Not sure that big business favouritism is the intent, but it’s definitely more lucrative for them. Especially with Vimeo and other alternatives out there.
I remember when streaming took off in a big way - some on YT and others on justin.tv (later Twitch and now Amazon’s Twitch) - and I thought you’d have to be objectively bonkers to rely upon an opaque and ever-changing algorithm for your financial future. Some have gamed it well, but it’s pretty easy to see how they’ve survived - fake shock/reaction content, alt-light or worse content, polarising opinion, thinly-veiled advertorials, and so on.
But, economically speaking, you get what you incentivise for: if you can game the system and get the click/eyeball ratio, then they’re going to do that.
Yeah, I’m just saying that some exceptions break through. Some YouTubers make content that is so good that people outside of YouTube consistently share the shit out of it. They don’t need the click bate for the initial boost, they get the boost from sharing off the platform.
I think you’ve got the right approach, FWIW.
Not sure that big business favouritism is the intent, but it’s definitely more lucrative for them. Especially with Vimeo and other alternatives out there.
I remember when streaming took off in a big way - some on YT and others on justin.tv (later Twitch and now Amazon’s Twitch) - and I thought you’d have to be objectively bonkers to rely upon an opaque and ever-changing algorithm for your financial future. Some have gamed it well, but it’s pretty easy to see how they’ve survived - fake shock/reaction content, alt-light or worse content, polarising opinion, thinly-veiled advertorials, and so on.
I’d argue that there are a couple of studios that are still mostly focusing on making good content, not click bate.
Maybe I’m crazy, but I think YouTubers like MKBHD are generally playing it straight. Trying to stay on top by getting better and better content.
Although, these people tend to burnout eventually. They have to keep running a faster mile.
I definitely admire the integrity and the effort.
But, economically speaking, you get what you incentivise for: if you can game the system and get the click/eyeball ratio, then they’re going to do that.
Yeah, I’m just saying that some exceptions break through. Some YouTubers make content that is so good that people outside of YouTube consistently share the shit out of it. They don’t need the click bate for the initial boost, they get the boost from sharing off the platform.
Patreon and Merch ALSO allow a lot of youtubers to survive without having ro rely on Monetization from Youtube