What a community of insomniacs can teach you about content
So I have trouble sleeping.
For many years, sleep would be something that crept up on me, but not something I could employ at will. AKA, I stayed up until I passed out because going to bed with a little bedtime routine just didn't cut the mustard.
These days, I fall asleep faster than you can say, "Jocko Willick". But if I'm woken up once I've fallen into a slumber? I'm staying awake. When this occurs, I just brew a coffee, head to my office, and write an email (like I am right now). But back in the days of yore, I stumbled upon many a remedy for this most annoying of afflictions. Most were utterly useless.
My favourite was Futurama.
Yep. The TV show. And I wasn't alone.
I'm sure the show's creators never intended it to be prescribed like an analogue Ambien, but there we go. It knocked me out like a light. There was something just right about it... I couldn't put my finger on it. I'd put a sleep timer on the TV, turn down the brightness, and load up a box set.
After a while, it got me thinking.
What the hell was making it so effective? I'd tried everything! So I did what we all did back when we didn't know something before FapGPT.
I googled "Why is Futurama such a great show to fall asleep to? Reddit". And it was there, in the darkest cesspit of soy, that I found the answer, thanks to the subreddit r/Futurama_Sleepers.
Sound design.
The show, for whatever reason, has immaculately mixed sound levels - meaning the loud is never too loud, everything is a fairly soft and even volume, and if that ain't enough... almost all of the music is written in the A-major key (the same as lullabies).
"But James... what the hell does that have to do with my content?" you ask.
Fair question. I'll tell ya.
Your content could very possibly be a Futurama in a world of high-octane entertainment programming. Now, don't get your little panties in a bunch. Futurama is a great show. But your volume is too even. And an even volume gets tuned out.
If you want DJ Don Domingo to tweak your little knobs (pause) and fiddle with your sound design until it cannot be ignored...
Go here:
James Perkins
P.S. The character Bender is a walking, talking, content masterclass if you have eyes to see.
