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by geerlingguy 1678 days ago
Getting fewer views (and likely much reduced watch time) means YouTube's algorithm quickly buries your video.

You and I might use subscriptions on YouTube (just like I prefer RSS), but 99% of viewers for some reason just go to the home page and click on things YouTube recommends (regardless of whether they subscribe to a channel).

If you don't get recommended, you don't get views, and it's even less likely that regular viewers (outside the few who actually check their subscriptions page) will engage with your videos.
2 comments
KronisLV 1678 days ago
It's curious and pleasant to see some people taking a stance on this issue, by exploring other venues apart from YouTube.

For example, Luke Smith hosts many of his videos over on Odysee nowadays: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@Luke:7

Also, Bryan Lunduke also moved over to Locals and has generally expressed that it's a more pleasant community: https://lunduke.locals.com/

Of course, i don't doubt that it's akin to financial suicide for anyone who relies on YouTube as their main source of income, but if nothing else, it's nice to see people standing up for their principles, instead of selling out and trying to build their platform on another site that can end their presence at will.

I guess only time will show whether there ever will be any financially feasible alternatives to YouTube, though.

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ryandrake 1678 days ago
> Getting fewer views (and likely much reduced watch time) means YouTube's algorithm quickly buries your video.

Question remains: so what? Unless you are monetizing your videos and intend to make significant money from “engagement”, why would someone single-minded let optimize for views or algorithm-friendliness?

For this guy, I guess he’s trying to make a living from YouTube, so I guess… by all means growth hack your video thumbnail. But for the rest of the video uploaders, absent a desire to monetize, a video with 100 views is no worse for the uploader than a video with 100,000 views.

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sorenjan 1678 days ago
You're responding to the guy that made the video.

My guess is that everyone that uploads videos with catchy titles and thumbnails wants to monetize their videos eventually. Even if money isn't a motivation, getting more views probably has a value in itself for most content creators.

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