How I Became a Minecraft Scam Artist

[@RetroGamingNow]

Your Fiverr story was especially interesting. Ever since I finished production of my video, I've had this nagging feeling that these issues are deeper than just a single series. It's dismaying to see that similar low-quality work is being produced on the cheap using freelance authors. I'm definitely keeping my eyes open for more examples of this type of "content." Unfortunately, I feel like we may just be scratching the surface.

[@Wyattporter]

RGN and Zoe Bee is the crossover I never expected, but never knew I needed

[@ornellabiriaghi3066]

@@Wyattporter that was an original comment. where do you take your ideas from?

[@wezen89]

sadly

[@barricuda]

Especially the part about it being a freelance platform pewdiepie used to destroy his career. Did a spit take. lmao

[@marinakonrad5035]

As a freelance editor, I gotta say you have NO IDEA.

[@zoe_bee]

The Ender Dragon is capitalism.

[@SuperQGS_]

Zoe???

[@zoe_bee]

@@SuperQGS_ Yes?

[@SuperQGS_]

@@zoe_bee thumbnail made me do a double take but hey I’m on board!

[@Medenmath]

I don't think a dragon can be capitalism, because dragons are cool and fun.

[@zoe_bee]

@@Medenmath Yeah, fair.

[@bryce8594]

"i like your writing style" 5 mins later "wait what happened in the diary i didn't read it"

[@charl2182]

27:07 imagine being named Zoe Bee and then having your editor be named Charlie Flowers like what's next John Pollen? Jimmy Honey?

[@EternalDensity]

Jack Hive

[@mercury4885]

adam grub

[@Ir0ns1d3]

Todd Comb

[@johannageisel5390]

Wanda Wasp and Ben Beetle. I even met Marilyn Moth yesterday in the Country Club.

[@tacoandurmom]

I love these replies so much LOLLL

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

"It's just for kids, it doesn't matter." is an "argument" I absolutely hate. It takes extra care to be able to reach kids, enriching thir imagination, imparting important lessons. Some children books are true work of art. There's that book by Anthony Browne (the monkey guy) that tells the same story from 4 different perspective, for example. Or anything Claude Ponti did. Or that one about the Blue Dog of course. Children books aren't some knock off versions of Adults Books, it's an entire genre in itself that deserves respect.

[@javi7636]

100% agreed. Also, the way we raise children is incredibly important to the future of our society. It's why we have so much conflict over what gets taught in schools.

[@maxthexpfarmer3957]

@@javi7636 This kind of stuff is not really going to affect what kids grow up to be like.

[@blarg2429]

@@maxthexpfarmer3957 Maybe not, but they still deserve better on principle. Also, there are kids nowadays whose first words are attempts to use their parents like voice assistants (e.g., alexa), and that's just fuckin' creepy. Bit of a tangent, I know.

[@ornellabiriaghi3066]

that's why those fake animal rescue videos are making all that money. You know, kids love fluffy puppies.

[@Worn_Guide]

As a kid, I loved the Frog and Toad books. If I have a child (if ever) I'll have the books lying around in reach, so that when they learn to read and find the books that they find some enjoyment.

[@towards_the_flame]

As somebody whose childhood dream was to be a Minecraft scam artist, this offered closure to the arc of my life that was never completed (until now). Fantastic video (as per usual)!

[@legal040]

that's the real american dream i can stand behind

[@notrihanna3446]

🤔🤔

[@foegettergames252]

Typical Zoomer. They just worship the Boomers as they burn the world.

[@mitchellsnaw7263]

I'm gonna be honest, going from "I kinda made some bad books" to *"DEATH TO CAPITALISM"* is a very odd line to ride, but hey, it works.

[@zoe_bee]

Hey, it's my MO.

[@SunroseStudios]

@@zoe_bee it's a good MO and we appreciate it very much

[@LordBeefrius]

@@zoe_bee I'm 100% here for it.

[@mitchellsnaw7263]

@@zoe_bee And, quite frankly, I love it.

[@orinking8064]

i mean it's a tradition going back to das kapital to go from exploring basic phenomena and getting to the inevitable conclusion of "DEATH TO CAPITALISM"

[@B_Skizzle]

I know it’s not the point of the video, but damn that is a nice background. Props to the editor!

[@zoe_bee]

Thank you so much! I'll pass along the compliment :)

[@Rhythm_Rev]

finding out zoe not only bought a wii u but still has it and likes it gave me even more respect for her.

[@thezipcreator]

honestly the wii u was actually a good console, it's so underrated

[@zoushaomenohu]

Mildred is honestly THE BEST when it comes to voice-acting off-putting capitalist weirdos.

[@dalellll]

i bet they could do an amazing impression of the graybles guy from Adventure Time

[@LisaBeergutHolst]

'Coz it's all about DA MONEY

[@WilliamRoyNelson]

I didn't expect it coming, and I literally laughed out loud. And when I say "literally" I mean it. It's like 1 AM in the morning, my girlfriend is in another room sleeping, I'm trying to be quiet, and I had to cover my mouth because it hit me so hard. This was a fun video, it's given me a lot to think about.

[@brimming]

"Confessions of a Minecraft Scam Artist: The Unofficial Minecraft Memoir"

[@Louis--]

I really like it when people talk about another creator's work, and then they contribute a quote read. It's a nice sign that the creator communicated with them about the topic. I particularly like that it's only a weak endorsement.

[@Louis--]

The funny part is that I was already reminded of Folding Ideas video before it came up.

[@emperorspock3506]

Wait, 30 dollars was not a rate, but your *entire* fee for 5000 words of writing?! Holy crap, this is bonkers! Though being on the translation side of the industry, I know this is the kind of approach to paying their freelancers that companies handling translations for TV and film use, preying on first-year university students and the like who aren't great at that work to begin with, but don't know how much money to ask even if they aren't great, and realy want (or have) to earn a little.

[@Grinalbi]

Out of curiosity - what would be the proper average price for that amount of writing? Does it vary by genre/topic?

[@emperorspock3506]

@@Grinalbi I don't do writing professionally or live in North America, but as a translator, knowing how fast I write in general, I'd ask for at least 10-15 times that amount for something that won't require me do any significant research and can be invented on the spot.

[@Grinalbi]

@@emperorspock3506 That makes sense. I dunno how professional writing works but as an artist, a lot of us have the same problem of massively undervaluing our work. Sucks that that problem isn't unique to any one field.

[@MaximTendu]

"as an artist", "as a professional writer": good god, american kids these days.

[@Grinalbi]

@@MaximTendu Uh, okay? Don't you have anything better to do other than leave snide remarks about common phrases in a KZbin comments section...?

[@VeganAtheistWeirdo]

_5,000 words for $30_ 🤬 Oh, Zoe. I was paid about $150 per 500-word news story as a freelancer (very briefly) back in the 90s. Yes, five _hundred_ words. I really hope the majority of the gig work these days isn't quite this exploitative anymore, but I guess there's no reason to expect them to have gotten any better, is there? Anyway, another great video. I especially loved what you did with putting yourself into the video game world for this one, and having some of it come out into yours.

[@Kane_the_Newschool_DM]

It's unfortunate, isn't it? I do story commissions for friends and fans of my work at a rate of $25 for 1000 words. Takes me about an hour to write that much, so it's around $25 an hour. Not a bad rate personally, but not enough to live on unless you've got a ton of commissions coming in, so a professional gig better be paying higher than that!

[@mouhou9795]

The 90s. You must be old mister cerulean daydreamer. Writing and spelling is kind of hard. People should be payed more for it I agree.

[@VeganAtheistWeirdo]

@@mouhou9795 _The 90s. You must be old mister cerulean daydreamer._ 50 years and feeling even older every day, you young whippersnapper. (I bet you'll have to look that one up.) Now get off my lawn! Seriously though, it has given me the perspective of watching my parents -- actual, honest-to-gosh _boomers_ in the original sense -- build a middle-middle class life including home ownership on 1 white-collar plus 1 blue-collar income. This is just not possible in the US today. But it's not about owning things, or even about money itself. It's about the way capitalism has steadily stripped every _other_ value from our labor, and allowed the majority of the improvements reaped by that labor to be hoarded by such a tiny, undeserving minority. Even the meta-topic of this video, intellectual property, has been weaponized by the privileged against the non-privileged in the pursuit of capital (vaccine patent suspension so that cheap generics can protect the monetarily poorer nations in India and Africa).

[@stevecarter8810]

The 90s was the decade where the term 'new media' was coined, signaling the beginning of the end of journalism as we know it

[@MaximTendu]

@@Kane_the_Newschool_DM Twenty-five bucks an hour to write stories for friends? That's roughly half the money I used to make washing dishes eight-to-ten hours a day. I too wrote stories in my free time, and the job at the restaurant would give me something to talk about, and enough time to think about how to put it into words. (I'm in my thirties, mind you, not a million years old). Now I meet gamers who write about their life experience, when they are not dabbling into fiction and scribble the umpteenth remake of Tolkien/Narnia/Game Of Thrones. It doesn't even surprise me anymore that one of today's bestselling writers is someone like Sally Rooney.

[@DeLaSoul246]

I looooove the natural minecraft day passing by in the background, and all the bees and flowers! That was one of my favorite things about the game: nature just carries on. Great video idea. I have wondered about those low-effort minecraft books I've seen... and it has pained me to see kids I know reading them.

[@zoe_bee]

Thank you! I had to figure out how to get the Optifine mod set up so I could have the pretty water and sky, but I am SO happy with how it turned out! :)

[@DeLaSoul246]

@@zoe_bee So neat! From a game dev perspective, imo, the sky and water makes a HUGE difference in games with simple graphics so that was good, good thinkin :D

[@qwertyopath6215]

My cat also really loved it

[@llynxfyremusic]

It pains me to know i also read them at a point as well. At least some of what i read had some passion in it, one was written by a dad for his kid... I really hope that one was actually good but i don't have much hope. There was a few others i read that had no effort whatsoever.

[@mrmaniac3]

@@zoe_bee what shader did you use 👀 the fluffy clouds and glowy foreground are pretty

[@eyezuh_]

I like to think there's an alternate universe version of this video with a Jacob Geller esque title around the lines of, "Minecraft Bootlegs, Anti-Capitalism, and My Part In It"

[@naveenkarthikeyan4744]

This is the craziest video idea I've ever seen and I'm all here for it

[@metroplexprime9901]

Damn, we really did just go from "this literature is exploitative" to "UPROOT THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM!" and I am absolutely here for it.

[@Arcanist_Gaming]

Omg, the usage of the game as the background is _adorable._ It's lined up perfectly as well; I am both enamored and impressed by this choice. EDIT: Holy shit, I wasn't expecting to see Grian's avatar. I am now even more invested.

[@justinahole336]

Great video! One of the things I love about Minecraft is that I can, and do, play it with my kids (unironically - I enjoy building stuff with them!). Because I'm also immersed in the game with them, we share the media and I'm able to help guide their ability to tell stuff that's worthwhile from stuff that's trash...or, at least toxic trash...some trash is fun, in which case I can help put into context for them. It's not a perfect system, but it's an imperfect world and playing with my kids is fun.

[@zoe_bee]

Minecraft is genuinely such a positive, wholesome game. And it sounds like your kids have an awesome parent :)

[@ploploplop2349]

aww, that's so wholesome

[@ericmememan4632]

so hyped for "How I Became a MineCrafting Scam Artist: Perfect for Minecrafters Kids and Adults, Top Builder Ideas, Guide Book, Graphic Novels" by Zoe Miner Bee

[@larsnyman2455]

Holy shit, when Mildred broke character and I could hear their voice, I full-on jumped

[@VeganAtheistWeirdo]

🤣 I didn't recognize 'em until then, either! That was hilarious.

[@Robstafarian]

I recognized Mildred's vocal patterns, and that worries me a little.

[@thezipcreator]

yeah I was like "oh shit it's thought slime!"

[@cifge_404]

What is this reference I clearly don't understand XD

[@cifge_404]

Oh wait LOL me assuming Mildred was a girl, hello! Don't mind me :)

[@esr1412]

While, as you say, getting rid of these scams would require a profound change in our system that allows these things to flourish, I think there is at least one thing we can do to mitigate the worst part of it: being more responsible with our children and being more involved. I'm not a parent myself yet, but I've seen a lot of people for example using phones to keep their children busy and never check what they're doing. I'm not saying to be a control freak, don't get me wrong. But I think we should be more involved in what children consume. Your child likes Minecraft and wants a book about it? Read it first, take your time to check the reviews. Sit with them when they watch a show they like or a video. Talk about it with them. Show interest in their interests. I think that will make a Big difference.

[@jjgdenisrobert]

Repetition legitimizes. And not just for kids.

[@gazman1238]

Adam Neely has entered the chat.

[@StainlessHelena]

BASS

[@thezipcreator]

DEFGECD

[@DivisibleByWaffle]

Hi, I am also one of the 11 people who bought a Wii U. I was between degrees and had a decent job as a secretary, and could just barely justify getting that Wind Waker edition console. No regrets! I still love my Wii U!

[@violetaisling]

I work at a library and in the past year or two I've noticed that unofficial Minecraft novelizations (usually following the "Diary of a ___" formula) are really popular in the kids' section. I'd always been kind of amused by their existence and passively wondered whether or not they were legal or legit, but never enough to really look into it. Don't really have anything to add to your story, but it was kind of wild to hear you were involved in producing some of them!

[@100maxnochill9]

I bought several of these unofficial minecraft book sets for my son. The first set was pretty good so I bought another set and the quality in writing was abysmal. I wondered why it was so terrible, I guess I know why now. The first set was bought in a physical bookstore where there must've been some quality control. The second set I bought off of Amazon.

[@foegettergames252]

YOU are what is wrong with the world right now. YOU Gen X parents did the absolute barest minimum requirement to get a human to 18. YOU should have checked yourself, you lazy degenerate.

[@InventorZahran]

There are some genuinely high quality unofficial Minecraft novels out there, written by real humans with care, thoughtfulness, and good intentions. But such books are less common than their junky counterparts, since they require more time, effort, and investment. In general, I've found that going to your local bookstore or library is the best way to discover high quality books (of any genre), because as you said, there are more quality control measures in place to make sure what goes out on the shelves is legal and non-crappy.

[@JubeiKibagamiFez]

This doesn't make you, specifically, a scam artist. Scammers, big and small, always compartmentalize their operations so that "The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing." How could you have know about the scope???

[@rupen42]

You forgot something else about repetition: Repetition legitimizes, repetition legitimizes, repetition legitimizes.

[@lordecramox7394]

I listen to almost entirely video essays on KZbin, but I must say, yours are some of the best.

[@zoe_bee]

Thank you so much!

[@kinggoose1425]

Ey, what's The Monk doing here?

[@lordecramox7394]

@@kinggoose1425 It's a picture of the Survivor in the end credits. It's mainly yellow because of the lighting.

[@kinggoose1425]

@@lordecramox7394 ah

[@foegettergames252]

lmfao dipshit zoomer listens to brain washing thinkings its education

[@oinkersboinkers7188]

I swear, I used to read so many of those weird Minecraft books when I was younger (honestly I might’ve read yours too). This video was so illuminating on such a weird part of my childhood.

[@aahhai5532]

TBF there were some that were actually well written. But those were few and far between.

[@ThatDangDad]

Absolutely loved this video. I also love that you were a mercenary minecraft fanfic writer. Incredible Zoe Lore revelation. The same model that incentivizes the things in your video is also huge in the software and app development world right now too. You can hire programmers from Bangladesh and Ecuador and Pakistan and Estonia super easily and then turn around and sell what they make in the app store for big bucks. And I have nothing but respect for those programmers because they're just feeding their families. It's the whole system that encourages and rewards exploitation (as you said).

[@tubeblower7391]

Wonderful video overall, your best one of the year so far in my opinion. Interesting backstory, solid points, wonderful dramatization by ThoughtSlime. I thought the editing was a lot tighter and more seamless, so bravo Charlie. I had really felt that the comments and little jokes or goofs edited into past videos were a little invasive, disrupting the flow of the video rather than adding to it, but this was a superb job.

[@zoe_bee]

Thank you so much! I'm really happy with how this one turned out, so I'm glad folks seem to feel the same!

[@efkastner]

Having Mildew voice-act a capitalist in this video was genius on so many levels (also, amazing job Mildge!). Their video on Hermitcraft’s economy (easily one of my favorite videos on this whole platform) goes along with this video so well that I suspect lord Oculon and Zoe’s cat are pulling strings behind all of left tube, weaving a tapestry of cross connections that seed the next generation of class warriors. I’m on to you L.E.F.T. (Leftists Eviscerating Fascist Talking-points), and you’re not going to get away with this!

[@rifkah1033]

I feel like the internet as a whole has become unusable, like all the low-quality things on Amazon and the bot-generated pages in search engines. It's so easy to do

[@noaheadie]

Check out the Dead Internet Theory if you aren't already aware of it

[@Markus-zb5zd]

that's why forums with trustworthy people that need to agree are so helpful for any community nowadays

[@SpudOnscreen]

went from "i wrote a book lol" to "WE MUST SEIZE THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION" in the span of like four seconds and i love it

[@Frank-ju8qr]

I can't believe you're living my childhood dream: Living in a minecraft house

[@jmh8817]

The intersection of this unholy trinity of gig economy, ad revenue and the literary equivalent of shovelware is a more ridiculous rabbit hole than I could have imagined.

[@dzamija922]

The world is basically already Black Mirror's second episode of the first season. Countless people are mostly confined to their rooms, consuming virtual content when they're not busy wasting away at a meaningless job that allows them to pay for this virtual content. Even when we have companionship, we still engage in consuming this virtual content, together. Something definitely needs to be done about this. You cannot buy truly meaningful experiences. You can buy entertainment, but your life should be more than entertainment.

[@ChanceTheCheetah]

Pigstep truly does fit everything

[@Respectable_Username]

This was two sides of my subscription feed I wasn't expecting to overlap!

[@NunSuperior]

Mildo's Fiverr voice was skin-crawlingly creepy. Nailed it.

[@Radar_of_the_Stars]

Honestly, I kinda want to read your minecraft books, I would love to see your take on the already existing but notably thin of the ground story of Minecraft

[@nekobun]

oh god i almost picked up a similar gig to this on a different platform back in the day, but quickly realized the expected output was gonna vastly outstrip the pay they were offering, so i opted out. Not entirely surprised they've got what seems to be machines doing most of the work now instead.

[@willswanson1840]

Mildo was a fantastic choice of voice for the Fiverr DMs. Their choice of affect was really unsettling in the best way.

[@enbyarchmage]

Wonderful video as always, Zoe! You've not only managed to turn something as weird and specific as Minecraft bootlegs into a fun and thought-provoking essay, but also included a beautiful message about life in the end! 🥰 P.S The backgrounds were simply awesome! I'd love to see more videos with you inside a fantasy realm. As long as the realm isn't The End, though. My shoulders were LITERALLY stiff for the entire duration of the semi-final part, because Enderman totally freak me out 😂

[@xXinrealtimeXx]

They kept walking right up to the camera and staring. They’re so creepy, love em.

[@constantreader1422]

it's not just kids who surround themselves with the same characters, the revival of comic book movies, star wars stuff, etc shows we just gobble up this stuff regardless of it's actual value or if it's well written, it's comforting. thanks for giving me a lot to think about!

[@stephenroylance3958]

The minecraft backgrounds were amazingly done.

[@stephenwilliams163]

I can't help but think of the crappy knock off toys we would get growing up. Either dollar store versions of popular toys or rip offs of popular characters but slightly askew. This sort of thing has been going on for a long time.

[@hansmuster1572]

"What? Zoe has become a Minecraft-KZbinr? Hell Yeah!" - "This Video is not about Minecraft" - "Aaw maaan..."

[@willowowisp420]

I remember getting an “unofficial Minecraft novel!” Titled revenge of the skeletons when I was a kid.

[@Aura-bu9jb]

I love theese kinds of videos where you just sit there enjoying it and waiting for the word *CAPITALISM* to drop

[@dylanoonk6456]

the way you can go from “these children books are bad” to “revolt, my fellow revolutionaries! as we must make a land in which all workers are equal and free from our proletariat overlords!” is great. keep it up!

[@Epsomgwtfbbq]

That Billion-With-A-B-Bee was a great little detail, hats off for the craft on display all around. Great stuff!

[@Aaronerer5]

That final statement hit me in the feels 😯. I agree that each and every one of us has something unique to bring to the world, I'm still figuring out what it is though.

[@Moonbeam143]

The subject of this video is like an episode of "The X-Files". It's a mystery who's really behind it all, and the monster is greed.

[@onlineskitty]

the end bit means a lot to me. im an artist who struggles a lot with numbers and i cant help but feel demotivated whenever my art doesnt get a lot of attention. but the thing you daid about creating was exactly what i needed to hear :)

[@mouhou9795]

Can I also just note down how machines making books and videos for children instead of people could be harmful for children. People learn language and social interactions from people and not from computers, so children could learn some weird ass behavior if they're left alone an hour a day watching. "elsa frozzen pregnant sipderman minecraft minecraft school funny" Too much

[@foegettergames252]

Gen X ruined the world raising Boomers 2.0

[@aahhai5532]

@@foegettergames252 we must lock up all gen alphas in a box. Quarantine the mistakes.

[@OysteinS]

What if there was a place where you could get curated quality kids' entertainment for free? Let's call it a library, it could even have people, librarians, who could help parents find the best stuff. I know it's utopic. Increase funding and marketing of libraries. Improve online and digital offerings so parents can easily click in and get better entertainment for their children and the artists would even get compensated. The infrastructure is already there.

[@mageproductions827]

It’s cool to see 2 of leftie content creators spear in the same video it makes me do a double take on weather I finally lost the thread and went insane

[@AgnesRonan]

WHAT YOU CAN RIGHT NOW?!?! Options are limited but there are these THREE things: 1) EDUCATE yourself. She didn't say it, but what Zoe's talking about is marxism. Learn about the labour theory of value to start. 2) COMMUNICATE class consciousness to the people in your life. Make sure they understand what class is and how it determines your opportunities, your liberties, and what your time is worth. 3) UNIONS. Unions empower workers through cooperation. Because workers are a majority in any corporate structure (and society as a whole) they have the power to dictate the terms of their labour, BUT ONLY IF they organise and coordinate their individual power together. Unions are the most important step right now toward organizing political representation of the working class, which is what can lead to the larger systemic changes Zoe alludes to. Thank you for reading, this has been a goshdarned political KZbin comment.

[@rmbee5412]

Thanks Zoe. This was an intriguing discussion to me as an instructor of elementary-school aged children. I don't want to imply that any solutions are silver bullets or that I know enough to be comprehensive about the available options, but I will say that the most reliable strategy for cultivating informed artistic engagement seems to me like it's media education. Children engage in dialogue with the media they consume just like anyone else, so I think the most powerful thing we can do for them is participate in that dialogue, in earnest, alongside them. We can ask them what they look for in their stories and their culture. We can share what we look for ourselves. We can seek common points of interest and use our expanded experience relative to young humans to provide examples of meaningful narratives that have engaged those interests for us. We can listen to the meaningful examples children provide as well. But most importantly, we can encourage children to create their own work. Encourage them to bring their own art and/or craft into the world, as said in the video, in earnest. Because the best agency is when the children can control the narrative themselves, and maybe they can therefore get the resulting sense of safety without relying on the repetition of someone else's artistic excrement.

[@d3aph]

I really like the background you made for this. It actually feels like it's lived in.

[@ciaduck]

This reminds me of the "freebooting" problem. Where people would steal clips or interesting parts of youtube videos to post and monetize them on other platforms like twitter and facebook. Pretty awful to be a victim in this way.

[@NovemberOrWhatever]

I feel like "Minecraft: Story Mode" was an official example of this. I guess it's hard for them to turn down easy money. At least Microsoft's IP milking has avoided Java Edition

[@InventorZahran]

Telltale Games (the studio behind Minecraft: Story Mode) started out by making good games, but [thanks to the incentives inherent to our economy] soon evolved their business model to focus on mass-producing formulaic, low-effort games based on popular entertainment franchises, which were mostly marketed towards children.

[@QuestingRefuge]

I also wonder how this impacts kid creators. One of our kids has made videos for KZbin made in earnest. Stuff like KZbin poops. With the changes it has hit their channel. And we see similar dynamics as they make stuff for Roblox as well. On one hand it's exciting there are opportunities for kids to explore with their art but these factories and systems will also hurt their creation and opportunities if that is something possible for them. And I mean genuinely them doing out of passion not then being turned into little laborers

[@Markus-zb5zd]

damn,... they did you dirty with the 30$ glad you're coming out with it, it helps to unfold the bigger picture on a sidenote: I like the glitter on your face xD

[@behemoth5344]

aww, ain't dat kewt. she married, ya simp.

[@Flameclaw123]

Me, a ghostwriter, upon hearing about the Minecraft books: Ah, I know where this is going

[@andriypredmyrskyy7791]

Yo, that was a really powerful way of delivering a simple message.

[@luizzeroxis]

I just wanted to say, I did not expect to be moved by that poetry at the end. Like, whoa.

[@archiato6478]

Ok this might be the best KZbin video I have seen in many years, i love it! :)

[@reisatee5504]

Can't wait for the upcoming video! I always love your takes, and your presence is so calming

[@LexYeen]

What in the goddamn... You sure found a part of the internet that I wasn't aware of.

[@VeganAtheistWeirdo]

If you haven't spent hours watching KZbin videos _about_ spooky, weird, unsettling KZbin videos... well, you must have a far more rich, fulfilling life than I. But still, those videos (the ones _about_ the videos) *are* pretty engrossing.

[@genericgorilla]

As an aside, I can't help but think that the only reason the new guidelines for kids' videos were introduced on KZbin was because advertisers felt that ads being shown to literal toddlers wasn't really getting their money's worth

[@johannageisel5390]

This scam also preys not only on children in general, but particularly children with unattentive parents. If you have your organic wooden toys middle class Montessori school parents, they will look through any book before giving it to their child. But if you have parents who are unable to do that, because they are stressed and/or not well educated themselves, then the child will get that trash and will be pushed further down into the not-well-educated hole.

[@mahrinui18]

Big props to Charlie the editor on this one! Loving the background and the Lena Raine soundtrack

[@Neidan99]

This reminds me of the research of People Make Games about the scam of Roblox, but in there, it's not just the audience who are children, it's the children who are being exploited for creating games. They're entering pyramid schemes and receiving bad paids for work that they're doing. The system that values production over anything it's degrading our society at levels that we don't want to see. It's scary. I have to say that little things like this video, make me have some little hope about change, maybe we don't know the way, but some people are seeing the problems and trying to have some action in these problems. Thanks Zoe

[@Sudo_Nimh]

How fantastically informative about something i had no idea or reference for. Just the kind of stuff I subscribe for. Great job!

[@alyssamulvihill8610]

This is an amazing breakdown of the system that makes its point before the watcher can realize exactly what it’s about. Love this

[@PaulGaither]

7:50 - Did that video ever come out? Which one was it? "It should be linked below" - it isn't. You have time stamps, sourcces, special thanks, thumbnail credits, editing credits, and support links. Nothing about any such video over a year and a half later.

[@zoe_bee]

Unfortunately, there was a legal issue with making it, at the time; but that video may be happening in the future, fingers crossed!

[@PaulGaither]

@@zoe_bee - Good luck. Your work has improved so much and I look forward to each new upload.

[@SnugCOMANDERX]

I got my friend into the Witcher show and for my birthday they got me a cookbook 'based' on the dishes from the series. It's the most low effort list of recipes I've ever read. One of the recipes for baked apples says the following: "Apples are a part of the Witcher universe, and baked apples are a sweet treat." I do love this book but it's for all the wrong reasons.

[@paprika_ame]

Loved the Minecraft background and segue ways! They just fit perfectly, and very comfy :)

[@zoe_bee]

Thank you so much! I tried to replicate my usual setup, but in Minecraft. ...and I had to have the super pretty water and sky visible through a window, so that was a plus, lol

[@llynxfyremusic]

@@zoe_bee i know it isn't your normal thing but i'd love to see more stuff like this. Really pretty

[@jaiminnimavat8493]

Love that your cat is meowing 0:04 seconds in to the video

[@CorneliusThroatworthy]

loved the editing charlie flowers, and greatly appreciate you covering this topic zoe :)

[@n0vellette]

I personally couldn't ever come up with a full solution, but I feel like part of it would probably involve the parents. Kids these days (god, I sound old) are being raised not just on, but by KZbin and social media. When little Timmy starts crying, it's easier on moms and dads to just give him the iPad where the algorithm will feed him Frozen Elsa Pregnant Colors Superheroes Spiderman Hulk Vs Venom Joker Fidget Spinners Colors For Kid videos than actually sit down and yknow, be a parent. Part of that also stems from the systemic issues of parents, especially single parents, not being able to make a livable wage for them and their kids, the horrible encroachment of side hussle culture which normalizes working more than one job, both symptoms of the world's fetishistic adoration of capitalism in its current form. If parents could work less and therefore had more time to spend with their kids, or were simply more aware of the content their child is consuming, that would go a long way to solving the symptomatic problems such as these made for kids cash grabs.

[@willk4802]

fantastic video Zoe!! it was really interesting to hear about your experiences writing & i really liked where you took it :))

[@PogieJoe]

The instant you mentioned Fiverr I was like "oh no." So much scamming out there when not careful.

[@mercury4885]

i love the timing on the section w/pigstep underlying it. something about the turn into the subject combined with the song's hook is really cool. overall the whole video is also very good but the pigstep thing scratched an itch in my brain

[@habb420]

I had not heard about this before. This video was lovely. Thank you.

[@mygills3050]

“The quality did not come from any of the higher-ups who were reaping the rewards” [insert kronk: oh yeah, it’s all coming together meme]

[@Byepixle]

24:30 The future was quite nice, Mineraft is still a fun game to play but mojang is getting critisised a lot at the moment because of not listening to the community anymore when making certain changes. Their trailer for the next live event where the new update is gonna be announced was very good tho. Also, enjoyed watching this, I'd never heard of this issue before and it was really interesting to hear how it all works.

[@melisaunoi]

I think it's extremely difficult to change the whole system, no matter how badly we need it. However, what you said in the end is quite interesting and I think it's the way to go: do what we do as best as we can, but also denounce and boycott the garbage we're being fed every day, whether it be books, videos, or any shit manufactured items or services. I'm an architect and it's absolutely horrifying to see that what you describe can also be applied to our built environment: the pursuit of the most profit with the least effort no matter the consequences. It can seem harmless when it comes to a book, but a building? Entire cities? Fucking scary, this. Anyways, great video as always, I really liked it, thanks!

[@MrPooleish]

6:00 Is that Thought Slime? Sounds eerily like them, but just off enough to make me second guess.

[@jennytaylor3986]

I didn't realize the meowing was coming from the video and have been looking around me at the library like an idiot XD. Great video btw

[@GaasubaMeskhenet]

let people choose rest over garbage no more evictions from primary residences!!

[@ryanp9458]

So are we just gonna ignore how cute it is that Zoe Bee had a bunch of little Minecraft bees buzzing in the background?! 😭🐝

[@freepointsgals609]

I don't normally put in the insignificant and small effort to like and comment, but Zoe always make my day slightly better, so this is my addition to well deserved praise. Good vid. I will likely carry this video with my in coming days.

[@Laezar1]

And as always with almost every problem, the answers ends up being : capitalism sucks.

[@behemoth5344]

shallow topics require shallow conclusions. But hey, as long as they sell..

[@foegettergames252]

Then stop worshipping the Boomers

[@behemoth5344]

@@foegettergames252 uh?

[@derekseaton4412]

I can 100% confirm that my toddler uses my phone to watch those “buzz word salad” videos… there a bunch of Squid Game content for kids that are an existential nightmare

[@falpsdsqglthnsac]

that prismarine couch looks really uncomfortable