Minecraft videos: booming industry with millions of viewers

Industry is largely manufacturing. And perhaps mining and other forms of natural resources extraction. When entertainment is involved in publishing films, DVDs, etc, then it’s industry. When it’s involved in presenting shows in theaters, it’s a service. Given that it wants to get out of the publishing business and charge per. view of any recordings they make, let’s call them mostly a service.

Banking and Insurance are the pretty side of the gambling business.

The application of the word “industry” to financial services, doctor visits, etc. is just an attempt by management culture to stretch an word with a fairly honorable meaning over business activities that have long had shady reputations.

But if you want the word “industry” to mean anything resembling an activity, then let’s start talking about the religion industry, the political influence industry, the war-rousing industry, the protest industry, and so on.

That would make the word nearly meaningless, which is what’s happening now as we fling it around without any thought to it’s meaning.

Well, I am quite comfortable accepting terms like ‘religion industry’, ‘political influence industry’, war industry, death industry. They are all places where some people make large profits doing something that may or may not be of benefit to others. Not sure about ‘protest industry’, not much profit being made there by anyone (aside from possibly tear gas manufacturers).

Language is an ever changing thing. That you have chosen this thread, now as your line in the sand for defending your definition of ‘industry’ is up to you I suppose. The rest of us should probably just carry on talking about the actual topic at hand.

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My 9 year old is also sucked into the world of watching MC videos, but in the end he actually learns stuff that help his game play … proudly he introduces me to his sheep and how he figured out that he can dye them, that he found a duplication glitch that makes him lots of diamonds. When his screen time is over, he ponders over his notebook and hand draws designs for what he wants to craft next …

As someone already said, as for video games, this is harmless, it gets kids creative … but it also totally sucks them in …

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But the three “industries” you cite all do produce something… lies. :smile:

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As Minecraft offers very little documentation, I am indebted to Minicraftwiki and the youtube channels for information on what sort of stuff you can get up to in this most amazing game.

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Oh, the humanity!

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Or, better yet, play what the rest of the world calls football.

Actually, I didn’t invent those examples. They’re in common usage. Why are you so angry?

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I came here to laugh at the dumb kids wasting their time watching Minecraft videos, and realized I had just spent several minutes watching people argue about the word “Industry” on a blog. Perhaps I should go now.

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I’m in the same boat as you. I don’t mind it. Hell, I even enable it by setting up our own server with mods and multiverse that they and all their cousins and friends can play together. This has the added benefit of me knowing exactly where they are and who is in the game with them.

I do want to mention, though, quite a few of the “narrators” of those videos use some very colorful lanugage. Some so frequent that I don’t let them watch because I know it’ll be repeated at school. Not that I really give any shits about words and how they can really be “bad”, but, if the teacher hears her 3rd grader say DAMMIT WHAT THE FUCK? i’m prooooobably going to get a phone call :wink:

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My 10 year old son is also obsessed with all things Minecraft. I opened up the Minecraft server port from my home for his friends to join in and I had their parents phoning me demanding that I ‘switch the server on’. The only blessing is that lots of 10 year olds have now started talking about IP addresses and ports. Also, the one area that no-one mentions but is also massive is Minecraft song parodies There are a ton of them on Spotify and Youtube. ‘Screw The Nether’ set to the tune of ‘Moves like Jagger’ is a favourite.

Wait, can they actually make money off those? I might stop yelling at my son when he watches the same goddamn Minecraft video over and over and tell him to start making them instead. Might as well put his obsession to good use supporting us in our old age.

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My son loves these kind of videos and we’ve had a similar problem. He’s mildly on the autism spectrum so he often repeats things he hears without being really cognizant of their meaning (just that it was funny in the video!). When he was 12 it was “is that a rocket in your pocket or…?”

Daddy had to have a little chat with him about that one, he was saying it to random people.

You might be better than all the kids. Ever thought of that?

No, I don’t think of it that way.

My son watches the videos while he plays in minecraft because he says that when he’s out in minecraft land by himself he gets lonely. The videos keep him company.

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My apologies to you for appearing to be angry. That isn’t my intent, and I don’t believe I’m angry, just a bit alarmed, kind of like someone noticing excess dampness at the bottom of a dike.

Yes, I am acting pedantic about the whole (rather obscure) point - and I should hope that everyone knows that and can be amused by that, But part of my point is that we should be aware of when attempts are being made to influence us - for good or ill (although I think the overuse of “industry” is for ill.)

After all, wouldn’t you find it harder to explain to people the perils of using coal if coal were routinely described as a pretty black rock that gives off a pleasant warm glow when burnt?

Hilarious Schtick.

See the OP!