Can we make a better YouTube? Hank Green of the vlogbrothers doesn’t want to.
DTube:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=1WVZivxeBmw
Hank Green is a popular YouTuber and the founder of VidCon, an annual event that’s “for the people who work in online video and the people who love it.” He’s a huge part of the online video, and specifically YouTube, community. But as he sees it, there’s no reason to revolt and create a new YouTube. We should just reform the current system. However, I (and probably a lot of you) disagree.
He makes six distinct points about why he does not want to be the one to create a better YouTube, and here are my responses:
1. “It’s actually quite good”
Ultimately, this sounds like he thinks it’s not worth his time and energy to make a better YouTube, which is fine. I don’t blame him. Mostly, I don’t think he knows that there are better alternatives already out there.
2. “Ultimately, my problems with YouTube are my problems”
No, I 100% disagree with this mentality. Hank’s problems as a creator are extremely relevant. Without the creators, there is no YouTube. The majority of YouTube is based on users generating content. So his problems are as valid as anyone else’s.
Also, there is no YouTube that we’re “used to”. YouTube’s experience has drastically changed over an 11 year period, and people are not afraid of change on the internet (as much as they get up in arms about slight UI updates). As a matter of fact, I think we’ve come to expect frequent and drastic change online.
What I’m saying is, don’t stay for the kids (aka subscribers). We’re not asking you to.
3. “YouTube is really good at getting people to watch videos”
Well, yes, but are they your videos, Hank? The platform wants people to watch more content for benefit of the company, not the users or creators. YouTube's algorithm caters to the platform’s revenue source - advertisers.
Think about the problems Facebook has had from this past election with their algorithms. They aren’t all loved by users, and the same goes for YouTube. Why promote a platform that increases the echo chamber, Hank?
Side note to saying “the way things are”: OH HELL NO. We are never stuck in “the way things are”. Everything is going to be different in 10 years. Hank, as well as most people often underestimate the rate of change, especially online and especially in the crypto/blockchain space.
4. “I want new people to find my content, so I have to put my content in a place where new people are going to find it.”
That's not impossible for any other platform to do. I get the appeal of an existing mass audience, but that doesn’t mean another company can’t come up and take those users away. The big guys aren’t invincible. They just aren’t.
And arguably distributing yourself on new platforms will grow your audience base as well. There are plenty of people who will never be shown your video because it just doesn’t “fit” what they’ve watched before (those damn algorithms).
5. “YouTube’s problems aren’t really YouTube’s problem ... They are the problems that any sufficiently big video platform would have.”
This just isn’t true. YouTube has a specific model and system. Their problems are based on an ad revenue model, therefore they aren't necessarily everyone's problems.
Shout out: When he admitted “I don’t actually know how to solve those problems”, he’s right. He probably doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean we don’t know how to or that we will not learn how to.
6. “I’m sentimentally attached.”
That's really sweet and I get it. You've been on the platform since 2007! However, I find it very likely that his sentimental attachment will fade when he sees a much better alternative. I don’t believe people (including him) will never leave YouTube. These platforms are not that old. People leave platforms ALL THE TIME. Let's remember MySpace... and Friendster... and AIM... and Yahoo... I can go on.
Disclaimer: I am in NO WAY saying that DTube, Viewly, or Props are the end all be all solutions or that they don’t have problems of their own. However, these platforms show that there are other options and drastically new ways of thinking about how we share video content.
Side Note: Hank mentioned community in this video. Now, I could also go into a whole critique of how YouTube fails miserably to create a real sense of community and arguably the creators themselves have managed to make community stronger than the company itself. But that’s for another video.
BTW #thisvideoisNOTaboutamerica: I am only talking about online platforms. Actual physical land and government are a completely different monster, and I don’t think it’s fair to compare them so closely. Unlike Hank, I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to call YouTube a country. YouTube is just a store in a mall in a town in a country. You can simply walk next door and get better service if what opens up is better. And that’s what I’m proposing. That’s what DTube is proposing. Just take a look next door.
Ultimately, I’m not telling Hank Green to start his own YouTube (He has his plate full of many other great and helpful projects already) … BUT I hope he takes a look at what’s happening outside the centralized systems he knows and opens his mind to these new technologies that are making a better YouTube possible.
Great vid. You reasonably countered Hank's arguments. I think his biggest problem is that he's one of the largest YouTubers out there. Point #6 is the emotional argument he's making, but he's trying to dress it up in logic, i.e., he's in some combination of the denial and bargaining phases of grief. Having built his career on YouTube, while he's definitely felt the impact of the changes of the platform, he's quite invested in YouTube's success.
Very true. Ultimately I feel like he cares the most about the community and his followers so if there was a platform that supported and valued them more, he would consider the change.
That's actually a pretty great fucking analysis. I never noticed that he was definitely viewing it from the perspective of his channel and not what it really means do give in to advertisers demands of censorship.