2024 = A Tale Of Two Platforms

The Best + Worst Of My Online Life

Dec 26, 2024

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...."
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

PROLOGUE

For those who enjoy "inside baseball" chatter or the view from the "sausage factory," here’s a look at a few highlights and low points from my 2024, focused on my journey to become a better content creator.

Collide Press started 2024 as a collaborative collective of LGTBQ creatives. Our focus? Creating original art and design and curating classic art and vintage photos.

After a strong start in 2023 with our PRIDE with Collide collection, the Collide Press Shop and our Artist Shop on Threadless struggled to gain momentum…and sales.

By 2024, several members of the original team had moved on to other projects.

As the Collide Press founder and chief mouthpiece, I shifted gears—experimenting with photo curation, video editing, and writing across platforms like YouTube and Substack. While creating original art and managing the shop remained part of my daily duties, they took a backseat to making and posting videos. By June, I was navigating this new path on my own, figuring out what worked and what didn’t.

After countless detours and experiments, my 2024 can be summed up as A Tale of Two Platforms. I could write a detailed blow-by-blow account of everything that happened, but I've already shared the highs, lows, and all the in-betweens on the Collide Press Blog.

So, without further ado, here’s a quick look back at the past twelve months.

CHAPTERS

CHAPTER #1 = JANUARY

01-03 = Originality & Plagiarism (blog launch on WordPress.com)
01-24 = New URL, Who Dis? (blog relaunch on Substack)
01-31 = YouTube Subscribers = 0
01-31 = Total Substack Subscribers = 20

CHAPTER #2 = FEBRUARY

02-06 = Rainy Day Silver Linings Playbook
02-06 = Love Is Love = The Gents (first photomontage on YouTube)
02-17 = Finding Gold In "Junk Drawers"
02-29 = YouTube Subscribers = 23
02-29 = Total Substack Subscribers = 27

CHAPTER #3 = MARCH

03-17 = Love Is Love = The Gents is suddenly becoming popular.
03-17 = The Man I Love (second photomontage on YouTube)
03-17 = "Overnight Success" Via Viral Video?! (blog)
03-31 = YouTube Subscribers = 2.6K
03-31 = Substack Subscribers = 42

CHAPTER #4 = APRIL

04-04 = Like + Subscribe (Mighty) Realness
04-10 = One Year Anniversary!
04-12 = Lessons Learned After One Year
04-30 = YouTube Subscribers = 2.6K
04-30 = Substack Subscribers = 57

CHAPTER #10 = OCTOBER

10-02 = This "Emperor" Wears Many Hats
10-12 = Working Hard(er) + Smart(er) = Then and Now
10-31 = YouTube Subscribers = 12.5K
10-31 = Substack Subscribers = 1.1K

CHAPTER #11 = NOVEMBER

11-04 = Celebrating Wins Outside The Lines
11-09 = A Retirement Party For "Mac"
11-14 = The Evolution Of "New + Improved"
11-15 = YouTube Strikes (Me) Again
11-22 = One Week = Seven Days + "A Few Hours"
11-30 = YouTube Subscribers = 13.3K
11-30 = Substack Subscribers = 1.4K

CHAPTER #12 = DECEMBER

12-03 = ...It's YouTube
12-08 = Dream A Little Dream...With Me?
12-14 = The Good + The Evil + The Messy Middle
12-20 = Let's Play (Pin)Ball!
12-26 = YouTube Subscribers = 13.9K
12-26 = Substack Subscribers = 1.6K

EPILOGUE

YOUTUBE = 2024 STATS

Views = 5.4M
Watch Time (hours) = 272.1K
Subscribers = 13.9K

SUBSTACK = 2024

Views = 269K
Open Rate = ~40-45% (varies by month)
Free + Paid Subscribers = 1.61K

YOUTUBE = 2024 TOP POSTS

Note: These are my “Top 10” posts by views…not by revenue. Sadly, YouTube’s bots flagged several of my popular videos for ad “Suitability” and/or age-restricted them. The result? They’re virtually demonetized. Fun stuff, huh?

SUBSTACK = 2024 TOP 10 POSTS (all NSFW)

Note: Substack “weights” their posts, so I’ve manually adjusted the order of the posts Substack considers my “Top 10” to reflect popularity by views.

A TALE OF TWO PLATFORMS 2025 (a preview)

As I look ahead to 2025, I plan to continue exploring new ways to connect with audiences and create work that truly resonates. My focus will remain on crafting projects I'm proud of—primarily on Substack, but also on YouTube.

My goal is simple: to celebrate our collective history and our shared humanity.

In a world that often feels divided, I believe now more than ever in the power of art, creativity, and storytelling to bridge gaps and foster more understanding. Through original and curated photomontages, posts, and videos, I want to contribute to conversations that unite, entertain, and engage.

Above all, I want to help put more kind in mankind.

Here’s to a 2025 filled with more art and more heart.

Thank you for reading, sharing, subscribing, and supporting my work!
Clint