MailBag Monday - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 01:22:15 am
content: You've likely noticed that I don't do mailbag very frequently, and when I do it's an epic with typically 6-7 items and 40+ minutes long.I was think that maybe I should bring back regular weekly Mailbag Monday?The problem is that the usual 40min mailbag take a long time to shoot and edit, hence my motivation and time to do them frequently is reduced.But what if I strictly did a shorter regular weekly mailbag with only 2 items, perhaps 15 minutes tops, would people prefer that?With that format I could also shoot a bunch of Mailbags ahead of time and pick and chose two for each weekly episode (perhaps a mix of one interesting one, one meh one (there are always meh ones)).It would have a common intro so I wouldn't have the shoot a new intro every time.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 01:47:18 am
content: Seeing everything that everybody sends you doesn't matter much to me. However, it is good PR for your viewers and provides a way for people to interact with you and feel more connected. Not doing it regularly and timely is an insult to those who send you things. Either do it completely or kill it and tell people to stop sending you things.

author: @rt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 01:51:59 am
content: Good idea. You should put it ahead of all other videos

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 02:06:54 am
content: I really enjoy the long format mailbags, but if shorter episodes mean more of it I certainly don't mind.

author: JS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 03:59:59 am
content: That could work, 15' vids are easier to look than 1h ones... I'm not very fan of mailbags but I think they have their value, for you this way could work better and people still can show their stuff around, for designers sending their stuff to you and showing it in mailbag seems great value, that's one of the most important kind for me.2' teardowns are great, but you could take those out of mailbags and do just the teardown and comment on the sender while you are at it.One thing you could make is put some rules on mailbag, what kind of items they can send, and some rules so you know ahead of time what's inside, if it goes to mailbag, 2' teardown, kickstarter related or it has choclate inside and you will be thrilled to open.JS

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 04:02:21 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on September 13, 2018, 01:47:18 amI'd still open every package, nothing changes, I didn't mean to imply that I'd pick and chose which ones make it into Mailbag

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 06:22:38 am
content: I don't have strong feelings about this however the teardowns of some common items is becoming tedious and repetitive. We don't need another calculator teardown unless it is highly unusual, like the credit card one, same with most other consumer items. Weird scientific or industrial devices that are unknown to the audience majority would still be welcome. I am thinking of items like that radiosonde or the explosive gas/mine safety thing that a German viewer sent. I noticed you are rushing with the more generic items and detect that you also must be becoming weary of it.

author: tpowell1830
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 06:44:50 am
content: I like mailbag, but didn't vote because my preference is not there. I would prefer that you simply did them more often. I do agree that the 2 minute teardowns of repeat devices (such as calculators) detract from mailbag. But the long (did I say very, very long) periods of time in between mailbags is what causes them to be so long because the boxes stack up.Simply put, there should be another option in the voting: more frequent mailbags. This would eliminate the need to take a long time to do them, since there are fewer to do. As far as pre-recording a canned intro to mailbag, I have no problem with that. That way you could just pop in the intro while editing and jump right to opening boxes for each mailbag session.But, Dave doesn't seem to like mailbag because he is always trying to find a way to avoid them or shorten them. If Dave doesn't like doing mailbag, it is his channel and he can simply not ever do them. Open the mail and be done with it without a video.I guess the question Dave needs to ask is: Does mailbag gain more views than other segments? The object of the videos is to get more views, so on that model, is mailbag even worth it to do a video? After all, this is a business.From a fan of mailbag, my opinion is above. Dave will do whatever makes Dave happy and money (as it should be).Just my 2 cents...

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 03:48:14 pm
content: I'm a big fan of mailbag, long or short as you seem to get some really interesting 'stuff' sent in that I'd not otherwise see or even know existed.The mailbag videos where people open a never ending stream of Chinese modules from 'sponsors' or eBay are incredibly boring to me as I order an awful lot of that stuff for myself anyway (maybe I should try to get sponsored and video it)

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 04:12:55 pm
content: I enjoy the Mailbag - but a 40 minute video requires me to find a decent chunk of time to set aside for it. 15 minutes as a median duration would suit me much better.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 06:46:43 pm
content: Three times now I've seen something on Mailbag that I have purchased, either for myself or the company I work for. If every other EEVBlog viewer has a similar purchase record then that's a lot of extra business.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 07:30:41 pm
content: If shorter means it can become more regular, that might be better for things like time-sensitive kickstarter items etc.

author: JS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 07:41:56 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on September 13, 2018, 07:30:41 pmHe's talking about recording once and releasing every mondey, transmission delay will still be similar I guess. Less packages on the shelf might make time sensitive ones easier to spot but that's a long shot.JS

author: metrologist
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2018, 08:35:26 pm
content: Nobody says a single shooting activity all needs to be published into a single video. I've recognized ewetooblers shoot a whole months worth in an afternoon, for example. I think the slow-mo guys did a lot of that in their, whatever that series was... they even once said they do all their year's shooting over a short period of time because they have to travel to be together.

author: TERRA Operative
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2018, 04:41:53 am
content: I like to see the stuff being opened and a quick examination, but the tangents into 20 minute teardowns are a bit distracting. I tend to fast forward to the next parcel.Teardowns in their own video are cool to watch though, don't get me wrong about that.I want to see all the cool stuff in the pile of parcels on the shelf, I sometimes learn of new things to put on my wish list and later purchase.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2018, 02:34:23 am
content: Quote from: TERRA Operative on September 14, 2018, 04:41:53 amI watch for the tangents. I guess you can't please 'm all.