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Don’t worry – I’m taking a break from Vision Pro content after this blog post.
Unless I undertake a comparison with the Meta Quest 3, of course.
Which might happen.
Regardless, I sense the fatigue – it’s definitely there, just as it is on the bridge of my nose after thirty minutes of wearing this thing (and yes, I am currently immersed in Mount Hood while writing these words – the pitter-patter of rain on the water’s surface really is quite inspiring).
Before I head off into the world of Vision Pro life and report back once it officially reaches these British isles, I want to talk about coffee. Again.
Oh, and straws.
No, really.
Because these are the only things people are talking about in the comments sections of my most recent Vision Pro videos.
Welcome to YouTube
Yesterday, I published two videos on YouTube. One was a short form skit on YouTube Shorts about the difficulty of drinking from a mug while wearing Vision Pro (this also went onto Instagram and TikTok). The other was a long-form video revealing six things I think Apple needs to do if they want to lower the barriers to entry for visionOS.
If I head into YouTube studio and look at the comments section, these are the comments I’m having to sift through.
“Tilt your head back”
“It would’ve been lovely if someone had invented a tiny tube device through which you can suck in the liquid while keep the cut at a distance from your face.”
“Maybe take it off like you did before it existed?”
“Crazy that you have a neck”
“Straw?”
“Bro never learned about straws”
“u cant tilt ur head up or something …”
“Get a smaller cup mate”
“Couldnt get past the pathetic “acting” to check out the video.”
“Reusable straws have entered the chat”
There are so many – that is just a tiny portion of the stuff I’ve received. Add in the commentary on TikTok (you can imagine what happened there) and I really do get the point: people think I’m being silly. I think some of them genuinely believe I’ve never heard of a straw.
I’m not. And I know what a straw is.
And the tactic worked – hook, line, and sinker.
One of the most important things you can do as a content creator is get your audience talking. Everyone wins – people get to have their say (and boy do they enjoy doing that), the platform receives a healthy injection of engagement (great for the algorithm), and the creator benefits from much wider reach (thanks, algorithm).
Sometimes, the topic carries itself. For instance, a comparison between a Samsung smartphone and its iPhone counterpart will always set the comments section on fire with little encouragement from the creator.
Vision Pro almost falls into that bracket. It’s still nascent and polarising enough to spark debate, albeit not quite as big as the one that rages between iOS and Android ultra fans. Regardless, I always like to give things a little push, which is why every single video I publish contains some form of gag, skit, or in-joke to get people talking.
A big risk (that worked – kinda)
Yesterday’s Vision Pro video starts with the longest hook I’ve ever published. The hook is the very start of the video, and it’s designed to, as the name suggests, ‘hook’ the viewer in – immediately. My hooks are usually about five seconds long, maximum.
This one lasts one minute and 35 seconds.
It was, consequently, a big risk, given the rapidly diminishing attention spans we now have to deal with, thanks to the rise of short-form video. It appears to have worked, though. At the time of writing, I’m still waiting for the retention stats to arrive, but the average view duration of the video is just above average. That hook certainly doesn’t seem to have damaged the video’s performance.
The only downside is that the contents of that opening skit have incited most of the commentary below the video. This is ironic because it sets the narrative for the rest of the video (I find it almost impossible to drink a mug of coffee without faffing about, which illustrates how far Vision Pro is from being ready for the mainstream).
Ironic, because I wanted it to spark debate about how headsets like Vision Pro need to evolve to make everyday tasks such as coffee drinking, using your smartphone, and wearing the damn thing not weird, frustrating experiences.
What’s happened instead is that I’ve been told precisely eighteen eleventy times to drink my coffee through a straw. Or tilt my head back.
Anyone reading this who publishes video content and understands the importance of skits, gags, and audience interaction will know this feeling very well. When your tactic works, it’s a lovely, reassuring feeling.
It’s just a shame that portions of the human race take this stuff so seriously.
A note on hot drinks and straws
No. Just… no.
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