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If you’ve ever tried to build something while filming the process, you already know: creating for an audience changes how you create. Not always for the better.

Recently, while making a vanity for my workshop bathroom, I found myself second-guessing everything. Not because the process was wrong, but because I imagined how people online would react. That’s when it hit me: I wasn’t building just for the joy of it anymore. I was caught between two silent forces that haunt a lot of creators.

Let’s talk about them.

What Is Audience Capture?

Audience capture happens when a creator slowly shifts from making what they care about… to making what they think will get clicks.

It’s subtle. You start off posting cool shop builds or tool upgrades. But then one video pops…maybe a jig goes viral, maybe a hot take on Festool takes off—and you feel the pull. You want to hit those numbers again. So you start chasing what works instead of what matters.

It’s the YouTube version of junk food: fast, easy, and rewarding… until it isn’t.

Enter: Criticism Capture

This one’s even sneakier.

Criticism capture is when you’re not just making stuff for an audience but pre-defending your decisions in the build.

Instead of just saying, “I used a $5 bag of Quikrete,” you find yourself adding caveats:
“I know this isn’t how the pros do it…”
“I’ve talked to experts, and yeah, I get it…”
“I normally wouldn’t, but Reddit said…”

You’re not building anymore, you’re managing imaginary backlash from strangers who probably weren’t going to build anything anyway.

Seth Godin, author of 22 best selling books, once said this is why he turned off blog comments. His posts went from 200 words to 1,500 not because he had more to say, but because he was trying to preempt every possible complaint.

Why It Matters (Especially for Woodworkers)

Woodworking is personal. You’re shaping raw material into something functional, beautiful, and lasting. But when audience and criticism capture sneak in, you stop taking risks. You avoid weird ideas. You only build what’s “safe.”

And worst of all? You lose the joy.

So What Do You Do?

Here’s what I’m learning:

• Build the thing you actually want to build.
  
• Share it honestly—even the messy parts.
• Accept that criticism will come (especially from people who never hit record themselves).
• And maybe most importantly: remember why you started making in the first place.
  
  

Final Thoughts

If you're a creator in the woodworking world, or just someone who shares their builds online, you've probably felt this pull. The trick isn’t to ignore your audience. It’s to not let them quietly take the wheel.

Build cool stuff. Tell honest stories. And maybe… mute your imaginary comment section every now and then.