This is the unfortunate truth of the universe. As such, we have a bit of news.
No, Gamers Pointe is not ending lol Can you imagine?! No! Absolutely not! We're hanging in there! THIS IS NOT CLICKBAIT! We've been around for two long years. We've had our share of ups and downs along the way and, before we knew it, the second birthday of our site had come and gone. While we watched, studied, learned, and planned, we came to the realization that the good ol' days of long form content are long gone for us. The truth is, gamers are more active than ever. There isn't as much time for reading about games when you, gamers, can go out and just play them. We had to be real with ourselves. Despite our love for covering the gaming and tech industries, our readership has waned over time. What we noticed was that our full rundowns just weren't hooking people like they were in the beginning. We're not even going to take a dig at anyone. The truth is, even in the midst of Covid-19, the general public has a LOT going on. The people want fast, concise information. All of that being said, after a couple of months of deliberation, we've concluded that the future of journalism at Gamers Pointe is short form. Instead of aiming for a minimum number of words for our articles, we'll be aiming for a maximum. Another change we're making is mostly dissolving our abstinence from very many social issues in the gaming industry. For fear of being attached to political debates, we shied away from any discussions about gossip, conflict, staffing changes, etc. We will no longer be adhering to that so closely. True enough, we're still going to avoid most political discussions, but we won't be dodging quite as much social debate about gaming in general. This is because we all now live in a world of abuses of law, in which case, people are politicizing social concepts and issues that don't require political interference and are making law at the expense of others to have their way. We're egalitarians here, and we're going to use our influence to stop that. That's our update for now. We sincerely hope you enjoy our more compact format! Don't forget to share, comment, and follow. You don't need money to start, you just need to start. You've got to at least try!If you ask virtually any supporter of the underdog, the general consensus is that one doesn't need to use money as a jumping off point for their products or services. All they need is a good idea, motivation, passion, and a plan. We disagree. Read along to find out why.
Still, there are many a failed entertainer or small act who absolutely can't thrive using the free model. They use free tools and provide free content but aren't able to earn a reliable enough income to sustain themselves. We most notably saw this with very many of the YouTube content creators of yesteryear. The content stopped, their channels closed down, and they moved on to do other things. Take Olga Kay, for example. She's one such content creator who tried all she could to provide free content to her following while earning a reliable income. It didn't work. She ended up deeper in debt for each upload and published a vlog detailing the costs for producing high quality content versus her revenue from those uploads. She earned less than she invested almost every time. Note: This also took place during the Golden Age of YouTube. Olga had millions of subscribers and invested countless hours in her craft. This woman really wanted to be an entertainer and put everything she had into it. However, the model was unsustainable. Instead, she cut her losses, divested a great deal, saved her earnings from her following uploads, landed a merchandising deal, and then went on to focus almost exclusively on that business. She's now a successful business woman [former entertainer] who designs and sells her own brand of accessories. How do we know she had to fund her merchandise business? We actually tried to do it using the free option. Guess what. We couldn't even release a single product, as it was a requirement for us to mass purchase the product and then resell it. The services that once allowed for creatives to sell made to order merchandise they designed have mostly gone years ago, as the made to order model was considered unsustainable. Of the few that remain, design options are highly limited and custom designs require up front payment. These companies are unwilling to eat the cost if a client fails.
Neither is it free, nor is it as simple as very many think it is. Even when weighing costs differently than we do, like in the case of what was already owned prior to the launch of the business, start up costs can't be completely erased. It's surprisingly common for people to forget to calculate and budget for operating costs. Furthermore, without the money for those items that were repurposed for business, the business owner wouldn't have them to use. It doesn't matter when the investment was made, only that the investment was made and product of it remains available. Here's a good way of understanding what we're saying with this. An unemployed homeless person has a great business idea and wants to get a start. Your grandmother has a great business idea and wants to get a start. The unemployed homeless person has no money and has no equity. Your grandmother does have at least some money and some equity. Because of this lack of resources, the unemployed homeless person can't start their business. Because of the resources available to her, your grandmother can. In order to launch, the unemployed homeless person needs to secure outside funding.
This is pretty confusing coming from the people who also believe one can do anything they set their mind to, isn't it? We dare say it's contradictory. That's the flaw in the logic and there's a reason for that. They don't want to be viewed under a microscope for telling you that truth up front. If they tell you that from the very beginning, they fear you won't like them anymore. But the truth is in the statement itself. They want to support you but won't because you don't already have the money. The flaw in their consideration is that their support is just as valuable as money. Support attracts money. Investors and lenders are looking for safe investments to make so they'll get their money back. When they see an upstart has a following, they see potential to make back what they invested and profit off of the interest. It's a revenue stream for them.
When someone with a good idea comes along, you should support them. You're integral to their success just by placing your faith in them. That can be statistically measured. But tuning them out will surely cause them to fail. No, they won't be okay if everyone thinks, "They're smart. If it's meant to be, they'll make it without me. I'll get onboard and support them then." There are many more people thinking just like that than there are who will stand in support of them right away. Again, now is the time to make a move. Follow us on InstaGram and let's make something happen. Thanks for reading. Now is the time to make your move. We know there are a lot of people who are freaked out by the times but the low point is the perfect time to make a major push for success. Let's slow down and look at the situation rationally. The economic implications for the common person are dire. The situation simply doesn't look good. There are small businesses that might go down and people aren't able to work due to the nature of many of their jobs. People need supplies and can't afford to pay the cost for them because at any time there could be an emergency. And it's that type of situation that really makes us panic. The uncertainty, the possible financial ruin, the fear of a health crisis reaching the home, the flawed statics and concern for loved ones, and the mainstream media's sensationalism adding fuel to the fire are all major factors. When people are scared, they become irrational...We're not being insensitive here, we're being honest. The simple truth is there is a way forward from this. All hope is not lost, things will eventually be fine, and you're wrong. Yes, you're wrong. Let's start with that. The immensely wealthy can hunker down and hold out for the end of the crisis. Most of us can't. However, their companies need workers they don't have as much access to right now. Can they destroy and rebuild? Absolutely. However, the real question is, do they want to make the investment to? Nope! They can afford to start over but they don't want to start over. Starting over takes time and lots of money they can't guarantee they'll get back in their lifetimes. What do we mean by, "now is the time to make your move?" You know what big corporations also don't want to do? They don't want to invest in change. The difference is that change is inevitable. They're well aware of that. It's not that they never want change, it's that they're very slow to make real changes. That's because of the up front costs. Here's the thing. The cost of making the change now is lower than the cost of entering a deadlock and waiting out the crisis. Businesses thrive on human ingenuity and production. If you're not being productive, they're missing out on revenue. No options are off the table if you're persistent.Work from home is one of the obvious solutions to the problem. True, not everyone has that option. But many do, and those people's productivity will keep companies afloat. That will keep the economy going, even if it's a lot slower. It's much better than a total standstill. Many positions at many companies are already applicable for work from home but there's a strange attraction to power for the current wealthy. They don't allow it because they're "scared you won't do the work." But you can't afford not to. See, you've got a lot to lose by playing the system. You know what else? There are PLENTY of people who will see how good you've got it and find themselves jockeying to take your job as soon as you lose it. Work from home is highly desirable. Even when working full-time, your work / life balance will go up. Imagine not having to waste 2 - 4 hours of your life on getting ready for work and going to work. Look at how much more personal time you'd have. In the worst case for commuters, you burn 4 - 5 hours preparing for, and traveling to, your workplace each day - especially if it's a good office job. No one wants to miss out on good money and a better job for something as trivial as sleep and convenience. Just think about what you could do with that extra time. You could resume your studies, you could catch up on your reading, you could catch up on your chores, you could catch up on your movies and shows, you could catch up on your gaming, you could get back in shape, you could reestablish communication with connections you thought were lost, you could spend more time with your family, or you could start a home business. That's a lot. Would it be easy? No. But would it be worth it?It would be worth it to explore these other options. A lot of doomsayers are either crazy or don't know what valuable skills they already have that would qualify them for remote work. Are you multi-lingual? You could be a translator or subtitler. Those are real professions. What would you have to do? Break out the ol' computer / smartphone / tablet, learn how to type at least 30 words per minute, do a Google search for these particular jobs, apply to every one you see, follow up regularly, and wait for an offer. Do you have a strong command of your primary language, read a lot, and read and retain quickly? Follow the above steps for an editing position. Do you have a great story and a reputation for telling great stories? Do the same for a writing position. Do you have a passion for current events, have a flexible opinion, and hold a conversation well? Start a blog or become a virtual journalist. Are you clean, creative, crafty, and a collector of materials? Make and sell children's toys, build that cool dream gadget you didn't have a chance to before, or invent and sell a handy tool that you think people need. All you can do is type? There are a plethora of real data entry positions available too. Tech savvy and good with troubleshooting computers? Look into providing managed services [a tech support role]. Medical staff could trim the fat and start small clinics to administer care for cash. No access to valuable medication to treat the disease? Be flexible in your thinking. You already trimmed the fat to dramatically reduce medical costs. You also have connections that most other people don't have. Hit the internet and recruit some pharmacologists to join your team. With all of the disposable income you have, you could purchase a little equipment and be up and running in weeks. High costs perturb patients and scare them away from seeking medical attention. Do your own thing to mitigate the issue and more patients will show up at your door for help. A whole new system could quickly be deployed here. There's a world of opportunity. The truth is that you have options. A lot of them. But you've been socially conditioned to believe that you can't do anything yourself, a wealthy employer has to hire you for the role. That's absolutely not true. Think about it. How were these systems formed in the first place? People did for themselves and each other. People were less inclined to seek work that was scarce and instead created their own. Merchants didn't keep looking for a job that wouldn't come to them, they built carts, found goods, hit a street, and sold to anyone who was buying. They found innovative ways to make themselves useful instead of waiting for permission to work. You think Nintendo was started by someone who spent 40 years of their life working for enough start up capital to finally found a consumer goods and video game production company? If so, you'd be wrong. Nintendo started as Nintendo Koppai by making playing cards in 1889. By hand. That's an actual fact. It didn't start as a major corporation or large company either. Fusajiro Yamauichi started the company with one small shop, making and selling the cards, then expanded into a series of shops. Why can't you do that? And for our next trick...Rationalism can and does prevent and solve a ton of problems. The Nintendo mention brings us to our next subject: gaming. If nothing else convinced your inner gamer, this point ought to. When people are home for longer, gaming won't just thrive, it'll be catapulted forward. Remember when we discussed catching up on your games? Why not record it while you're at it? Why not learn a few editing tricks and upload it to streaming platforms like YouTube as well? Why not make that Twitch or Mixer channel too? Why not use that to land some endorsements as your channels grow? Advertisers are relentless; they never stop. Why not exercise your talents and expand into other content too? Hell, why not recruit other remote workers, build a small team, and make one? If your idea is small enough, why not just take a Udemy course for $12.99 and make it yourself while you learn?
The world doesn't stop turning no matter what happens to it and civilization doesn't have to grind to a halt because of a pandemic. We've survived these countless times and had far worse pandemics. Since only October, influenza has killed more than 40,000 people in the US alone. You don't even blink at that annual threat. We made swine flu look like barely a blip on the radar. SARS? It was really bad and we didn't stop then either. How about the Spanish flu? That infected 500 million people and killed at least 10% of the infected. That's 50 million people who died! Over 3% of the global population was extinguished just like that. We're still here and we didn't have the medical technology, the technique, the number of medical staff, the quality of care, the helpful drugs, the cleanliness, the production, or the scientific achievements or resources we have today. We weren't ready for that back then but we're damn sure better prepared than we were when that monster hit us. This is not the end of the world. Not even close. Anyway, when more consumers are home, they invest more time into entertainment. A whole market just opened into a gaping maw. There's so much room to get in that you won't even bump shoulders with anyone unless you want to. You might as well be traveling through the asteroid belt, where scary big space rocks are millions of miles from their closest neighbor. Think that's not a lot? Think again. An asteroid the size of Texas would travel at least a week to only pass its closest neighbor. It's not even likely to make contact. Earth's equator is only about 25,000 miles. You think that's big? They'd have to travel on average 2 million miles to even say hi. Those boulders are quite literally worlds apart. You've got that kind of room to start something great and help completely reshape the global economy. Why are you just waiting? What you do could create hundreds of jobs for other people; a large number of them remote positions. Now imagine if thousands of you did it. Get on it! That's what we're doing. |