have apes really never asked us a question?

On a whim, I decided to start experimenting with short form TikTok videos, just to see what would happen. And one day, I came across the same quote making a few wildly definitive claims about ape cognition and their understanding of the world four times, which meant only one thing. I had to fact check it and figure out if my doubts had any real merit to them.

A few hours later, this video was the result, and as of this posting, it had over 153,000 views, nearly 7,800 likes, and close to 300 comments. Needless to say, I was glad my notifications for the app were disabled, or my phone would’ve shot itself into orbit.

In the weeks since then, I’ve been experimenting more with video, drawing on my old, nearly forgotten expertise in the medium, and finding out that a lot of things that used to be very complicated and take a long time when I was a kid who loved making music videos, are actually ridiculously easy now, and provide a foundation to make far more imaginative and fun content if this experiment grows.

So, let me know in the comments if you want to see more videos like this, since a few more have gotten a little traction and I’ve gotten myself a proper camera mount, a fill light, and figured out how to use my PreSonus PD-70 podcast and radio microphone to work as a shotgun mic for the kind of sound that you’d expect from a decent video.

Without hearing any of your feedback, I honestly have no idea what actually works in today’s rapidly fragmenting, shifting, and unstable late stage capitalism social media hellscape. It seemed that articles, especially longer form articles, have become more or less special treats rather than the norm, and so I’m doing my best to adapt. And I’d really appreciate knowing if I’m headed in the right direction.