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Masterclass has hacked the algorithm. Their ads are pretty great and I feel like I'm learning a little and often watch the entire thing, even if I have no inter

Masterclass has hacked the algorithm. Their ads are pretty great and I feel like I'm learning a little and often watch the entire thing, even if I have no interest in paying for the full course.

acomjean 7y ago
I've watched a few MasterClass ads whole way though. They have some funny bits and are well produced. My favorite was the DJ who has the mouse helmet(Deadmau5): noting from personal experience, if you are uncomfortable on stage it helps to wear a giant helmet. Here's a link if you want to watch a 2 minute ad (if youtube is to be believed 31 million people have watched it.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtj6dDARgfQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtj6dDARgfQ I've skipped a fair number too.. They are long. I have no idea how they get experts in certain fields to do these classes.
scottLobster 7y ago
Really? I haven't done a survey of Masterclass ads but I've had the opposite experience. Every one of them seems to be 90% highly-produced "inspirational" fluff with maybe one or two interesting one-liners that may or may not be bullshit. Haven't actually taken a course myself. I'll admit their ads got me to check out their site given the big names they've managed to attract, so they did their job, but it looks like their programs are yet another "we'll sell you lectures with zero practical exercises or applications for $X/month so you can sound smart at parties" service. I guess it might be useful for 17 year olds picking a college major or exposing people to brand new topics, or professionals already in the relevant field looking for tips, but that's about it. Watching Penn & Teller's Masterclass isn't going to teach you how to be a professional magician, Aaron Sorkin isn't going to teach you how to be a professional screenwriter, and Chris Hadfield isn't going to teach you how to be an astronaut or engineer. It's like paying $180 to read the back of the book of a profession.
- djtriptych 7y ago
  Yeah this is fair. But there are so many topics I know almost nothing about that would be interesting to get an exponent to ELI5. Negotiation / Photography / Writing / Fashion. I know next to nothing about all these things. The ones I do know a little about, say chess, may not be as enriching but I don't mind watching Kasparov go over the basics... Really I haven't bought it and I'm not sure why. If I could pick an episode from the chess class it'd help me decide but doesn't seem like that's possible.
  - ratww 7y ago
    Oh, man... I've watched quite a few of those Masterclasses and all the ones I saw are pretty much badly conducted interviews and anecdotes, with zero structure or preparation. Even the editing leaves a lot to be desired. A professional journalist/interviewer would cut most of them to 1/3 of the length. Most of the content sits in this weird intersection of being completely useless to beginners and being too basic for intermediate/advanced practitioners. For $180 it's not even useful for parties, it's just a long interview for fans of the person.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- FireBeyond 7y ago
  Yeah, I watched Annie Liebowitz on "how to be a photographer". There was some discussion on moods and moments, which is fine. Ironically, what I learned was that most of the time, she works more as a creative director - she's at a laptop. Someone else is pressing the trigger, and then in post processing, someone else is doing that too, to her direction.
Fellshard 7y ago
That, and they're selling something that people are vastly more likely to check out at this moment in time, so all they really need to do is bid a bit higher than all the others who have tuned their bids down.
gherkinnn 7y ago
Yup. Masterclass and Grammarly ads get me every time. I have zero interest in becoming an author but I can't but help to watch them to the end. Except that one "Anita the boss across the room" ad. God, I hate it.

Masterclass has hacked the algorithm. Their ads are pretty great and I feel like I'm learning a little and often watch the entire thing, even if I have no interest in paying for the full course.

acomjean 7y ago

I've watched a few MasterClass ads whole way though. They have some funny bits and are well produced. My favorite was the DJ who has the mouse helmet(Deadmau5): noting from personal experience, if you are uncomfortable on stage it helps to wear a giant helmet. Here's a link if you want to watch a 2 minute ad (if youtube is to be believed 31 million people have watched it.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtj6dDARgfQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtj6dDARgfQ I've skipped a fair number too.. They are long. I have no idea how they get experts in certain fields to do these classes.

scottLobster 7y ago

Really? I haven't done a survey of Masterclass ads but I've had the opposite experience. Every one of them seems to be 90% highly-produced "inspirational" fluff with maybe one or two interesting one-liners that may or may not be bullshit. Haven't actually taken a course myself. I'll admit their ads got me to check out their site given the big names they've managed to attract, so they did their job, but it looks like their programs are yet another "we'll sell you lectures with zero practical exercises or applications for $X/month so you can sound smart at parties" service. I guess it might be useful for 17 year olds picking a college major or exposing people to brand new topics, or professionals already in the relevant field looking for tips, but that's about it. Watching Penn & Teller's Masterclass isn't going to teach you how to be a professional magician, Aaron Sorkin isn't going to teach you how to be a professional screenwriter, and Chris Hadfield isn't going to teach you how to be an astronaut or engineer. It's like paying $180 to read the back of the book of a profession.

djtriptych 7y ago
Yeah this is fair. But there are so many topics I know almost nothing about that would be interesting to get an exponent to ELI5. Negotiation / Photography / Writing / Fashion. I know next to nothing about all these things. The ones I do know a little about, say chess, may not be as enriching but I don't mind watching Kasparov go over the basics... Really I haven't bought it and I'm not sure why. If I could pick an episode from the chess class it'd help me decide but doesn't seem like that's possible.
- ratww 7y ago
  Oh, man... I've watched quite a few of those Masterclasses and all the ones I saw are pretty much badly conducted interviews and anecdotes, with zero structure or preparation. Even the editing leaves a lot to be desired. A professional journalist/interviewer would cut most of them to 1/3 of the length. Most of the content sits in this weird intersection of being completely useless to beginners and being too basic for intermediate/advanced practitioners. For $180 it's not even useful for parties, it's just a long interview for fans of the person.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
FireBeyond 7y ago
Yeah, I watched Annie Liebowitz on "how to be a photographer". There was some discussion on moods and moments, which is fine. Ironically, what I learned was that most of the time, she works more as a creative director - she's at a laptop. Someone else is pressing the trigger, and then in post processing, someone else is doing that too, to her direction.

Fellshard 7y ago

That, and they're selling something that people are vastly more likely to check out at this moment in time, so all they really need to do is bid a bit higher than all the others who have tuned their bids down.

gherkinnn 7y ago

Yup. Masterclass and Grammarly ads get me every time. I have zero interest in becoming an author but I can't but help to watch them to the end. Except that one "Anita the boss across the room" ad. God, I hate it.