Everywhere we look nowadays, people are using their phones and tablets for communication, business, relaxation and information. There is so much information available that we consume it on the go and anytime we stop. Everyone has an opinion and they share it. Sometimes that makes it more and more difficult to get the right piece of advice for that project you are working on. A recent statistic from YouTube claims that over 400 hours of video are being uploaded every minute and it is rising all the time. We took some time and had a look at some videos that were relevant to woodworking. We noticed that there are still plenty of opportunities for someone to design projects and describe what they are doing clearly.
Was it simpler before? Norm Abram in the New Yankee Workshop was our first experience of a televised woodworking show. The programmes always followed the same format where Norm would select a project and take us through the relevant steps. Now over the past couple of years with the growth of Video Blogging on YouTube we see woodworkers explore new ideas and products on a weekly basis. Facebook woodworking groups offer instant responses and you can quickly get a consensus on the information needed. While Instagram and Pinterest offer inspiration for woodworkers they are also another platform for them to show their skills.
As you know we were delighted to welcome April Wilkerson to The Carpentry Store recently. April is a self-taught maker who films what she is learning and how she puts it into practice. After a very short period of time she has generated a large following and now makes her living from her channel. She communicates to her audience through Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. It was fascinating listening to her story and after talking to some of the people who travelled long distances to meet her this brought home the power of social media. So this week we decided to have a look at some of the other online woodworkers out there and have come up with our favourite Top Ten.
After you have spent a couple of hours being inspired by the ones on our list maybe you will want to create your own channel and bring us all on your journey of discovery. Who knows - you might even pick up a channel sponsor and get paid for product placements, go on tours and end up being famous for something that you love doing.
