Day 352 - Hobbyists Story

Hobbyists Story

Matthew Ryan Fischer

It seemed like a good idea at the time. In a moment of do-it-yourself internet fervor three great friends, Dan, Pete and Mason, decided the best thing they could do was to indulge their hobbies and just make things. They would document it, blog about it and present it to the world. There was no specific goal or aspiration in mind. They weren’t a group or a team or trying to set themselves up as such. It was just supposed to be three friends having fun and making things.

Problems arose. Problems were inevitable. There was no structure or proper goal and they were three very opinionated and creative people. Of course there would be problems. They foolishly thought they could handle whatever came their way. And so they didn’t plan accordingly. That was their first mistake.

Peter was an artist, but he was interested in selling out and making money. Dan was only in it for the purity of the project. Mason didn’t care what they were making, only that they were making something and that he could for the most part be left alone for long periods of time to work. Peter wanted to be a star, to be famous if possible. Dan want to make something that was pure and honest and true and might strike such an emotional chord that it could be well regarded and remembered. Mason was into puzzles and problem solving and if possible to be left alone while he did it.

They wanted different things and they failed to address these differences. That was their second and bigger mistake.

And so they made things. It was a simple enough idea. They made anything that came to mind – comics, short stories, movie reviews. They experimented, which helped with the quantity of creations, but not the quality. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were making things and they were making opportunities for themselves.

What did matter was that they wanted different things. So when fans and followers started coming in the problems began. Peter had always been an outgoing person. When they filmed something, he was the one that was filmed. They could put proper accreditation at the end of a video, but no one really paid attention to that. Peter got the credit and the recognition and the fame. Dan didn’t need the fame, but he certainly wanted the credit.

As Peter became more and more recognizable, he took over the role of front man. He made decisions for the group without asking. He added to their websites and removed whatever he found to not fit in with his taste. He was making a marketing machine and was gearing it towards mostly marketing himself and his efforts.

It was only a matter of time before this would alienate the other two.

Dan and Peter had their conflicts. They had their battles. They fought for control of what they did and what would be done to monetize their efforts. It was part artistic difference, part arrogance, part pointlessness. There was so little to be had, there was no reason to waste such energy on it.

Mason, for his part, simply withdrew. He liked making things. He liked figuring things out. He didn’t need any of it to be broadcast to the public and he certainly didn’t need to make any money off it.

The whole thing fell apart rather quickly and ended up creating mostly unfinished projects and lots of hurt feelings.

Peter got his shot at fame by becoming an online “personality,” whatever that meant. He made short videos where he reviewed products and films and interviewed other creative people. His popularity relied on the people he interviewed having enough friends and followers that they would all check out his videos and add to his numbers.

Mason disappeared. He moved away and stopped returning phone calls. No one heard from him for a long time. Dan later found a video for an attempted crowd-funded project that Mason set up. He was trying to get people to donate time, money, or labor, or all three, to help him in his attempt to build a full sized house out of Lego bricks. At the time that Dan saw the video, Mason was millions of bricks and millions of dollars away from completing his goal.

And as for Dan himself, he was the one with the longest list of projects, the most ideas, the most desire and vision. But he never had Peter’s ambition or Mason’s ability to just do something whether it was practical or artistic enough. Since the time that all three were still speaking, Dan had completed a little under half of his first novel. He was still trying to get the opening just right.