The Current State of Social Media/YouTube

[Stef]

I found myself agreeing with a lot of points made by Chris Crocker on a new video he posted. What do you all think.

 

[Michael]

I agree with most of what he says there, it has changed dramatically and the effects of all these changes are rather clear, I mean look at how hard it is for people to get noticed compared to when YouTube first started, these people did obviously work hard for where they are but I doubt it was anywhere near as hard as the people I see struggling all the time.

Of course they must have their reasons for controlling it all to such an extent but I feel things have really spoiled a lot of peoples experiences and lead to a lot of lost chances.

I think the new YouTube layout is partially responsible, I know when I would do backgrounds around a year ago there were loads of people using them who just went to YouTube to socialise and make videos every now and then but nowadays it is way more serious and 100% more focused on money than having fun and networking with others. I think all these people have likely left now and its taken a lot of the fun and soul out of it all, you either have a full on professional brand, equipment and video gear or youre not likely to get big on there.

To be honest I am kinda sick of seeing the same people up there all the time as the big shots, I mean, video is like watching TV, do you think we sit and watch like 20 or so channels every day and continue to be entertained. I personally aint I need new stuff, variety and more genuine stuff shoved in my face where its been done because they love to film and have fun and have big dreams.

Everything is just business these days

 

[FlipRJ]

while I agree that Youtube is changing, I wouldn't say it's because of corporations or whatever. I think it's just a change in what people enjoy. I mean, I watch a lot of edited videos which I think are amazing. I mean, I don't feel that edited videos are that bad. I mean, this is coming from the guy who does skits and films with not much emphasis on vlogging, so obviously my opinions lean in that direction.

Yes, back in the day, vloggers were awesome. Now a days, it's really hard to find the genuine people who vlog and entertain. I agree with Chris Crocker on that. And I also agree that there is a lot of stuff there that isn't necessarily what appealed to the audience of the early youtube. But it's just a sign of the times. Youtube was new and was a place for expression, and still is. Then people realized you can use it as a tool (advertise your business, promote traffic to your site). So with this said, corporations and the hunt for money has indeed affected youtube, but I can't necessarily place all the blame on them.

In my opinion, it all rests on the viewers. But the viewer has to go through a lot of "stuff", for lack of a better term, to find the diamond in the rough, the needle in the haystack. Once again, I don't think that's the corporations fault, I think its just because there is a MASSIVE amount of youtube channels, compared to when it was starting out.

that's my two cents, lol I'm gonna be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I just wrote. if something doesn't make sense, feel free to call me out on it, haha

 

[Michael]

while I agree that Youtube is changing, I wouldn't say it's because of corporations or whatever. I think it's just a change in what people enjoy. I mean, I watch a lot of edited videos which I think are amazing. I mean, I don't feel that edited videos are that bad. I mean, this is coming from the guy who does skits and films with not much emphasis on vlogging, so obviously my opinions lean in that direction.

Yes, back in the day, vloggers were awesome. Now a days, it's really hard to find the genuine people who vlog and entertain. I agree with Chris Crocker on that. And I also agree that there is a lot of stuff there that isn't necessarily what appealed to the audience of the early youtube. But it's just a sign of the times. Youtube was new and was a place for expression, and still is. Then people realized you can use it as a tool (advertise your business, promote traffic to your site). So with this said, corporations and the hunt for money has indeed affected youtube, but I can't necessarily place all the blame on them.

In my opinion, it all rests on the viewers. But the viewer has to go through a lot of "stuff", for lack of a better term, to find the diamond in the rough, the needle in the haystack. Once again, I don't think that's the corporations fault, I think its just because there is a MASSIVE amount of youtube channels, compared to when it was starting out.

that's my two cents, lol I'm gonna be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I just wrote. if something doesn't make sense, feel free to call me out on it, haha

I definitely see where you are coming from with that, peoples taste have changed and their expectancies, they expect fancy editing or they might become bored and how dare anyone have poor lighting these days

It seems so many different things have made this happen but YouTube could try and make it a little easier for the diamonds to get noticed.

 

[ForeverAlonePrick]

Despite getting a lot of hate, I like Chris Crocker a lot, for various reasons. I agree that it's much more difficult to become anything by yourself. You can still get a level of notoriety, and people still get to the top on their own, like the Overly Attached Girlfriend, but for the most part what he's saying is dead on. The problem though is that this little media is being taken over by the "mainstream".

 

[Michael]

I am just waiting on them bringing out a TV channel or something where you can see videos from the homepage with ads in between them or something like that. "Hit like on your TV remote now if you enjoyed this" YouTube 2017

 

[FlipRJ]

I am just waiting on them bringing out a TV channel or something where you can see videos from the homepage with ads in between them or something like that. "Hit like on your TV remote now if you enjoyed this" YouTube 2017

actually, I was watching a 20 minute short film once, and I got interrupted by ads TWICE during the course of the video. I wasn't exactly p****d cuz I could skip and I liked the film, but it just made me think "This just got very tv episody")

 

[Simon Johnson]

Oh chris crocker... I slightly went off him after seeing a video where he was basically screaming at people >.< lol

I don't think it's dying, because everyday there is something new! something new goes viral, videos from the unlikeliest of places!

I mean we had the girl who did all the Pokemon voices
A dustbin being carried away in a flood with ''exterminaaaate'' voiced over
old man teaches you how to eat a Watermelon
and my personal favourite - how to make a video go viral (the basic step was add Pikachu. lol)

I dunno I think there are gems on YouTube and we all create our own tv programme schedule with our search

 

[ForeverAlonePrick]

actually, I was watching a 20 minute short film once, and I got interrupted by ads TWICE during the course of the video. I wasn't exactly p****d cuz I could skip and I liked the film, but it just made me think "This just got very tv episody")

That's true. Then again, people have to make some form of a living off of this, and the ad revenue is how they do it. If they couldn't monetize the videos, they wouldn't be able to make as much content.

 

[ViciousCritic]

I think he's witnessing the result of increased competition, from both the average Joe and corporations. It wasn't that long ago that major media companies were battling YouTube to have their content removed. At that point, everyone criticized them for not getting on board. Now, they are on board, and their popularity overshadows the millions of internet hopefuls out there. The increase in competition from amateurs is likely due to the success (fame and fortune) of people like Chris Crocker. Further, the cost of video equipment has dropped considerably, while filmmaking knowledge has increased.

There is actually an opportunity in this phenomenon, which is not limited to just videos. Soon (if not already), there will be so much content online that people will turn to curators to help them find good content. Using a combination of manual selection, viewer voting and algorithms, there is still hope for the average man (or woman).[DOUBLEPOST=1345783567,1345781991][/DOUBLEPOST]In a different, but related, note. I also have my videos on sites other than YouTube, most notably Blip.tv. While the traffic is much lower and their requirements are much more strict regarding the type of content (web series only, not vlogs and gaming walk-throughs), it's much easier to get noticed and even get on the front page.

Has anyone else had any success in YouTube alternatives?