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I don't mind MrBeast, but what I really hate is how every other YouTuber has decided to copy his "screaming face" thumbnail strategy. My YouTube home page is fu

by amanzi 3y ago

I don't mind MrBeast, but what I really hate is how every other YouTuber has decided to copy his "screaming face" thumbnail strategy. My YouTube home page is full of screaming faces and bright text with some clickbait title. Even middle-age woodworkers (the polar-opposite audience to MrBeast) fall prey to this strategy, and I've started to unsubscribe from channels that insist on doing this.

andersrs 3y ago
[flagged]
- brvsft 3y ago
  Also known as "poggers"
dharmab 3y ago
They do it because it measurably improves viewership. Linus Tech Tips made a video about why they started doing it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DzRGBAUz5mA&pp=ygUMbHR0IHRodW5ibmFp https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DzRGBAUz5mA&pp=ygUMbHR0IHRodW5...
- 0x0203 3y ago
  I suspect that so many do it because it's so often repeated and taught that it works; but they figured out it works when looking at the whole of youtube videos, which percentage wise, is mostly targeted to a younger, less mature audience, and the content is made to match. When a channel's target audience is a similar demographic to the "average youtube viewer," it works very well. But I'd wager it doesn't work very well when the target audience doesn't match the average youtube viewer. I'd love to know if the people that measured and promote these bright, astonished-face, click-bait thumbnails ever bothered to test their effectiveness with different target demographics. My guess would be no. I really wish the people making videos on subjects like science/physics, engineering, woodworking, etc... would stop putting thumbnails and titles on their work that target an audience that isn't going to care/enjoy/understand the subject of the video. And maybe even keep some of the intended audience away.
  - noahtallen 3y ago
    > I'd love to know if the people that measured and promote these bright, astonished-face, click-bait thumbnails ever bothered to test their effectiveness with different target demographics They have bothered to test the effectiveness, and found that clickbait does work. (You'll sometimes see a video title change over time as creators try to find a title that drives more engagement.) The reality is that whatever gets more views or engagement is more valuable to creators -- target audience really doesn't matter. In this world, most of the money you get is from sponsorships and YouTube ad share, which requires raw views. (Something the "intended audience" doesn't care about!) For a creator trying to make money, the "intended audience" is whoever watches your videos. Does it matter to the creator if the "intended audience" is kept away when the creator ultimately makes more money by boosting views through clickbait?
  - dharmab 3y ago
    The video I linked specifically refutes much of your speculation. LTT included their data showing that the clickbait thumbnails improved viewership among their older-skewed audience.
6nf 3y ago
People copy the stupid excited face thumbnail because it works.
acheron 3y ago
Is that where it came from? I will never click on a video that does that.
- bobsmooth 3y ago
  Even if the video itself is really interesting? You'll judge a book by its cover?
  - acheron 3y ago
    Well, yes. It’s encouraging bad practices. Same reason I don’t read clickbait “journalism” articles, or click on ads, or respond to spam emails.
gimmeThaBeet 3y ago
I agree, like you can stow whatever commentary of envy and capitalism, I can tell you the precise reason I don't like MrBeast is the thumbnails. Absolutely sets off the uncanny valley alarms in my dumb lizard brain. And then like you mention, people have latched onto the aesthetic because it works, so it's all over the place. But it's just instant unease and feeling of "Absolutely not." that I don't get from something like e.g. this person does not exist. Very anti-asmr like.
memefrog 3y ago
I use Clickbait Remover for YouTube to disable this. It also fixes the FULL CAPS LOCK video titles that have become so popular. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clickbait-remover-for-youtube/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clickbait-rem...
SergeAx 3y ago
Hate to break it to you, but your YT homepage is filled with the content similar to that you are most interacting with. I never click on perverted faces, and if I see something really disgusting - I take a two second time to click "I don't like it"/"Don't recommend me things like this". Currently there's only two medium-cringe face out of 20 thumbs on my YT home page. Those are just recommendation algos, they are not specifically want to annoy you.

by amanzi 3y ago

andersrs 3y ago

[flagged]

brvsft 3y ago
Also known as "poggers"

dharmab 3y ago

They do it because it measurably improves viewership. Linus Tech Tips made a video about why they started doing it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DzRGBAUz5mA&pp=ygUMbHR0IHRodW5ibmFp https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DzRGBAUz5mA&pp=ygUMbHR0IHRodW5...

0x0203 3y ago
I suspect that so many do it because it's so often repeated and taught that it works; but they figured out it works when looking at the whole of youtube videos, which percentage wise, is mostly targeted to a younger, less mature audience, and the content is made to match. When a channel's target audience is a similar demographic to the "average youtube viewer," it works very well. But I'd wager it doesn't work very well when the target audience doesn't match the average youtube viewer. I'd love to know if the people that measured and promote these bright, astonished-face, click-bait thumbnails ever bothered to test their effectiveness with different target demographics. My guess would be no. I really wish the people making videos on subjects like science/physics, engineering, woodworking, etc... would stop putting thumbnails and titles on their work that target an audience that isn't going to care/enjoy/understand the subject of the video. And maybe even keep some of the intended audience away.
- noahtallen 3y ago
  > I'd love to know if the people that measured and promote these bright, astonished-face, click-bait thumbnails ever bothered to test their effectiveness with different target demographics They have bothered to test the effectiveness, and found that clickbait does work. (You'll sometimes see a video title change over time as creators try to find a title that drives more engagement.) The reality is that whatever gets more views or engagement is more valuable to creators -- target audience really doesn't matter. In this world, most of the money you get is from sponsorships and YouTube ad share, which requires raw views. (Something the "intended audience" doesn't care about!) For a creator trying to make money, the "intended audience" is whoever watches your videos. Does it matter to the creator if the "intended audience" is kept away when the creator ultimately makes more money by boosting views through clickbait?
- dharmab 3y ago
  The video I linked specifically refutes much of your speculation. LTT included their data showing that the clickbait thumbnails improved viewership among their older-skewed audience.

6nf 3y ago

People copy the stupid excited face thumbnail because it works.

acheron 3y ago

Is that where it came from? I will never click on a video that does that.

bobsmooth 3y ago
Even if the video itself is really interesting? You'll judge a book by its cover?
- acheron 3y ago
  Well, yes. It’s encouraging bad practices. Same reason I don’t read clickbait “journalism” articles, or click on ads, or respond to spam emails.

gimmeThaBeet 3y ago

I agree, like you can stow whatever commentary of envy and capitalism, I can tell you the precise reason I don't like MrBeast is the thumbnails. Absolutely sets off the uncanny valley alarms in my dumb lizard brain. And then like you mention, people have latched onto the aesthetic because it works, so it's all over the place. But it's just instant unease and feeling of "Absolutely not." that I don't get from something like e.g. this person does not exist. Very anti-asmr like.

memefrog 3y ago

I use Clickbait Remover for YouTube to disable this. It also fixes the FULL CAPS LOCK video titles that have become so popular. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clickbait-remover-for-youtube/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clickbait-rem...

SergeAx 3y ago

Hate to break it to you, but your YT homepage is filled with the content similar to that you are most interacting with. I never click on perverted faces, and if I see something really disgusting - I take a two second time to click "I don't like it"/"Don't recommend me things like this". Currently there's only two medium-cringe face out of 20 thumbs on my YT home page. Those are just recommendation algos, they are not specifically want to annoy you.