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YouTube and it's uncertain future

DestinyDecade

Voice of Destiny
11
Posts
11
Years
    • This is something I've been meaning to discuss about but I figure that here would be quite appropriate. And no, this isn't a rant. This is a discussion relating a popular site and the unknown future that follows.

    As you can see, over the past couple of months Google has implemented several changes in order to make YouTube "better" when in reality, it makes things worse. Let's list everything.

    Back in February 2012, YouTube underwent a purge cleaning out many YouTube accounts and causing a drop in subscriptions. Sure, we lost a lot of subs but we eventually got them back overtime.


    A month later on March 8th, YouTube forced EVERYONE to be in this ridiculously lame channel layout that strips away the freedom we used to have in the 2.0 Layout. The 2.0 Layout was perfect and it provided us all the freedom we needed to make our pages unique. Not only that but this layout attracted a lot of users to join YouTube. This along with YouTube where it was simple was something all of us enjoyed. Sure, many hated the 2.0 Layout but eventually we grew to accept it. But when the new layout came about which is the 3.0, it caused a lot of anger and frustration among all the users, myself included.


    For starters, Layout 3.0 took away EVERYTHING that 2.0 had. Instead, it made things much more difficult for users to make their channels customizable. Made worse is the fact that it stripped away many features that the previous layout had. One such example is the ability to remove users who subscribed to you. If their accounts are either closed or suspended, you can remove them no problem. Nowadays, you can't remove them because Google took that feature away making things impossible for users to clean up.


    And now this... around the end of May, YouTube began undergoing a subscriber purge cleaning out inactive accounts from subscriber counts. But what actually happened ended up causing active users to be unsubscribed from many YouTube accounts. Many popular YouTube celebrities ended up losing thousands upon thousands of subscribers. I lost at most around 150 subscribers and yes, I went on to rant about it but I still am upset that they would do this and flat out deny that such a bug exists. The videos were out there, our statements show it, what is left to prove? Google then flat out denies it. It makes me sick that they would do something like that. Goes to show how ignorant Google really is.


    Now we're at June and the subscriber counts still go down little by little because of YouTube's attempt at removing closed accounts. It can take months or maybe years depending on how slow they are. So now then, why am I making this topic? Simple. I'm doing this because we need to stand up and tell Google that they are killing YouTube. They are taking away the things that made YouTube such a popular site to begin with, replacing it with features that many hardly use or in some cases, never use. And it's because of these new features that a lot of users are turned off by it and left YouTube completely.


    So ask yourself this? Is YouTube destined to suffer the same fate as Google's video service? The answer. Yes! Everything that Google is implementing onto YouTube are just signs that the channel will soon end up becoming like it's failed video service. All of us hate these changes and the more they do this, the more people will end up leaving the site. Which is why I ask you all this question? What do we need to do to Save YouTube? For me, I don't know but we have to try something.


    This is what this discussion is all about. We need to find a way to tell Google that what they are doing is killing YouTube or in a sense, taking the You out of YouTube. I know you guys can berate me but we have to try. If it wasn't for us, then YouTube wouldn't be as it is today. YouTube and the people who use it form like some kind of circle. I'm thinking Star Wars here which is a symbiotic relationship. What happens to one affects the other. For example, Google implements the layouts to YouTube and as a result, it affects the users in a VERY negative fashion. Yes, the example is a bit lame but if you have a better idea, feel free to provide. It's only a matter of time before Google puts something that will force all of YouTube to leave.


    I've said enough because right now, I'm at wit's end. I wish for this to be a civil discussion on what we can do to tell Google or in a sense, what we can do to save YouTube. If we don't do something, Google will run it down to the ground and we'll end up with nothing. I hope to hear from everyone and what we can do today will eventually help us get what we need to give Google a message. Take care.
    Click to expand...

    This is what I made in the Google forums. But I want to ask you guys... what do you think will happen with YouTube? Tell me in the comments and if you feel that it's unacceptable to have in the thread mods, please feel free to close it.
     

    Space Guard

    Part-Time Avenger
    492
    Posts
    18
    Years
    • The only thing I see is that there isn't a lot of established competition available. Take it from a users point of view, YouTube is the only video website I go on. I know alternatives exist (MetaCafé, for example), but it seems that everyone and anyone goes on YouTube. It's a bit like Facebook in terms of usage for users now. Most people get used to a website and don't change. I know about all the changes YouTube/Google have made, and I agree that they're not really making much sense, but I think YouTube will stay around regardless, That said, everyone said MySpace would stay around at the time now look at it...
     
    Nihilego

    Nihilego

    [color=#95b4d4]ユービーゼロイチ パラサイト[/color]
    8,875
    Posts
    13
    Years
    • This is a totally fine thread but it's in the wrong place. We have a forum dedicated to discussion of the Internet and stories like this, and I'll move your thread there now.
     

    DestinyDecade

    Voice of Destiny
    11
    Posts
    11
    Years
    • @Razor Leaf: Thanks for moving it there. I really had no idea so I may as well say my thoughts on this. Before I do...

    @Space Guard: I feel that at this rate, YouTube will die. Sure, it'll be around but it just won't be the same. And I know about MySpace. MySpace is not what it used to be anymore.

    Now then, I've been a YouTuber for six years and I have been around since it's beginnings. Back then, it was fun, enjoyable and downright awesome to be. But nowadays, YouTube isn't the same anymore. It really isn't because ever since Google bought it, it slowly went downhill. And now, we're at the point where it's already going downhill. It won't be long before it dies completely... unless something can be done.
     

    Plasmette

    Master of Mediocrity.
    347
    Posts
    12
    Years
    • Seen Jan 12, 2013
    I think one of the main reasons people stick around on Youtube is because it is one of the only sharing video sites with a decent video player. All the other ones bring up a million popups, and you can never get to a very specific point in the video without trouble. With Youtube, that never happens. not for me at least.

    Whats the point of having Subs if they are not going to watch your videos? Stop whining about people you lost who weren't watching you.

    Second, Youtube will never go down. To many unfunny stupid hipster 14 year old idiots there spewing out "YOLO. YOLO. HAHAHA LOOK AT ME IM SO COOL". All of them watch Ray William Unfunny Thieving Midget, Ijustine A.K.A, the **** with a controller making gamers look like brainless idiots, Some guy who overreacts about Youtube news, and other Vbloggers who only care about the money and somehow grew a fanbase of stupid children who never use the correct form of "You're" and will never care to leaaarn.
     

    DestinyDecade

    Voice of Destiny
    11
    Posts
    11
    Years
    • I have 4400 subs and not many check out my stuff. I don't know why. I ain't whining anymore because I got them back. I'm whining because of how bad YouTube has become.

    Can I ask you something? Do you have any idea what is happening right now with YouTube? And I mean business wise.
     

    DestinyDecade

    Voice of Destiny
    11
    Posts
    11
    Years
    • Team Fail said:
    I pretty much agree. I don't like the new YouTube style at all, I really prefer the old style. It's quality has only been going downhill too.
    Click to expand...

    Yep, definitely. And I feel that something needs to be done. Sure, Google may not give a hoof but I feel that a time for change is in need.
     

    Oryx

    CoquettishCat
    13,184
    Posts
    13
    Years
    • Age 31
    • Seen Jan 30, 2015
    YouTube traffic has remained pretty steady, with a slight downturn.

    pX4SO.png


    D represents a large update in February.

    This is the trend for visitors to youtube.com:

    MWLu0.png


    It certainly doesn't seem like YouTube is going anywhere.

    Just saying, your argument about the layout doesn't hold water in the least. Anyone who's been with Facebook for a while can talk about how layouts work. They change, people complain for a few months, people adjust to it and then when they change again people freak out although they claimed to hate the old layout. Everyone hates change, and you even mentioned in your post that people hated the layout they had when it was released. Because people don't hate the layout, they hate change.

    I personally feel the "YouTube celebrities" took the "You" out of "YouTube" long before the website changed in a way that harmed them. The great thing about YouTube was that as long as you have something cool, you can get attention. Your videos were judged on their own merit. However, now YouTube has celebrities like the real world, who will get massive amounts of attention no matter what garbage they put out there. Suddenly the people with talent get pushed to the side to accommodate 'celebrities'. Nothing Google changes on the site could put the power balance back where it belongs imo.
     
    Cherrim

    Cherrim

    PSA: Blossom Shower theme is BACK ♥
    33,288
    Posts
    21
    Years
    • I actually massively prefer the new channel look. I agree that it's not as nice as far as customization goes but I personally found customization to be really annoying. There were some nice looking ones but most of the smaller channels I visited were just horrible. They didn't know how to do colour schemes that were pleasing to the eyes, it was hard to figure out where everything was because they could reorder everything, and it was just a real pain to view Youtube from anything but your dashboard.

    I've yet to see any proof that the subscriber count losses from this year were of legitimate subscribers. If they were, why does everyone make it sound like "OMG YOUTUBE HATES ITS USERS"? It's obviously a bug and until I see proof that Youtube is sweeping it under the rug, I usually just ignore those claims. Chances are most subscriber losses are just inactive accounts (which they have said they were trimming) and maybe a bug caused a few illegitimate unfollows here and there but for the most part it's probably not that big a deal which is why they haven't bothered to be so open about it. Besides, it's just a number. It really only matters to the people who actually make money off of their Youtube videos, right? (Honestly, I can get that it's depressing to see your sub count go down--I like big numbers too! But I don't think it's anything to rant over.)

    The only thing I don't like about Youtube recently is that I miss the old dashboard, or at least I miss whichever iteration was around last year where you could group recent videos by channel so that if one channel uploaded 30 videos at once, it would all be in one row instead of taking up the entire subscription page. x_X That's SO annoying, especially since I follow several LPers that do several games at once. I've ended up having to trim a LOT of the accounts I follow just to be able to keep up with the ones I really like.

    Overall, though, I've been pretty happy with Youtube's evolution over the last two years. (I've had an account for about 6 years but it was only after I started noticing "Youtube Celebrities" that I actually started to visit the site for more than just embedded viral videos. :P)
     
    Cherrim

    Cherrim

    PSA: Blossom Shower theme is BACK ♥
    33,288
    Posts
    21
    Years
    • Do you have any links to articles on it or anything? Not that I don't believe you or anything, but I've asked so many people for something like that and, since I don't really use Youtube to upload videos of my own, I have no first-hand experience with the number drop or anything. :/ It's hard to make informed opinions when most of what I have to go on is hearsay.

    (Most people I've seen complaining about this go on to say, in their next sentence, that Youtube is doing it on purpose so that they can artificially inflate the subscriber numbers of their partners so... you'll have to understand if I've been really sceptical about it for months, haha.)
     

    DestinyDecade

    Voice of Destiny
    11
    Posts
    11
    Years
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