Hey everyone, it's Paul here with another edition of Homeroom Announcements, my Friday podcast type video where I give thoughts and updates about the Skooled Zone channel.

So I think it's important that I spend the first several Homeroom Announcement videos kind of describing a bit more about the special features and inherent concepts of the channel. You know, bring people up to speed when they happen upon the channel and show some interest.

As you've probably noticed already, the Skooled Zone is unlike any other gaming channel on YouTube. So far as I've seen at least. Many channels do walkthroughs, even detailed longplays. But it's the educational factoids and fun trivia I give during gameplay that's the special sauce of the Skooled Zone.

There are also many list fact type channels on YouTube. So that's nothing new either. But it's the seamless combination of those two common concepts that makes the Skooled Zone unique. In fact, I wonder how many gaming channels out there classify themselves in the education category. I could be wrong but I don't know of a single one. I know a few comedy channels that put themselves in the education category and I know a few product review channels that put themselves in the comedy category. In fact, I know several of those kind of crossovers actually. So there's precedent for it.

I know I'm taking a risk on YouTube by not simply categorizing the Skooled Zone under gaming. I know it'll make it more difficult to be found through search and it may confuse a lot of visitors at first. But I hope over time that I'll be able to gather a following of like-minded individuals who love gaming and also love getting smarter.

If there was a Venn diagram of my target audience, it would probably be those people who have gaming channels, sci-fi/fantasy nerd-fare, and top fact list type channels among their subscriptions. And of course a sprinkling of light-hearted fun.

Having said all that, my gaming videos are going to have one distinct feature and that's the attention to detail. It's inherent to the channel because I'll be watching closely for cool opportunities in the gaming environments to give facts and trivia about. As they say, the devil is in the details. That phrase, ironically, morphed out of an older phrase that said, “God is in the detail” which tried to convey the idea that if you're going to do something at all, do it thoroughly.

Because of the level of detail that I'll be putting into each video, I know I'll run into a few challenges. For one, I'll need to take my time with each game. This channel is going to be the complete opposite of a speed run channel. Nothing wrong with those types of channels, but their goals are to make it through games as quickly as possible. They almost never take on any side quests, stop to read notes in the game, or stick around for NPC conversations. The Skooled Zone is the opposite because we're trying to find as many details as possible to see if we can learn a thing or two.

Another challenge I know I'll into is the low-attention span viewer. You won't see me running around screaming like a chicken with its head cut off. Actually, I don't think a headless chicken could scream, but you get the idea. I won't be running away from challenges either like a fraidy cat. I'll try to show you strategies to beat the tougher enemies or objectives. I know this won't appeal to everyone because, you know, some people like watching the epic fail aspect of certain channels. Again, nothing wrong with those types of channels. It's just not the Skooled Zone. We're still going to have lots of fun. No doubt about that. It's just a different style.

I'm aware that it'll be a steep hike to try and carve out this niche, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run. The ultimate goal of the Skooled Zone is to gather a community of people who love gaming, but like to take their time with games and really delve into the details. People who like to get smarter but love learning by example. And what better example than video game environments. They might even find that something other than the cartoonish antics of other gaming channels a fresh change of pace. I mean, who doesn't love some slapstick sometimes. But other times you just want something with a little more meat on the bone, ya know? Hopefully the Skooled Zone can be that alternative.

And eventually the comment section of the channel, which I call the After Skooled Club, is going to be an awesome place to chat about various interpretations of the video game factoids and a great place to add your own.