3 ms·

I agree, while I just can not stand MrBeast or his videos, and I can not explain it (maybe they are just nothing but attention grabbers and have nothing to offe

I agree, while I just can not stand MrBeast or his videos, and I can not explain it (maybe they are just nothing but attention grabbers and have nothing to offer), I feel like this article also falls into "attention grabber with nothing foundational to offer". I stopped watching anything I am not deliberately searching for on YouTube, as they all seem to be MrBeast copy-cats. Never heard of this person they are interviewing in the article, but again, the article itself seemed to go nowhere... maybe we were duped, and that was the point?

RetroTechie 3y ago
Au contraire; imho the article offers several good viewpoints. But I'm undecided about who/what it says more: MrBeast & his antics, his audience, YT, its audience, other populair platforms & their audience, today's public in general, or how its preferences are changing. Personally I prefer authenticity, uniqueness. Seek out stuff that's found nowhere else. For which # of views are (mostly?) irrelevant as long as creators & maybe their audience enjoy it. Perhaps MrBeast is authentic in that way: copycats aplenty, but no-one is doing, or living exactly like him.
- johnnyanmac 3y ago
  >But I'm undecided about who/what it says more: MrBeast & his antics, his audience, YT, its audience, other populair platforms & their audience, today's public in general, or how its preferences are changing. I think it's a sign of a new generation approaching the internet in a different way. We're at a point where Gen Alpha is starting to hit its teens and social media isn't a flashy new tool but a medium of life. When everything starts out shiny, nothing is. So they will start to cut through the glitter and simply be efficient with the platform. short form content made for the smartphone they co-existed with their whole life, a focus on more relatable creators (or the appearance of relatable) instead of the most eye catching, and a general resistance to clickbait and ads that have disappointed them young and early. meanwhile, the Genz/late millenial era is aging into its 30's and their interests are shifting. They literally grew out of the high energy roller coaster style of content and are likely still cynical of the world they grew into. They've had their fun but they will probably settle into different forms of content on Youtube. and/or creators will adjust their formats. I remember the early 10's era of "skit comedy" where every video felt like it needed to copy AVGN/Nostalgia critic and insert small skits between their reviews/analysis. That's pretty much all shifted towards a more documentary style of video with minimal fluff (or at the very most, very short interjections with meme visuals/sound FX, usually using the piece of media in question).
johnnyanmac 3y ago
>I feel like this article also falls into "attention grabber with nothing foundational to offer". >I stopped watching anything I am not deliberately searching for on YouTube, as they all seem to be MrBeast copy-cats. you seem to inadvertently understand the point of the article and are in fact a subject of the supposed shift away from the Mr. Beast era. I think the issue is the article focuses too much on Mr. Beast, who is more of a metaphor for the actual trend than the actual subject of interest. When you cut out the biography you end up with 2 core points: 1. the "high energy" style of videos that feel like it's trying to dangle keys at you is shifting towards more authentic experiences (which apparently tiktok does) 2. people in general are shifting from long form to short form content with #1 as a factor. I do know Tiktok's biggest appeal is that it's really good at highlighting smaller creators, which works opposite to most other kind of social media. That could have been the focus instead of going over Beast's entire life story and thought process on how he makes videos. But Polygon is ironically in that same bus, knowing most people will click to focus on Beast instead of the actual "era" in question.

RetroTechie 3y ago

Au contraire; imho the article offers several good viewpoints. But I'm undecided about who/what it says more: MrBeast & his antics, his audience, YT, its audience, other populair platforms & their audience, today's public in general, or how its preferences are changing. Personally I prefer authenticity, uniqueness. Seek out stuff that's found nowhere else. For which # of views are (mostly?) irrelevant as long as creators & maybe their audience enjoy it. Perhaps MrBeast is authentic in that way: copycats aplenty, but no-one is doing, or living exactly like him.

johnnyanmac 3y ago
>But I'm undecided about who/what it says more: MrBeast & his antics, his audience, YT, its audience, other populair platforms & their audience, today's public in general, or how its preferences are changing. I think it's a sign of a new generation approaching the internet in a different way. We're at a point where Gen Alpha is starting to hit its teens and social media isn't a flashy new tool but a medium of life. When everything starts out shiny, nothing is. So they will start to cut through the glitter and simply be efficient with the platform. short form content made for the smartphone they co-existed with their whole life, a focus on more relatable creators (or the appearance of relatable) instead of the most eye catching, and a general resistance to clickbait and ads that have disappointed them young and early. meanwhile, the Genz/late millenial era is aging into its 30's and their interests are shifting. They literally grew out of the high energy roller coaster style of content and are likely still cynical of the world they grew into. They've had their fun but they will probably settle into different forms of content on Youtube. and/or creators will adjust their formats. I remember the early 10's era of "skit comedy" where every video felt like it needed to copy AVGN/Nostalgia critic and insert small skits between their reviews/analysis. That's pretty much all shifted towards a more documentary style of video with minimal fluff (or at the very most, very short interjections with meme visuals/sound FX, usually using the piece of media in question).

johnnyanmac 3y ago

>I feel like this article also falls into "attention grabber with nothing foundational to offer". >I stopped watching anything I am not deliberately searching for on YouTube, as they all seem to be MrBeast copy-cats. you seem to inadvertently understand the point of the article and are in fact a subject of the supposed shift away from the Mr. Beast era. I think the issue is the article focuses too much on Mr. Beast, who is more of a metaphor for the actual trend than the actual subject of interest. When you cut out the biography you end up with 2 core points: 1. the "high energy" style of videos that feel like it's trying to dangle keys at you is shifting towards more authentic experiences (which apparently tiktok does) 2. people in general are shifting from long form to short form content with #1 as a factor. I do know Tiktok's biggest appeal is that it's really good at highlighting smaller creators, which works opposite to most other kind of social media. That could have been the focus instead of going over Beast's entire life story and thought process on how he makes videos. But Polygon is ironically in that same bus, knowing most people will click to focus on Beast instead of the actual "era" in question.