Happy Birthday Photics.TV 🥳🎂

Photics.TV Birthday — Logo & YouTube CakeTwo years ago, the first Photics.TV video was published. More than 250 videos later, the channel has grown to welcome over 2000 subscribers. That’s nice! More entertaining and informative videos are planned for that YouTube channel. Although, there is a question — what about this website? What is the future of Photics.com? 🤔

It reminds me of that 1980s song — video killed the radio star. It’s the same for blogs. Why read some text when it’s even easier to watch a video? That creates an awkward relationship between the Photics.com & Photics.TV websites. They’re essentially competitors.

Also, the 25th anniversary of Photics.com is later this year. Shouldn’t something extravagant be done? Well, I consider the 10-year plan to be complete. It finished early. The main goal was to escape the 9-to-5 grind. Mission accomplished. Although, this website was not entirely responsible for achieving escape velocity. The side projects did generate some extra money, which helped with the transition. It was rough!

But now, what’s next? 🤷🏻‍♂️

That’s still being determined, but there are some things being considered. It seems that the world could use a replacement to Reddit, as things have gone sour because of a dramatic change to the API. As a result, that website was under protest while this article was being written. Photics is a great name for a photography related website, so what if this site became an image-based social media website?

Well, that idea is rife with problems. Moderation is a problem. Not only with the types of images uploaded, but today’s Internet is filled with strife. I’ve been seeing too much debate as sport, not to actually accomplish anything productive.

Meanwhile, one of my favorite video games got messed up. TRANSFORMERS: Tactical Arena left Apple Arcade to become a free-to-play (but basically pay-to-win) game. It was expected that the game would move beyond Apple Arcade eventually, but not this suddenly and not this haphazardly. Apple Arcade is pretty good. I appreciate a gaming environment without in-app purchases, advertisements, and an emphasis on privacy. However, it’s exclusive to Apple devices.

That’s why an earlier Photics.com idea is being considered. Back around the turn of the millennium, Photics.com was a gaming site. There were actual games to play. What if Photics was a cross-platform Arcade?

One of the main reasons of hesitation is a struggle of morality. Are video games a waste of time? Are video games bad? The two reasons I think games can be good is because… first, people need to relax. While it is important to not overdo gaming, there are benefits to playing games. In addition to having fun, video games teach problem solving and determination. It builds confidence and imagination. But secondly, video games allow people to play together.

That’s what I see is so lacking in today’s gaming. The games are often about competition or they’re designed to be compulsive. Even Apple Arcade has lots of games with needless grinding. That type of gameplay is isolating, boring, and wasteful. Repeated gameplay is encouraged, long after the majority of the game’s content has been exhausted.

Instead, what if there was a gaming environment that focused on friendship? That is something today’s world desperately needs.

People are going to play games. So wouldn’t it be nice to simply build a more friendly gaming environment for everyone? It’s a big project. There are lots of reasons why it wouldn’t work. However, there’s lots of new technology available now. There are new tools that might make the project successful.

It’s just theoretical now, but the possibilities are being pondered.