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I like Numberphile, but I wasn't aware of its history of being a Google-commissioned channel: > In 2011, Google commissioned the creation of 100 YouTube channe

I like Numberphile, but I wasn't aware of its history of being a Google-commissioned channel: > In 2011, Google commissioned the creation of 100 YouTube channels to boost traffic to the video-sharing site > ... > “It seemed very unlikely that a maths channel would catch on,” remembers Math Horizons associate editor James Grime, who was among the fledgling channel’s founding presenters. Well, perhaps it's more likely to succeed when it's one of only 100 channels commissioned and presumably endorsed by Google. I don't know why this leaves such a bad taste in my mouth, because Numberphile really is an incredible channel with content I enjoy watching... but I guess it makes me wonder how many similar channels never got the same opportunity or exposure? FWIW, I also like 3blue1brown, although now I'm wondering if that was commissioned by Google too...

legobmw99 3y ago
2011 was a different time in terms of starting channels, I think. Plenty of the ones they provided funding for [1] didn’t really turn into anything, but a few ended up being very big deals (Crash Course sticks out the most to me) [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20120210205023/https://www.youtube.com/creators/original-channels.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120210205023/https://www.youtu...
- chatmasta 3y ago
  Nice find digging up that list, which makes it seem like 80%+ of those promoted channels didn't succeed. And if you exclude the "mainstream media" channels (e.g. Reuters, Slate, The Onion, etc.) which had an existing audience prior to YouTube, then the success rate is even lower. This does make Numberphile seem like an outlier even amongst the promoted channels.
deleted 3y ago
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vanderZwan 3y ago
> FWIW, I also like 3blue1brown, although now I'm wondering if that was commissioned by Google too... No, but Grant Sanderson started his YouTube video career at Khan Academy before focusing completely on his own channel, so he did have the right connections to help him. Either way, it's not like either of these channels represent mediocre content being shoved down our throats against our will. Being endored by YouTube should not change any of that.

legobmw99 3y ago

2011 was a different time in terms of starting channels, I think. Plenty of the ones they provided funding for [1] didn’t really turn into anything, but a few ended up being very big deals (Crash Course sticks out the most to me) [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20120210205023/https://www.youtube.com/creators/original-channels.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120210205023/https://www.youtu...

chatmasta 3y ago
Nice find digging up that list, which makes it seem like 80%+ of those promoted channels didn't succeed. And if you exclude the "mainstream media" channels (e.g. Reuters, Slate, The Onion, etc.) which had an existing audience prior to YouTube, then the success rate is even lower. This does make Numberphile seem like an outlier even amongst the promoted channels.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

vanderZwan 3y ago

> FWIW, I also like 3blue1brown, although now I'm wondering if that was commissioned by Google too... No, but Grant Sanderson started his YouTube video career at Khan Academy before focusing completely on his own channel, so he did have the right connections to help him. Either way, it's not like either of these channels represent mediocre content being shoved down our throats against our will. Being endored by YouTube should not change any of that.