefer to work.  I spend a lot of time thinking about my projects and sketching them out on scratch paper.  I really don't want things overly prescribed, and I don't even have the attention span to watch a 30 minute TV sitcom.  There is no way i could watch a 30 minute woodworking video. 

 

 

I'm the opposite, I like longer videos for the entertainment value, as I don't learn much from videos anymore. I was really indecisive about renewing my guild membership this year for that reason.

 

These videos by Garrett Hack for example are excellent. They flow very well, and are entertaining and informative at the same time. I'm sure it helps the Garrett seems like a very laid back individual. 

 

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/56993/build-a-small-tool-cabinet

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/57005/build-an-elegant-side-table

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well a lot of you guys are not mere mortals but instead are pros, so sure, Ramsey's content isn't going to add much (or anything really) to your knowledge because it's not intended to.  to be honest I look for vids for both entertainment value and to learn something, and as a new-to-the-hobby "hobbyist" I tend to find both in a lot of blogs, articles, vids, podcasts, etc.  sometimes it's just entertainment and that's cool too and sometimes there's some really great content out there that I learn a lot from.  I honestly don't care if the production value is high or the person/people are particularly gregarious or entertaining, but it IS a plus if they are.  like I said, I really liked FWW's beginner series, and thought Asa's presentation was fine.  I am also not surprised that his comments on the vlog upset some people including Steve Ramsey. 

 

i'm really 'meh' on the whole 'issue' but really, if it weren't for a ton of really great free content - much of which is geared toward beginners - people like me would not likely have even given this hobby a shot. it isn't like this is a cheap hobby, and a lot of the work that you guys produce is very beautiful, intricate, and takes considerable skill.  to think someone like me, with no background and no experience except some DIY things can learn even a little bit of that skill is really exciting to me and it's thanks to folks like Steve and Marc and others that such things are even contemplated.  there is a place for the FWW folks and a place for the "non-pros" alike, so can't we all just get along?

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I wouldn't want to be in the position of having to produce a video every week because I'd probably end doing a lot of small projects too. The same is true for magazines to an extent.

I like videos for learning. Sometimes you pick up techniques the presenter does subconsciously or small thing along the way that might not make it into an article.

- sent via Tapatalk

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well a lot of you guys are not mere mortals but instead are pros, so sure, Ramsey's content isn't going to add much (or anything really) to your knowledge because it's not intended to.  

 

 

I have to say that I hate the bolded word, as it's always used to segregate people into groups based on perceived ability. I know people who've been doing what I do (software development) for 20+ years, and I also know college kids who are better at it than the 20+ year people ever will be. Just because someone is being paid to do something doesn't necessarily mean they are better at it than someone that isn't paid to do it. I'd go as far as saying, anyone who constantly calls them-self a pro or brings up how long they have been doing something, either isn't very good at it, is insecure, or both.

 

I'm a firm believer in the power of the human mind, and that anyone can do just about anything if they want it bad enough and work at it hard enough. In short, don't sell yourself short, I bet you are capable of more than you think you are.

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I know people who've been doing what I do (software development) for 20+ years, and I also know college kids who are better at it than the 20+ year people ever will be. Just because someone is being paid to do something doesn't necessarily mean they are better at it than someone that isn't paid to do it. I'd go as far as saying, anyone who constantly calls them-self a pro or brings up how long they have been doing something, either isn't very good at it, is insecure, or both.

 

Well said Dan.   I'm compelled to drink heavily when I think about all the interviews I've done where the candidate has 10+ years of experience and yet knows almost nothing.

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sorry, didn't mean to offend, all I meant was that many of the ppl who post here produce what I would consider pro quality work whether paid or not.  not trying to classify or segregate anyone, just to point out that pretty much everything I see posted on this forum is beautifully crafted work, cleverly constructed and well presented.  seemed the word "pro" was a nice concise way to say that without delving into a long explanation about how I don't mean to suggest that hobbyists can't be as good or better than professionals in any particular walk of life. 

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Im sure software design changes frequently. Woodworking is fairly static and hasn't really changed much over the past 30 years. Sure automation has taken over to a degree but the wood still comes from trees and tenons are still tenons. There is a lot to say for experience in some industries. Other industries require constant education and retraining. 

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sorry, didn't mean to offend, all I meant was that many of the ppl who post here produce what I would consider pro quality work whether paid or not. 

 

No offence at all, it was just a comment I thought was work making. I see a lot of beginners sell themselves short.

 

 

 

Im sure software design changes frequently. Woodworking is fairly static and hasn't really changed much over the past 30 years. Sure automation has taken over to a degree but the wood still comes from trees and tenons are still tenons. There is a lot to say for experience in some industries. Other industries require constant education and retraining. 

 

The core concepts of software development haven't really changed in the last 20 years. The main difference between then and now is that applications are a lot more feature rich, because the hardware can support it. 

 

Software development is a lot like woodworking in that if you break it down into little components/steps, even the largest project can easily be understood/made.

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