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A lot of you have been asking: 
What's going on with Bite Size Vegan?

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Where have I been? 
What have I been up to?

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Did I die?

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Am I coming back? 
Am I still vegan?

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(Sarcastic snort) Please...

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Well, it's time for some answers.

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(Music, the sound of a pen on paper, bird song, animals and insect noises)

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Hi, it's Emily from BiteSizeVegan.org, where you can find 
free resources, eCourses, kids' content,

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and a Guided Search to help you find just what 
you need, even if you don't know what to ask!

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I have been wanting to update all of you for so very, very 
long about all the developments with Bite Size Vegan.

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While I've been doing my best to keep my patrons in the loop,

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I know that—for the most part—there's been 
radio silence on my social media platforms.

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A lot has happened since I had to stop 
regular content production in order

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to focus on the foundational and internal 
aspects of Bite Size Vegan.

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While there's no way for me to run through everything, 
I wanted to touch on a few highlights.

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But first, I wanted to tell you what 
to expect from me moving forward.

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I will be moving back into producing 
new content on a regular basis.

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However, my video release frequency will not be the same as 
it used to be because, in addition to the videos,

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I'll be devoting time to:

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creating free eCourses;

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writing free comprehensive downloadable 
guides for all stages of veganism;

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enhancing the accessibility tools and resources for all 
existing and new content on BiteSizeVegan.org;

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and ensuring that I can continue providing 
quality content at a sustainable pace.

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Plus, not to bore you with the details,

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but there is a lot that has to happen behind 
the scenes—like accounting, data management,

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website updates, social media management

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...and I've lost most of you.

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Moving on...

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If you want to be sure to hear about new Bite Size Vegan content,

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I'd encourage you to either sign up 
for the newsletter at

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BiteSizeVegan.org/Subscribe

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or follow Bite Size Vegan on Telegram

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at BiteSizeVegan.org/Telegram.

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If you haven't noticed, social media platforms 
have continued to make it more and more difficult

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to have anyone notified of new content, even if you've subscribed,

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followed, clicked a bell, done a magic incantation and

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notification dance to the gods of GoogleInstaBookTube

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So the newsletter and, even more so,

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Telegram are the most reliable ways to ensure you're notified.

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So, what have I been up to this whole time?

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I have to say that I've struggled greatly with how to communicate 
the last handful of years in some abbreviated summary.

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I equally struggled with how much of the difficulties to share,

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as well as how to convey the progress and victories.

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I've had to accept that it's simply 
not possible to encapsulate everything.

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Until mind-meld technology 
becomes a thing.

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Nope...still not there...

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I'd like to start with the biggest 
announcement that I'm the most excited about.

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I'll then share other activities 
from the last few years, and finally,

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address why I've been largely 
absent from social media platforms.

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One of the main projects I've been pouring my 
heart and soul into is the complete rebuild of

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BiteSizeVegan.org from the ground up. 
To serve as the epicenter of Bite Size Vegan content

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and provide free resources and tools to the community.

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Non-vegans, new vegans, and activists 
alike can utilize new feature such as:

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an advanced guided search for finding just what you need

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allowing you to create living curated results pages 
for yourself, generate vegan cheat-sheets,

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or send specific resources to non-vegan friends 
and family, with a custom note and everything;

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“Get Started” guides 
for every phase of your vegan journey;

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free eCourses that combine Bite Size Vegan 
videos with new course content

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and quiz questions for a complete educational experience;

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and ways to search for content by topic, or 
browse all content using powerful filters.

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I've always intended for Bite Size Vegan to be 
a living library of information about veganism,

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bringing together the accessibility 
of engaging digital and social media content

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with the integrity and depth of research-backed, 
transparently-cited educational content.

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However, before rebuilding the site, 
trying to find what you needed was

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like walking into a library with a big pile of books 
in the middle of the room.

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Good luck!

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Information is only as effective as one's ability to find it.

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I founded Bite Size Vegan on the belief 
that everyone deserves access to solid, factual information

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on issues impacting their health, our planet, society, and the lives of other sentient beings.

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With this belief at heart, I poured countless hours
and taught myself a few computer programming languages

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to make it easier than ever to find exactly what you're looking for.

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I'm so excited to give you an overview of the 
new features in a dedicated video.

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Of course, you can check them out for yourself 
now at

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BiteSizeVegan.org/NewSiteTour

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Another significant change is that Bite Size Vegan 
is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

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In my mind, Bite Size Vegan has always been intended as a public service,

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so shifting to a nonprofit made the most sense.

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Though the process was far more extensive than I’d realized

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and I cannot ever get back the mind-numbing, soul-sucking

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time of reading dense governmental regulatory documentation

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I felt it was important to align Bite Size Vegan's structure with its mission.

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Bite Size Vegan being a nonprofit doesn't 
mean it's now a large organization.

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It's still just me. I’ll explain why that’s the 
case later in this announcement.

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As always, any support goes directly into the creation 
of more educational content and resources,

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but now, your donations are tax-deductible to 
the fullest extent allowable by law.

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(Yay).

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Not everything during this time was 
mind-numbing admin and dense computer coding.

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I also delivered speeches around the United 
States to primarily non-vegan audiences;

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spoke on three panels at the National Animal 
Rights Conference:

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Veganism as Social Deviance,

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The Power of Language and Rhetoric,

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and The Power of Videos in Advocating for Animal Rights;

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and had the honor of speaking, via Skype, to vegan activists 
in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia at the Animal Activists Forum.

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I published the Sydney speech, entitled "How to Speak Non-Vegan:
Effective Activism Through Mindful Language,"

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so if you happened to miss it, be sure to check it out at BiteSizeVegan.org/UseYourWords.

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If you've ever struggled with how to effectively speak 
to non-vegans about veganism

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and especially how to communicate your message without
sacrificing your integrity, that's the speech for you.

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A completely unplanned project during this time was the 
Alive by Accident documentary.

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On my first visit to Iowa Farm Sanctuary, our state’s 
first and only vegan farmed animal sanctuary

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IFS co-founder Shawn, received a call from her 
husband, alerting us that a semi truck

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carrying cows to slaughter had flipped 
on a highway about 45 minutes away.

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In the two-part documentary, I chronicled that fatal livestock trailer 
accident, which granted eight cows bound for slaughter a chance at life

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and their subsequent rescue.

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In part one of Alive by Accident, you join Shawn and me as we visit 
the crash site, begin the long search for survivors,

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and finally bring the eight surviving 
boys to their new forever home.

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In part two, you get to meet the survivors—each an individual in their own right.

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For those of you who have 
yet to watch the documentary,

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check it out at 
BiteSizeVegan.org/AliveByAccident

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The final project I want to highlight 
is the new book:

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"Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers."

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It is a comprehensive collection of compelling essays 
from a diverse group of vegan voices.

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I had the honor of contributing to the book with my essay 
"The Harm of 'Humane,'" which delves into the reality behind

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humane labels and animal welfare legislation.

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If you missed the announcement about Vegan Voices, 
you can learn more at BiteSizeVegan.org/VeganVoicesRelease.

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This incredible book is all thanks 
to author and editor Dr. Joanne Kong.

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Now that I’ve shared some highlights 
of what I've done during this time,

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I'd like to do my best to explain why Bite 
Size Vegan is still—for the most part—just me.

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When I had to stop regular content production,

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one of my primary focuses was to bring in other 
people through a combination of

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professional service providers, a central employee, 
and a team of volunteers.

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Delegation always appeared to be the most logical solution to 
the ever-increasing demands of Bite Size Vegan.

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Coordinating volunteers, assistants, or 
employees is a full time job in and of itself,

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so I'd never been able to do so while actively 
producing content.

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I was cautiously optimistic that I'd be able to find and 
involve others with Bite Size Vegan

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such that I could focus on what I'm good at and leave the rest to them.

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However, despite many, many efforts, this simply hasn't been the case.

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It's difficult to explain why exactly.

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The reasons varied with each situation.

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Aside from financial considerations, a major factor 
complicating this entire area is the nature of my Autism.

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Despite what you see in my videos and speeches,
communication is profoundly challenging for me

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especially when it comes to logistical things I'm 
uncertain about and emotionally close to.

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In order to communicate what, to many, 
may be the most basic logistics

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for me requires such extreme time and mental energy 
that I'm left with neither to focus on my actual work.

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I've had to accept that I must find a way forward that 
works for me, with all my challenges and limitations.

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This means, in part, that involving others will remain 
much more limited than I’d like.

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I appreciate that this will 
not make sense to many people.

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My inability to communicate the nature of 
my difficulties with—well—communication,

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is a source of great frustration.

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Accepting that is still very much a work in progress.

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Before wrapping up, I'd like to address my apparent absence from social media.

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My infrequent activity has not been due to 
my walking away—far from it.

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The catch 22 of social media is that 
creating the "appearance" of activity

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meaning regular output on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, 
consumes so much time that it inhibits actual activity and work.

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This may not be the case for everyone, but for me, as an Autistic, 
I have to shut those doors to be able to focus on what's important.

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So, what may have appeared from the outside as 
a period of inactivity was, in fact, quite the opposite

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I was working extremely hard on a number of fronts, 
some of which I've already covered.

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The nature of social media platform 
algorithms has been—and remains—the primary barrier for me

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when it comes to finding a sustainable way to operate Bite Size Vegan.

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I chose to make Bite Size Vegan digitally-based—

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utilizing social media in order to increase access 
to solid information that's usually made inaccessible

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either through paywalls, educational requirements, or the sheer 
lack of time most people have to conduct in-depth research.

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I wanted to reach people where they are, which—
for better or worse—tends to be social media.

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I still stand behind this mission;

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open-access to researched, non-biased information is a passion of mine that runs as deep as my veganism.

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However, the reality of social media algorithms is that, in order for my content to actually reach people

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for subscribers and followers to be notified, as well as for the
content to be recommended to others

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the platforms demand constant output.

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While I believe in quality over quantity,

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less frequent social media posts means that the content 
I do create reaches less and less people.

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Yet, the logistics of writing and producing the kind of content I do

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at the pace demanded by social platforms was—and is—simply impossible in the end.

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So, I'm left with the options of either:

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1. producing less content and maintaining quality, 
but sacrificing the reach of that content, or

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2. producing shorter, simpler, fluffier content more frequently, thus 
sacrificing the integrity of the content—though, perhaps increasing reach.

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One of my focuses during this period of limited content production 
has been finding how to balance the goals of Bite Size Vegan

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and the demands of social media.

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Or, more so, how to reach people with Bite Size Vegan content
and resources without compromising the integrity of the content

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or my own sanity.

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I have to admit, I'm still unsure of how to achieve this.

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This is one of the reasons I'm encouraging you to subscribe to the newsletter 
or follow the Bite Size Vegan Telegram channel.

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Telegram doesn't operate on an algorithm to decide for you if you really want 
to be notified of Bite Size Vegan content.

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You just are.

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Same with the newsletter, aside from spam 
folder and Gmail Promotions tab issues.

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00:13:17,506 --> 00:13:18,497
Google!

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I've always erred on the side of integrity over reach,

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though it is frustrating as my goal is to 
reach as many people as I can about veganism.

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But I also have to ensure that the message 
I’m reaching them with isn't diluted.

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So, my mantra has become: quality over quantity; substance over social media.

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I want to thank everyone who has been so patient and supportive 
during this time of transition for me and Bite Size Vegan.

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To my family on Patreon, and independent supporters, 
whose steadfast encouragement has been a rock for me

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through uncertain and tumultuous times.

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To everyone who's not given up on Bite Size Vegan

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your belief in the importance of what I've set out
to do has spurred me onwards.

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No matter what, I refuse to give up.

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Everyone deserves to know the truth. 
Our planet deserves our attention and care.

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More than anything, the sentient beings in our animal 
products industries deserve freedom and safety.

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They deserve everything I have to give

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and I intend to give them my everything.

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I hope to have you along this journey with me.

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To stay in the loop about new Bite Size Vegan content and updates, 
remember to subscribe to the newsletter or follow the Telegram channel

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for the most reliable notifications.

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Now go live vegan, and I'll see you soon.