Before I give up on my “mission”

Did you get much interest in the online course? Where did you promote it? I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad idea - most of the ‘seniors’ now would be pretty au fait with technology so it wouldn’t be outwith the realms of possibility.

A business focused solely on client referrals sounds tricky.

How would working with the clients to produce the videos work, exactly?

I’ve always been interested in oral history after reading Melvyn Bragg’s excellent book ‘Speak for England’. I remember saying to someone once that we needed to interview some of the older inhabitants of our village but nothing came of it and I should have done more myself. Imo it’s ordinary people that are interesting, not famous people and ‘celebs’. As everyone says, when they lose a parent ‘why didn’t I ask them more about their lives’?

I think I can see how this is going to pan out.

Possibly you could put your demonstration on YouTube and then publicise it on Facebook etc, to both seniors and adult children.
You probably wouldn't make much money that way, but you could spread the idea a bit further.

@AmberSpyglass wrote: "Did you get much interest in the online course? Where did you promote it?"
Udemy published it a few years ago. I withdrew it when the Shotcut editor the course demonstrated installed a major upgrade rendering over half the course inaccurate.

"How would working with the clients to produce the videos work, exactly?"
Would depend on the client. The option I'd prefer is One-on-one interviews with open ended questions, preferably based on photographs related to the anecdotes. Then, in collaboration with the participant, put together a script, have the participant record that script (or I'd edit the recorded interviews). I would video-edit it all into an individual video or playlist suitable for , say, YouTube. Other options might be audio recording only. Anecdotes under graphics taken from Pixabay or Pexels.

"A business focused solely on client referrals sounds tricky."
Agreed. But I can only serve a few seniors at a time. And I am not looking for income. The primary issue is how to get to the initial participants.

MissAdventure

I think I can see how this is going to pan out.

And that is?

FarNorth

Possibly you could put your demonstration on YouTube and then publicise it on Facebook etc, to both seniors and adult children.
You probably wouldn't make much money that way, but you could spread the idea a bit further.

That sounds right. But, I hesitate to post a public YouTube video. I only tried it once. The first comment was a pornographic image.

I had a lot of stories from my grandmother about all of the family. I sat down one day and gave a page to each ancestor and as the stories came back to me I wrote them down over time. Then I edited the field data into subject headings: historical, childhood, old age, legacy etc. - whatever the overarching theme was that came to me i.e. WW1 or flax workers etc and the more I thought about it the more I could fill in the details from history on line and Ancestry. The notes were random to begin with but then the ancestors stood up and almost wrote their own story the more details I got. For instance, my great great grandfather died at the age of 94 on the west coast of Ireland. I checked out google maps and satellite and got an idea of what it must have been like at the end of the 18th century when he was born and then experiencing the potato famine around him. We are all part of history and it is that history that made the people who they were. i.e. working all your life on flax fields. What must it have been like? etc

Perhaps one of the genealogy giants would look at your how-to videos and if they thought them useful would sponsor them and mention them on their website or their publications - might even add links to them. A general marketing guru is more interested in you buildng a successful and profitable business than in the service the videos would provide to people who have the stories but not the means or the skill to preserve them.

Google genealogy or family history sites and find one that is on the same wavelength as you, and contact them. Smaller local ones may be better than the likes of Ancestry. They can only say no.

Sorry, grNadpa

I thought you were a spammer.
I didn't mean to be so rude.

The Oral History Societu supports people to do exactly this www.ohs.org.uk/

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has advice and links to lots of resources and support www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/good-practice-guidance/oral-history-guidance

I thought the same at first MissAdventure but I quickly realised GrNdpa has posted before.

I did exactly what I moan at other people for.

There's a saying for that, too.

"Thought thought he had a car, but all he had was the horn".

Blossoming, MissAdventure . Quite concerning. How could I have avoided my post coming across as spam?

Siope

The Oral History Societu supports people to do exactly this www.ohs.org.uk/

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has advice and links to lots of resources and support www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/good-practice-guidance/oral-history-guidance

Siope Thanks for the references. I will certainly follow your links.

Well, in my case, it was simply because I didn't understand some of the language; the techy stuff.

It was nothing you did, honestly!

You’re not alone MissA I nearly reported it as I thought it was someone trying to sell something
We get quite a few spammers target the site grNadpa and trolls and spammers so we have to be on our toes

I m not sure how you could have done any better perhaps an introduction as a new poster then talk about your idea
Hope you understand it’s not you personally people were a bit wary of

Thank you Bluebell. I certainly do not take offense. I appreciate you taking the initiative to report such things. I'm merely mortified that my mission smells of spam.

Great advice Elegran Will try that

Maybe try your local library grNadpa could be a community project?

I have written down all my tales covering the 9 decades of my life and since doing it the local history society has contacted me to record my tales of long ago.

This even includes my life through marriage and how life has changed over the years as well as people and their attitudes to life.

It has been a wonderful trip back in time that has made me many friends around the world apart from being a legacy for my own family and any future generations.

grNadpa

*Blossoming*, MissAdventure . Quite concerning. How could I have avoided my post coming across as spam?

The way you write reminded me of a certain spammer from a while back, but it quickly became apparent that you weren’t that poster. I don’t think you need to be concerned really.

Good for you Maywalk. What a valuable resource for your library and knowing that your legacy will continue on for the enjoyment and edification of others.

Well done.

Many thanks grNadpa.

Anything I have written has been published with all proceeds after printing costs taken out going to charities and my main one is........... www.rainbows.co.uk/