I like to just watch influencer videos as a ‘how it works/what it does’ video and take any comments about how good/bad something is with a large pinch of salt and disregard points about quality.
For example, I enjoy watching James Hoffman / Lance Hedrick content as it’s nicely produced and usually shows machines/grinders in action. As above, I’d make my own mind up whether it’s something I want to buy and try out for myself. Which ultimately is the only way to know for certain if something is good/bad. Of course that’s also sometimes subjective to the end user.
I do think influencers catch a bit too much stick sometimes (not always…). It’s very time consuming to shoot the level of content you see on some of the more popular videos. Plan shots, setup multiple cameras, lighting, many takes. Then the editing, processing and rendering all takes huge amounts of time and often lots of expensive equipment. And then as @Cuprajake sadly discovered, the payoff is just lots of keyboard warriors trying to ruin your day.
Honestly for the amount of work that goes into some of the videos and the resulting backlash, sometimes a free grinder/machine barely seems worth it!
Obviously it can be lucrative but not until you’ve put in a lot of work.
The mask of the internet really does bring out the worst in people. For whatever reason, presumably unresolved personal issues, some people seem to get a kick out of being critical of others. They don’t like seeing others happy. Sad really but a fact of life I suppose.
One thing that does irritate me is people taking things they’ve read/seen online about equipment they don’t own as pure gospel and then arguing with actual owners/users about how they’re wrong…
As with everything on the internet, trying not to take anything to heart or too seriously is usually the best way to consume info/content.
