What Happened to Bite Size Vegan & What's Next?

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

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

Did I die?

Am I coming back?
Am I still vegan?

(Sarcastic snort) Please...

Well, it's time for some answers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'll be devoting time to:

creating free eCourses;

writing free comprehensive downloadable 
guides for all stages of veganism;

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

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

Plus, not to bore you with the details,

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

website updates, social media management

...and I've lost most of you.

Moving on...

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

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

BiteSizeVegan.org/Subscribe

or follow Bite Size Vegan on Telegram

at BiteSizeVegan.org/Telegram.

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

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

followed, clicked a bell, done a magic incantation and

notification dance to the gods of GoogleInstaBookTube

So the newsletter and, even more so,

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

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

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

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

as well as how to convey the progress and victories.

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

Until mind-meld technology 
becomes a thing.

Nope...still not there...

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

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

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

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

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

and provide free resources and tools to the community.

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

an advanced guided search for finding just what you need

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

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

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

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

and quiz questions for a complete educational experience;

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

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

bringing together the accessibility 
of engaging digital and social media content

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

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

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

Good luck!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BiteSizeVegan.org/NewSiteTour

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

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

so shifting to a nonprofit made the most sense.

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

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

time of reading dense governmental regulatory documentation

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

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

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

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

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

(Yay).

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

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

spoke on three panels at the National Animal 
Rights Conference:

Veganism as Social Deviance,

The Power of Language and Rhetoric,

and The Power of Videos in Advocating for Animal Rights;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and their subsequent rescue.

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

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

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

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

check it out at
BiteSizeVegan.org/AliveByAccident

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

"Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers."

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

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

humane labels and animal welfare legislation.

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

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

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

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

When I had to stop regular content production,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's difficult to explain why exactly.

The reasons varied with each situation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

is a source of great frustration.

Accepting that is still very much a work in progress.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

I chose to make Bite Size Vegan digitally-based—

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

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

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

I still stand behind this mission;

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

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

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

the platforms demand constant output.

While I believe in quality over quantity,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and the demands of social media.

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

or my own sanity.

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

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

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

You just are.

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

Google!

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

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

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

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

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

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

through uncertain and tumultuous times.

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

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

No matter what, I refuse to give up.

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

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

They deserve everything I have to give

and I intend to give them my everything.

I hope to have you along this journey with me.

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

for the most reliable notifications.

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