The YouTube channel is doing better than ever. ARTexplains Science and History is reaching more people for more minutes with more videos. But because YouTube is changing the rules about monetization, that is all going to become much less rewarding soon. Unless I can make some serious leaps in watch time in the next three weeks or so, I go back to being a non-partner, which means I won't get paid for my hard work on those videos -- some of which took me months of research and planning.

The good news, I suppose, is that this is really kicking me in the rear to work harder. In the past week, I have been staying up late and putting in long hours to try and figure this out. I've created a new channel introduction video, a satire video on the demonetization problem, two new content videos, new channel art, new merchandise, a better website... the list goes on and on. So maybe this has been a blessing in disguise, a nice little fire under my butt to wake me up to the possibilities. It still burns, though.