Content Drought

With a lot recently going on both generally and personally, for instance my latest book that was just published and that I’m going to shamelessly self-promote here, I got to thinking about times when not much is going on. Even when a lot is going on, such as my latest book that was just published that I’m self-promoting here, there can be not much going on somewhere (like that good ol’ saying, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere”). So much can happen, like my latest book that was just published that I’m self-promoting here, and simultaneously, or then suddenly, not much can happen.

To get geeky with it, World of Warcraft and many other video games have a game mechanic called a cooldown for abilities. For instance, a mage who uses the ability ice block would be encased in ice and invulnerable to all damage for 10 seconds and the ability could not be used again until after a 4-minute cooldown. Trying to use the ability while it’s on cooldown would result in a voice line like “That’s not ready yet,” “I can’t use that yet,” and “That’s still recharging!” If I were to think about real life the same way I think about video games (because I can™), there are times I have abilities on cooldown. Going to sleep and waking up typically has a 6-hour cooldown before I feel able to take a nap or fall asleep again. Eating a meal typically has a 4-hour cooldown before I’m hungry or willing to eat again. Other “abilities” like writing a story (I’ve self-promoted enough), laughing, running, or singing have some sort of cooldown that can vary. I bring up the idea of cooldowns because when there is a lack of things going on it’s likely because people are resting. Or maybe they’re bored, lazy, or depressed.

I imagine most have experienced a time when something that was wanted was unavailable. Maybe you looked at current movies being shown in theaters and thought, “Dang, there’s nothing I want to see playing right now!” Perhaps you checked your refrigerator and thought, “Dang, I’m out of apples!” Mayhaps you went to a club and thought, “Dang, there aren’t enough people here!” Perbe you went to an amusement park and were unable to go on a ride and thought, “Dang, I’m huge!” For one reason or another, something can get in the way of something you want. What, then, do you do about it?

Personally, I like to sulk. Yes, really. But not for too long, as sulking only really influences my ego. If I want something to really be done, I problem-solve. Say I want apples; well, dang nabbit, I’ma go to the store to fricken get ‘em, yo! But also say I went to the store just yesterday and my going-to-the-store ability was on cooldown (kek); well, hot dog, I’ma ask someone else to go for me! But also also say no one’s available; well, shucky darns, I’ma eat something else then! I could go on with a number of obstacles getting between me and having apples. You can’t always get what you want. But you bet your booty I’ll try to get something close to what I want!

Well, that was a heck of a preamble to get to talking about content drought. What that means is pretty self-explanatory: there is a lack of content. It’s happened numerous times to me: I’ve wanted to see Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, or some other YouTuber or streamer play the super-duper-omega-awesome-new-amazing-game-thing but no one’s uploaded such a video; I’ve binged all the isekai anime available on Crunchyroll and I still want to watch more but there is no more available; and I’ve waited for the super-duper-omega-awesome-new-amazing-game-thing to play myself but it’s not coming out for another year! Oh, the humanity!

What am I to do without content?

Hmm, I don’t know, stupid, maybe go check out some other content or revisit some old content.

But what if I don’t like any other or old content?

Maybe think for yourself, dummy, content consumption is just a hobby so maybe go and enjoy something else.

But what if I don’t know what else there is?

Okay, you abulic piece of—

Sorry about that, I don’t know what came over me. I did not intend to self-flagellate there, and my words of invective were merely hyperbole. It can certainly feel like you’re stuck or lost without that good ol’ reliable content. And that feeling is really what this blog post sort of, kind of, not really, well, maybe, has been leading up to as it relates to content drought. To be honest, sometimes when I get this far into a blog post I forget what I’m even talking about or trying to say. I guess it makes sense since I front-loaded this post with the majority of what I wanted to say. So… yeah, when it comes to a content drought, it’s worthwhile to consider what’s happening with the creator as well as consumer since maybe the problem is with one, the other, or both.