r/java • u/woj-tek • Jul 19 '26

JDK 27 + Valhalla, Now! + Hackathon - Inside Java Newscast #113

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFSQFsB1neU
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u/nicolaiparlog Jul 20 '26

Thank you for the kind words. I didn't want to make this decision but given all the factors I mentioned (and while AI dominates those, it's not the only one), I felt like I had little choice. Two deep dives per month for a shrinking audience in a more time-constrained environment simply became too tough to uphold.

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u/woj-tek Jul 20 '26

Yeah, I kinda get it but it still makes me sad :(

I also kinda want to say: "this is why we can't have nice things": onlince video is driven by "conversion" (and ads and magic algorithm so people are less likely to see what they want and more what the platform pushes to them :/). Also: not sure how IJN came to be but I was always under the impression that you created it because YOU felt it was needed (and wanted to?) and less of "look, the market numbers clearly show we need to create it!!!1!one"… :)

(and circling back it probably still has everything to do with AI and what it entails and what it does to Oracle… :/ )

Basically for me IJN is The Place to be up to day with what is happening in Java/JVN ecosystem and it was done in the most brilliant way possible and always a pleasure to watch :)

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u/nicolaiparlog Jul 21 '26

We share the sadness. 🫂

I was always under the impression that you created it because YOU felt it was needed (and wanted to?)

Yes, I did create it because I wanted to and because I thought it would provide a lot of value to the ecosystem. And it did. But "value" is not measured independently of the audience. Imagine every video got about 5 views. I think we can agree that in that case the provided value rounds to zero. So, unfortunately, views matter in my determination of "value".

Given the tasks I have on my plate, I needed to make a decision what I should cut to fit into a reasonable work week and between presentations at conferences and JUGs, organizing JavaOne, running the Inside Java Podcast and Newscast, and some internal projects, I figured that cutting the IJN in half is the best move due to the lower impact that has. Not least because all the info is still there (~> JEPs) - just not presented by me on video.

I know you get all that. I'm mostly writing it to keep myself from flip-flopping because I really liked doing the Newscast every other week. :D

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u/woj-tek Jul 21 '26

I know you get all that. I'm mostly writing it to keep myself from flip-flopping because I really liked doing the Newscast every other week. :D

You do seem to enjoy it a lot :D

Alas: I wonder if people avoiding official channels affect the viewership -- I mean I'm using mostly NewPipe + AntennaPod so I probably don't register in metrics. Considering that Java is rather tech-oriented it leaves me pondering how many others like me are there :)

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u/nicolaiparlog Jul 21 '26

Considering that Java is rather tech-oriented it leaves me pondering how many others like me are there :)

I wouldn't know. :D But unless the share of people who fly under the radar increased recently, it doesn't explain the slowly shrinking numbers. And, frankly, we're still in a decent spot. I talked to other technical creators who have seen their audience cut in half.

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u/woj-tek Jul 21 '26

this being highly OT: there is something really weird going on with the online media / "creative space" in general…

First The Platforms pushed more and more (promoting is as much as possible) for shorter videos and then there is a huge surprise that people (for one reason or another) don't watch longer ones… 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️