SUMMER SEASONAL UPDATE! (Patreon)

Hey team! The past few months have gone from "wack" to "oh god why", but we want to take this opportunity to give you an update on the channel, and to let you know what's coming from OSP in the next few months.

First let's take quick recap of our Spring, and, to peel back the curtain a little bit: the height of the Covid-Crash in April saw video revenue fall off a cliff, despite the drastic increase in watch-time as a result of people staying inside. We're so honored to be able to provide you all with content that not only educates, but entertains, and can even provide comfort. We're extremely grateful to you, our Patrons, for keeping us going through the past few months of uncertainty. While we always encourage our Patrons to take care of their own financial needs first, the support of those of you who do choose to contribute truly means the world. No matter what weirdness goes on with YouTube monetization, this community of just over 1,700 Patrons — only 0.13% of our YouTube audience — keeps this whole OSP thing going, and we don't intend to miss a beat.

Outside of our normal Friday uploads (which, by the way, we got multiple videos on Trending in the past several weeks!), we've been streaming various videogames in support of Feeding America, the NAACP, the ACLU, and BET's Covid-19 Relief program. In total, we've raised well over $15,000 between our own donations and the generous support of you beautiful champions. Meanwhile, Red's webcomic Aurora marches on, having recently finished Chapter 7! Finally, we had been planning to be at VidCon this past weekend, but, well, no VidCon. Next year for sure, we'll be there.

So while we continue to work through the Everything going on, here's what's coming for summer:
  — More of What You Know and Love! Red's got the myth of Orion, a rundown on the Irish Book Of Invasions, and a Deep-Dive on everyone's favorite trickster Loki. There's also Trope Talks on Dragons and Immortals, History-Makers on Ibn Khaldun and Thucydides, Histories of The Viking Age and a special on Hawaii for Indigenous People's Day, and coming early August, a monstrous History Of The Modern World from the end of WWII to the year 2000 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. I... I'm not entirely sure how I'm gonna swing that one, but we'll make it work!
  — Sweet New Merch! Starting with Orion, we'll be launching a myth-relevant Enamel Pin about once per season. We're partnering with Crowdmade, and starting our run with a pair of Artemis & Apollo Pins on July 10. We'll tell you more when the time comes. If this first set goes over well, you bet we'll be doing heaps more in the future.

In Addition To That, we're planning for another round of Summer Stupidity, after the rousing success we had last year with City Reviews and Media Reviews. Of course, even small videos take valuable time away from working on mainline videos, so before we get too far into planning, we'd love to hear what you want us to do.

We've added a poll with various choices. Vote for any and all options you'd like, and leave a comment if you have a suggestion for 2020's Summer Stupidity.

Thank you all for your continued support of our educational content. Please be safe this summer, practice social distancing, and don't be afraid to ask for help from your friends and family if you need it. Times are wack, and there's never been less of a barrier to open an honest conversation.

-Blue