I would like to hear the experiences of people with disabilities who operate YouTube channels.

I've been thinking about starting one too! I mostly want to combat the empty gnawing feeling that I'm not contributing to the world. I've found that leaving the workforce since my condition worsened has left me really unfulfilled. I think a really great place to start is what you know - your disability. Like get people intimate with the struggles that you have, vlog and tell people how it is to live where you do with what you have. Document treatment, talk to caregivers, add your own flavor to a story others can relate to. Make yourself a source of 1)education 2)entertainment 3)originality. It can be very cathartic just to exist for others to see. Personally I have a strong interest in cooking, the arts, video games and psychology/sociology, and I think once I established a small group of subscribers I would play around with new content, while still delivering the good old sick blogs. I think a good place to start with any artistic endeavor is just to do it. You'll probably suck at it at first but it doesn't matter. Just doing it, creating, is its own reward! The one thing I would recommend is shooting alot on the good days you have and avoiding pressuring yourself on the bad days. Have 20 ideas for a video in a day when you're feeling pretty ok? Shoot them all and just use what you can when your not feeling up to shooting. Get an editor that can help you or make sure you line up your stuff so you have multiple videos to drop in case you're hospitalized or out of commission for a while. The algorithm is less caring than the SSA so be prepared to see low numbers unless you're dropping videos in regular intervals. Believe it or not, alot of people can't wait for new youtube videos to drop, and you might just be someone's new nightly ritual! I have read that every week is best (..ahahaha...ha..) but that you can get by with every other week. If that sounds like alot (it is) you can always share a channel if you have any friends who you would like to collaborate with, or use the platform for artistic expression and don't worry about view count. Just be authentic and present and that will give you a leg up on most people out there.

/r/disability Thread