I watched a ham radio Youtube video a few days ago. There are a lot of them available, it’s a popular form of media. Is it just me or have you noticed that most all the video ham dudes have beards and look like they just walked out of a high-end coffee shop?

A friend noticed this, and I haven’t been able to un-see it since.

Anyway, this particular vlogger seemed to be speaking for younger hams everywhere when he said there are too many “old-fashioned” radio web sites, especially blogs. Sites with too much white space, columns of words, and not enough multi-media. He said this was a turn-off for younger hams who prefer short video clips and other media to just words.

I agree with him. My own blog is a wall of words on a white background, circa 1996, which I consider a feature. There’s no video, flashing graphics, or AI-generated cuteness. It’s boring and not really intended for a youthful audience. I’m an old retired guy who has been a ham radio operator for nearly fifty-years and I assume my readers are of a similar vintage. I write for existing, not prospective new hams.

I’ve done this for thirty-years and am too set in my ways to change now.

Despite that weakness, some hams do still visit this site. Who are these people and what do they want? Honestly, I’m chuffed by how many visit on a regular basis and communicate via email about the ideas shared here.

Real blogs are like that — content no one ever asked to be written, offered anyway. There’s been some proliferation of ham “blogs” cranking out paid content, but I don’t include that claptrap in the roll of blogs I frequent.

So consider this fair warning: if you visit here one day and find an embedded video of some fellow sporting a beard and a man bun, sipping an artisanal latte and talking about content strategy — I’m probably dead and the site has been taken over by ham radio hackers. Pour one out. Preferably something from a can…