Hey! I’m still here! Here's an update on what is going on, and also FTC's COPPA

Hello, All!

It's been a while!  Unfortunately, our special needs daughter has been exceedingly ill again for the past five weeks, so I’ve done little besides take care of her. In between I make trips out of state to take care of my elderly mother.  So. Been sorrrrta busy.

The good news is Rebekah appears to have turned the corner and I believe is beginning to come out of this.  We have been through it before. It was awful then – and is awful now.  Many have been praying and we have two wonderful doctors working hard to help her. 

In the meantime - as for my YouTube videos.  Who knows WHAT is going on? The FTC COPPA ruling has put so many in tailspins trying to determine what on earth qualifies as ‘made for children.’ Their terms are so broad and vague, it seems few if any clearly know. Me included.  The threat of Forty-Some THOUSAND dollar fines PER VIDEO would absolutely ruin most creators, certainly myself included.  Somehow, we must read through all the legalese and try not to make a mistake in labeling our content. 

My videos are made for a general audience, not for children. Looking at my analytics provided to me by YouTube, it shows over the lifetime of my channel 95% of my audience fall under the 18 and over category, with 5% falling in the 13 to 17 age group. That is over the lifetime of my channel. And I most certainly do not collect personal data on anyone.  I wouldn’t even know how.  So I BELIEVE all is well.  My videos are not and were not created for children, and my audience analytics provided by YouTube reflect that.

So. MOVING on.

We have just finished Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and are now full into the Christmas season.  No Christmas letter this year.  When Rebekah is ill, my life pretty much upends and stops until she is better.

On another note, needless to say ALL of my 14 beautiful heritage bronze turkeys are still out there wandering about my yard and pasture.  For Thanksgiving dinner we instead bought a nameless frozen turkey of questionable heritage from Wal-Mart. Let’s face it. There is never going to come a day, unless my family is STARVING, that we are going to eat anyone out there.  ~sigh~   We’d be as likely to eat the family cat.

Hopefully I will SELL some soon – and I’m not going to ask what they want with them. I’m sure they will all go to a lovely farm somewhere to live out their days in early retirement.  In any event, as of right now I’ve stopped all sales until Rebekah is better.  Once she is doing well again, I will have Helen’s chicks – now at point of lay – available, as well as my turkey lurkeys.  Helen’s chicks, btw, are absolutely stunning. I will try to get one last video before I actually do sell them.