YouTube Opinion YouTube only wants Binge-Worthy Content. Read this article to find out more!

[The Jungle Explorer]

I have been sounding this gong for some time now, but here is a very good article that explains it well. While the article does not use the term, "Binge-Worthy Content" (which is a term I created), it pretty much says this in other words. This article goes through the history of how the YouTube algorithm has changed over the years and demonstrates how it completely changed its focus in 2021, which is when most educational content creators started losing views and revenue. This statement in the article about the new algorithm that started in 2021 pretty much says it all:

"The goal of the sophisticated algorithm is to keep users on the platform longer"

Educational, "One and Done" style content is the enemy of what YT wants. They only want "Binge-Worthy Content" that keeps people watching video after video (like people do on TikTok.)

How the YouTube algorithm works in 2024

The YouTube algorithm isn't a simple construct, but aspiring creators can learn it to adjust their content to be compatible with it.

www.creatorhandbook.net

 

[Tito Tim]

YouTube says they want evergreen content - but they really seem to push the pranks and fluff. Easy to keep the masses entertained, and sell more ads. They used to be the industry leader, now they are just trying to follow the pack (the lowest common denominator). I think Google has forgotten what YouTube used to be and just wants to chase after Tik Tok.

But the same thing happened to television. They honestly do not care what people watch... as long as people watch. That is what happens when you put bean counters in charge of entertainment. It was probably a capitalistic inevitability.

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

YouTube says they want evergreen content - but they really seem to push the pranks and fluff. Easy to keep the masses entertained, and sell more ads. They used to be the industry leader, now they are just trying to follow the pack (the lowest common denominator). I think Google has forgotten what YouTube used to be and just wants to chase after Tik Tok.

But the same thing happened to television. They honestly do not care what people watch... as long as people watch. That is what happens when you put bean counters in charge of entertainment. It was probably a capitalistic inevitability.

The problem is, YouTube still could be a leader if they would embrace what the PEOPLE want YouTue to be. Nobody wants YouTube to be another TikTok. People love YT for what it is, "YouTube University". YT has this market cornered all to itself. But they have decided to murder off the content creators that make the content that people come to youtube for, in this insane quest to become the next TikTok. All they are accomplishing is losing at both. Here is why.

For many years, YouTube has pushed for Long Form Content (LFC). YT encouraged people to make videos that were at least 10 minutes long. It was not long ago that if your videos were not at least 2 minutes long, YT was not going to help you. But in 2021, that flipped that on its head and tweaked the algo to favor videos that were 30 seconds long. I saw my views drop by half in less than two week, during what was normally my highest viewer period. I started a few threads on here about this, posting stats and stuff trying to get people to stand up and take notice of what was going on. Many denied it was that YT was intentionally doing and as usual tried to say it was the creator's fault for not trying hard enough. I stuck to my guns though. This article clearly shows that I have been right all along, although most people have come to realize this on their own by now. Like me, many creators have hundreds of LFC videos that YouTube encourages us to make, that now, YT is punishing us for making because they are not 30-second Binge-Worthy content. And like me, a lot of creators have decided to look to other platforms because we feel YT has betrayed and abandon us.

I don't know what the future holds, but it is clear to me that the only thing that matters right now to YT is Bing-worth Content, or as you call it, "Pranks and fluff". But there is another factor I have been testing out. It is the idea of the carrot and the donkey. Everyone believes that the algo tries to deliver to people what THEY want to watch, but I have noticed a trend developing where it is getting harder and harder to find EXACTLY what I want. I find things that are close, but fail to deliver in the end. It is almost as if the algo is intentionally suggesting things that are close to being right, but just off enough to keep me searching for more. Since Google invested billions into machine learning to try to develop psych profiles on everyone, might this information be being used to create a carrot to keep people watching content, always with he hope of finding what you want, but intentionally keep the prize just out of reach? Think about it. If you immediately find what you want on the first try, you leave. Since YT's goal is to keep you on the platform, the worst thing they could do is give you want you actually want. Interesting thought

 

[Damon]

I have noticed a trend developing where it is getting harder and harder to find EXACTLY what I want.

I agree.

If you immediately find what you want on the first try, you leave.

I disagree.

If I immediately l find what I want, I often want more of what I found. I want to see other people's take on the same idea, project or whatever. When I was looking for a new outboard motor, I found exactly what I wanted: people reviewing new motors bought in recent years. Once I settled on a brand, I watched as many videos as possible reviewing exactly the model I wanted.

It turns out that there simply weren't many videos on YouTube reviewing the new 20 hp Tohatsu short-shaft EFI outboard. YouTube gave me all it had. Well, I used that as an opportunity to make my own Tohatsu review. Sure enough a fellow in the UK messaged me just a week ago how he felt my video helped him make a buying decision. He wasn't a subscriber or anything. That tells me something: People world wide are looking for content on this motor, but there simply isn't much out there. Most people have never even heard of Tohatsu, but it's the mainstay of the Japanaese fishing fleet. Do you think there's an opportunity for a brand deal there? Well, I'm certainly going to try.

Most of the content I want to watch doesn't exist. I have to go make it myself. That's doesn't mean I will have millions of subscribers, but, LORD willing, I believe it does mean that I will grow a meaningful, dedicated audience and sponsors over time.

 

[Tito Tim]

I have noticed a trend developing where it is getting harder and harder to find EXACTLY what I want.

If it is hard to find what I am looking for - I am going to look for a better search option (I think a lot of people are ready to bail out of YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter - if there were viable replacements). It is still in their best interest to offer me what I want.

My main concern about the algorithm is that after the vast amounts of time I waste watching YT... the algorithm has absolutely no idea what to offer me. It still just shows me what it wants me to watch. I went through, for a couple days, and marked "don't recommend channel" on all the junk videos they were showing me (pranks, sports, news). Now my feed barely changes - they offer me the same dozen vids from a handful of channels. As if they only have 24 channels to offer me and I blocked half? What I search for, and watch, is never recommended to me. Seems odd, and pretty stupid of the algorithm.

I have zero faith in their algorithm having any idea what it is doing. Maybe it serves up TikTok junk only?

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

I agree.


I disagree.

If I immediately l find what I want, I often want more of what I found. I want to see other people's take on the same idea, project or whatever. When I was looking for a new outboard motor, I found exactly what I wanted: people reviewing new motors bought in recent years. Once I settled on a brand, I watched as many videos as possible reviewing exactly the model I wanted.

It turns out that there simply weren't many videos on YouTube reviewing the new 20 hp Tohatsu short-shaft EFI outboard. YouTube gave me all it had. Well, I used that as an opportunity to make my own Tohatsu review. Sure enough a fellow in the UK messaged me just a week ago how he felt my video helped him make a buying decision. He wasn't a subscriber or anything. That tells me something: People world wide are looking for content on this motor, but there simply isn't much out there. Most people have never even heard of Tohatsu, but it's the mainstay of the Japanaese fishing fleet. Do you think there's an opportunity for a brand deal there? Well, I'm certainly going to try.

Most of the content I want to watch doesn't exist. I have to go make it myself. That's doesn't mean I will have millions of subscribers, but, LORD willing, believe it does mean I will grow a meaningful, dedicated audience and sponsors over time.

I often make the mistake of using myself as a measuring stick, and that is a mistake. I am not a content consumer. I am a doer, not a watcher.

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

If it is hard to find what I am looking for - I am going to look for a better search option (I think a lot of people are ready to bail out of YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter - if there were viable replacements). It is still in their best interest to offer me what I want.

My main concern about the algorithm is that after the vast amounts of time I waste watching YT... the algorithm has absolutely no idea what to offer me. It still just shows me what it wants me to watch. I went through, for a couple days, and marked "don't recommend channel" on all the junk videos they were showing me (pranks, sports, news). Now my feed barely changes - they offer me the same dozen vids from a handful of channels. As if they only have 24 channels to offer me and I blocked half? What I search for, and watch, is never recommended to me. Seems odd, and pretty stupid of the algorithm.

I have zero faith in their algorithm having any idea what it is doing. Maybe it serves up TikTok junk only?

Exactly my own experience. If I do a basic search YT offers me the POPULAR stuff that comes with those search terms. Many times I have to do restricted searches with + for words I want and - for words I want to exclude to force the server to stop giving me things I don't want. It sometimes feels like trying to drag a mule in a direction it does not want to go. This is why I have said for some time that, contrary to what everyone believes, Google and YT do not try to offer you stuff you want, they offer you what THEY want you to see. I have had every possible tracking cookie completely turned on for years, and Google still has no clue what I am interested in. Or........ They do????