Do This. Collect That. Or, Why The Blogs Are Better

I've gotten lazy over the years in how I consume hobby-related content. When I returned to the Hobby in 2009 after a 7-year hiatus, I discovered the wonderful world of blogs, where collectors could show off their cards and write about how they were acquired and who sent these amazing pieces of cardboard. Many featured fun anecdotes about the cards or the players themselves. It was such an exciting world that I jumped into the pool and thought I'd never look back.

But within a few years podcasts had became the thing, and all of a sudden there were audio files available to download and listen to on the go. Soon the blogging community seemed to be on life support and most of my hobby diet was done intravenously through my earbuds. 

The world of technology is constantly changing, so podcasts would evolve into video format. Now you had a face to go with the voice and the most popular place on the planet to watch videos became littered with hobby content creators. Watch one video and YouTube's algorithms would do the rest, with recommendations flying at the viewer faster than the speed of light. 

But- and there's always a but, right?- I've noticed the content isn't as interesting as what we've had on the bloggosphere. It seems to be more investor-driven; more cookie-cutter. Thanks to YouTube, I no longer feel like I'm being invited into the cardboard world of the collector. Rather, I feel like I'm being force-fed get rich schemes; like the junk mail has gone from being delivered into my mailbox to my television set. Or that if I don’t have such-and-such a card, my collection isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Two algorithm suggestions that appeared on my feed a couple of days ago says it all:

5 Cards Every Collector Should Own

The Best Way to Spend Your Money in Sports Cards

Now perhaps I'm just a grouchy 50-something year old male, but I don't like being told what to do or how to collect. So instead of shaking my fist at the clouds, let’s look at some cards that arrived in the mail recently.

TCDB user distirbed1 sent me ten cards, including the Biddle Heritage, Phillips ‘87 TB, and the three 2020 Heritage cards directly below. And I was able to move ten cards that were either doubles or not needed for my collection. 

I loves me anything 1991 Topps related, so I had to request this Archives Hector Olivera card in a trade proposal with TCDB user Boots. Olivera may have flamed out in his career (not to mention, being suspended under the league’s domestic violence policy) but the card is a welcomed addition to the collection.

 Boots also sent the Pro Debut Shewmake, Heritage Venters, and the Heritage Gattis pictured at the top of the post. 

Anyway, if you'll bear with me as I get back into old man mode... just where on YouTube will you see someone getting excited about commons? Perhaps a video featuring vintage commons (rightfully so), but anything post 1980? Not likely. And that's just one of the reasons why the Blogs are better.