A slightly unusual video from the fantastic Technology Connections channel. It articulates a lot of my own thoughts on social media, “algorithms” and AI.
What surprised me the most was the statistic that only 3% of author’s views come from the subscriptions feed. This is wild to me because subscriptions are pretty much the only way I have ever used YouTube.
I think I read somewhere that the majority of views typically come from videos being recommended on users’ home pages. That is the reason why content creators focus so much on the youtube algorithm, since if their videos don’t get recommended, they don’t get as many views.
(I haven’t watched the linked video, so that may be exactly what they talk about)
Well the 3% is just interesting tidbit, but the video should be watched by everyone.
The main point is that we are being trained to not think independently and let the sites tell us what to think. Our current political situation is exactly because of this.
On an unrelated note do you feel youtube videos feel more corperate/professional nowadays?
Speaking as an actual former editor, nooo.
I’ve found YouTube has lowered the bar on video production standards as tools became more accessible to the general public.
The shorts I worked on (actual productions with scripts, crews, etc) have much higher expectations and understand, collectively, they are producing a work.
You can slap together a camera, some mics, lights, and a host, and call it professional, but it ain’t gunna make it so.
Corporate however, yeah. Looots of sponsors out there; tons of shrilling. Definitely loads more of that these days.