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"Stupid thumbnail" as a proxy for low quality is no longer a valid metric. The good channels have been, reluctantly or otherwise, mostly been forced into follow

by jerf 5y ago

"Stupid thumbnail" as a proxy for low quality is no longer a valid metric. The good channels have been, reluctantly or otherwise, mostly been forced into following suit.

drcongo 5y ago
Sadly this is true. I definitely used to use "stupid face" as a proxy for low quality but I've seen people who make good content doing it recently too, so now it all must go. I'm also painfully aware that I'm an old man shouting at clouds.
- mrguyorama 5y ago
  The reason for this is if your videos stop having a very high click-through rate, or impression-to-watch ratio, youtube stops recommending it as much, meaning your videos likely won't get as many views as they would have had youtube not interfered at all!
ryandrake 5y ago
But it is still a proxy for "content that the creator deliberately chooses to make irritating in order to appease the Algorithm Gods" which qualifies such content as "things I don't need more of in my life". Nobody has a gun to their head, forced to making "YouTube Face" thumbnails. "Incentivized" is probably the better word.
- Uehreka 5y ago
  They kind of do have a gun to their head, forcing them to make “YouTube Face” thumbnails. Like, if you’re proud of your work and want it to get seen at all, this is what you have to do. It sucks, but in many cases any trace of “annoying YouTube culture” vanishes the moment after you click and the whole video itself is good. If you want to turn down good videos so you can make a point, then go for it I guess. But you’re not likely to actually change anything.
  - ayushnix 5y ago
    > Like, if you’re proud of your work and want it to get seen at all, this is what you have to do. Assuming what you're saying is true, I wonder why channels like Rare Earth, Kraig Adams, Super Eyepatch Wolf, and 3Blue1Brown have their videos seen at all then.
    - jerf 5y ago
      I think all the channels you named were popular enough before the clickbait become nearly mandatory. The question is, if they restarted today could they also succeed without it? It's hard to know, but it's also hard to conclude that the deck wouldn't be that bit more stacked against them.
      - ayushnix 5y ago
        > I think all the channels you named were popular enough before the clickbait become nearly mandatory. If that's the case, their viewership and growth right now would either be stagnant or on a steady decline. Is that the case? I doubt it.

by jerf 5y ago

"Stupid thumbnail" as a proxy for low quality is no longer a valid metric. The good channels have been, reluctantly or otherwise, mostly been forced into following suit.

drcongo 5y ago

Sadly this is true. I definitely used to use "stupid face" as a proxy for low quality but I've seen people who make good content doing it recently too, so now it all must go. I'm also painfully aware that I'm an old man shouting at clouds.

mrguyorama 5y ago
The reason for this is if your videos stop having a very high click-through rate, or impression-to-watch ratio, youtube stops recommending it as much, meaning your videos likely won't get as many views as they would have had youtube not interfered at all!

ryandrake 5y ago

But it is still a proxy for "content that the creator deliberately chooses to make irritating in order to appease the Algorithm Gods" which qualifies such content as "things I don't need more of in my life". Nobody has a gun to their head, forced to making "YouTube Face" thumbnails. "Incentivized" is probably the better word.

Uehreka 5y ago
They kind of do have a gun to their head, forcing them to make “YouTube Face” thumbnails. Like, if you’re proud of your work and want it to get seen at all, this is what you have to do. It sucks, but in many cases any trace of “annoying YouTube culture” vanishes the moment after you click and the whole video itself is good. If you want to turn down good videos so you can make a point, then go for it I guess. But you’re not likely to actually change anything.
- ayushnix 5y ago
  > Like, if you’re proud of your work and want it to get seen at all, this is what you have to do. Assuming what you're saying is true, I wonder why channels like Rare Earth, Kraig Adams, Super Eyepatch Wolf, and 3Blue1Brown have their videos seen at all then.
  - jerf 5y ago
    I think all the channels you named were popular enough before the clickbait become nearly mandatory. The question is, if they restarted today could they also succeed without it? It's hard to know, but it's also hard to conclude that the deck wouldn't be that bit more stacked against them.
    - ayushnix 5y ago
      > I think all the channels you named were popular enough before the clickbait become nearly mandatory. If that's the case, their viewership and growth right now would either be stagnant or on a steady decline. Is that the case? I doubt it.