I used to buy a lot of books on all kinds of subjects that I was interested in doing, like replacing my home’s electrical box, building a full bathroom from scratch, programming applications, performing financial analysis, etc. The great thing about books is that they are usually fully vetted.
YouTube has great information, but I’ve found that it pays to get a sample set (several videos) of what I’m trying to do. Why? Some of the information is outright wrong, faulty, sales pitches and, at times, dangerous. As they say in the consumer world, caveat emptor or buyer beware.
I’m doing some work on my Passat and needed to refresh my troubleshooting skills on the measurement of electric metrics. So, I was doing some searching on YouTube about using an electric multi-meter to assess electrical components. I found a reliable source of all things about the Passat called “Ratchets and Wrenches”. The site's owner had some great multi-meter training.
While “Ratchets and Wrenches” is a great source, Google (the owner of YouTube) is trying to “monetize” YouTube. To do this, Google is interspersing more and more advertisements in their videos. One thing I know for sure is that most great things eventually gets destroyed by over-monetization. Google is firmly going down that path.
Every few minutes, advertisements are shown and the vast majority of these advertisements are someone hawking some type of “investments”. I use the term “investments” very loosely. Usually, these items are more likely speculations encouraging potential buyers with “get rich quick schemes”.
Oh what a sign of where the financial markets are! I have to laugh at some of the crap these people are selling and the behavioral biases they are using to push product. The intensity of their pitch is off the richter scale.
As always remember, caveat emptor!
Be smart, be well-read, be aware and be successful.
