social-media – A Pixel Nomad

Remember when I wrote a few months back that I was joining the EQII content creator program? Then I posted once or twice, and did a few videos, and all my content immediately stopped.

At that exact same time, I joined the Wurm Online content creator program, and the same thing happened.

So. WHAT exactly happened?

Each of these programs had obligations like creating 1 video / post / piece of content a week, and gave “compensation” like your monthly subscription covered, and access to beta events. A special name on discord, etc. In the case of EQ2, that means $14.99 a month, and in Wurm Online, that is 7.99€.

Let us say that each piece of content created took roughly 2-3 hours. That would include any streaming/videos/editing/writing/etc. It would probably often take longer, and you were required to do this 4x a month plus promote it, etc.

If you were already creating this type of content and wanted into the program for posterity sake, maybe you would find it worth it. However, my time has value to me, and a $15 subscription was well below what I value it at. I AM still playing EQ2, and Wurm Online, but I am just paying for it with my own money, and if I want to create content, yay, and if I don’t, no big deal because I’m not obligated. In any case, when I did all of the math I realized that I had just gotten swept up in the “we’ll pay you in EXPOSURE” side of things, and that these types of programs are simply not for me – despite the fact that I DO love the games, and continue to play, and from time to time, will write or stream or post a YouTube video. I like to bounce around my games. I like to play quietly. I like to write / create videos when I do, and not on a schedule. Sometimes I also just can’t, because I’m in the middle of an MS relapse or because life is kicking me around, or I simply don’t want to.

Yes, I do wish I were like a lot of the content creators I see out there, dedicated to a handful of games that I’m passionate about – but it’s OK that I’m not, too. It’s a ton of time and energy that I simply don’t have any more.

So that’s what happened.

It was because of this post over at Inventory Full that I even learned about the content creator program to begin with. Now, I haven’t actively played EQII since 2021 but I do have quite a long history with the game.

Met my husband in game (we’ve been together for 15 years, married for 9, and have 2 children)
Went to San Diego to interview the team for Beckett MOG (back when magazines were a thing) some of those folks are still around!
I have more than 500 blog posts about that single game, more than any other game I’ve ever written about – plus various videos kicking around YouTube.

One of the options when you sign up for the program is that you can mark yourself as a returning player, so that’s what I did. They ask you about your current content creation (which I admitted did not currently involve EverQuestII, but did involve other MMORPG and has been done on a fairly steady basis for a large number of years) and all of the basic questions that you would expect. It did take some time to hear back, the program is just rolling out and things are still getting set up.

One question my husband asked me, was WHY I would sign up. Why did this interest me. Aside from my long history with the game, I’ve been looking for a little extra motivation & inspiration when it comes to content creation. I oftentimes talk about how easy it is to lose yourself in parenthood and just be “so and so’s wife, so and so’s mom” without an identity. I’ve always loved sharing games I’m passionate about, and I’ve kept this blog up through all of the trials and tribulations, writing about those games. I wanted a little more motivation to go beyond the blog. I think this will help.

There you have it, the latest person to join the EQII content creator program. I hope to post some great things over time. If you’re looking for me over on socials, here’s my carrd.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!