2024 = A Tale Of Two Platforms

The Best + Worst Of My Online Life

"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.

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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 #5 = MAY

• 05-01 = The Trials & Tribulation Of A YouNoober

• 05-21 = All Is Fair In Creativity + Criticism?

• 05-29 = Comments = Compliments + Complaints

• 05-31 = YouTube Subscribers = 3.6K

• 05-31 = Substack Subscribers = 64

CHAPTER #6 = JUNE

• 06.15 = The Motley Crew? Now Includes You!

• 06.16 = Oops...Did I Do That?!

• 06.21 = Focus On What's Working

• 06.30 = YouTube Doesn't Like The Gayze

• 06-30 = YouTube Subscribers = 5.5K

• 06-30 = Substack Subscribers = 63

CHAPTER #7 = JULY

• 07.01 = YouTube = Being Dicks About Bulges (NSFW)

• 07.06 = Meditations On Social Media

• 07.29 = On Nudity + Sexual Content (NSFW)

• 07.30 = Finding Silver Linings In Forced "Breaks"

• 07-31 = YouTube Subscribers = 8.4K

• 07-31 = Substack Subscribers = 139

CHAPTER #8 = AUGUST

• 08-06 = The Need For Breaks

• 08-09 = Popular-ity Isn't The Only Metric

• 08-17 = Making Childhood Dreams Come True

• 08-24 = 0-10K = My YouTube Rollercoaster...So Far

• 08-31 = YouTube Subscribers = 10.3K

• 08-31 = Substack Subscribers = 740

CHAPTER #9 = SEPTEMBER

• 09-01 = New Month = Old Dog + New Tricks

• 09-04 = 90 Day YouTuber

• 09-14 = Celebrating Every Win (Especially On YouTube)

• 09-24 = 1K Strong = Choosing Love + Kindness

• 09-30 = YouTube Subscribers = 11.7K

• 09-30 = Substack Subscribers = 1K

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

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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?

1. Love For Them All (149K)

2. Love Is Love = The Gents (141K)

3. Thomas Eakins (131K)

4. Wilhelm von Gloeden (107K)

5. George Platt Lynes (102K)

6. Beefcake Sampler #1 (93K)

7. Henry Scott Tuke (84K)

8. Portraits + Snapshots #3 (74K)

9. Pucker Up (73K)

10. Seeing Queerly #1 (63K)

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.

1. Don't Be Shy #1 (2.38K)

2. Love + Lust #1 (2.21K)

3. Nightswimming (2.08K)

4. Somebody For Everybody (2.03K)

5. My Kinds Of Guys #1 (2.02K)

6. Moments In Monochrome #1 (1.98K)

7. K.I.S.S #1 (1.91K)

8. Endless Desires #3 (1.76K)

9. So Many Men…So Little Time #1 (1.71K)

10. Eye Candy Is Dandy #1 (1K)

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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

THE ORIGINAL 8-COLOR RAINBOW FLAG BY GILBERT BAKER (1978)

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