I didn't get my channel started to be famous, nor am I a gifted maker, nor did I have any spectacular equipment, for sure. I appreciate to have a few things in my shop that others might not have access to, and also realize that many others have better gear, skills, equipment, and camera personality. In fact, I have learned much from the comments that people leave, both the positive and negative, and it has helped me improve.
I got into it because I was already making parts and pieces for myself and my buddies, and after seeing John Mills (doubleboost), a self professed "mechanic who pisses about," I decided to give it a shot. It has never been a goal to "get rich on YouTube." I was just hoping to be able to join in and share ideas with others who know more about these things than I do. Just like on this forum. It has been interesting to see how a number of people have been interested in some of my projects, and not in others. And that is totally fine by me, I'm not chasing the money. And yes, I sometimes get into making a tool to make a tool to make a thing, but it's partly the challenge so I can learn more, and sometimes due to cost/local availability for some things.
Getting to the point of the thread though, I have to say that I do agree with it in some cases. Some of the "big names" now have sponsorships, accounts with Patreon, and try to sell piles of merch to make money off it. And so, they churn out stuff in a "video factory" mentality. As an "unemployed bum wiper" (stay at home Dad with two small kids) would it be handy to make a few bucks off it? Sure! Let's all be honest, none of us would turn down a few extra dollars. I've even turned away a pile of people soliciting for "paid reviews," product promotions, and so-called "partner" deals. Not my cup of tea. I'm just screwing around in my shop and decided to put a camera over my shoulder.
In full disclosure, yes I do make a few dollars from the ads now on my channel but the ads are turned down as low as I could get them. And yes, it definitely only a few dollars. YouTube will now put ads on anything, including non-partner program channels, so this way at least I could minimize them and choose which types of ads can appear. That being said the couple small cheques a year I get from them just goes into small bits for the shop, it's certainly not even "side hustle" level. Interestingly, I get more views and viewer interaction from the car repair videos I've done for family and friends than I do from my machining projects.
Sorry if this seems to be a bit of a loose bit of prose but all I wanted to say is that although there are a number of "big names" who are making their YouTube maker/machinist/fabricator/etc. channels part of their staple income, most of us are just regular people who are tinkering and doing a grown up version of show and tell like we did in kindergarten. We all come from different backgrounds and have different things to share, and not all of us are experts (we are all still learning), but we can all still learn from each other even as amateurs.
Exactly why we all congregate on this site. Just different.
P.S. - And yes I do have channel stickers. And they are totally free to whoever wants one. Not for sale.
