Hey, this is a super interesting, a data point in trying to figure out how the Youtube Algorithm
works.
Now I want to preface this by telling you that youtube is deliberately and notoriously
opaque about how the algorithm works and supposedly the reason for this is that they believe that
if people knew exactly how the Youtube Algorithm works, they would be able to game the system
and unfairly take advantage of that algorithm for personal gain.
But even if that's partially true, there are all sorts of other reasons that youtube would
be incentivized to keep that algorithm a secret, which includes that a secret algorithm better
enables them to manipulate or control the specifics of the algorithm without having
to explain themselves.
Since much like, you know, religion and God works in mysterious ways, the algorithm is
complex, it's always learning, it's always being modified.
So one of the areas that's gotten a ton of talk about Youtube Algorithm is about monetization.
Um, especially with the recent Steven Steven Crowder, Carlos Mazda situation, the initial
non demonetization of Crowder's videos.
Then demonetization, then I believe re monetization of Steven Crowder's content after this incident
where he was, uh, participating in gay bullying effectively of Carlos Mazda.
The topic of what is considered monetized able by youtube algorithm made a bunch of
headlines and a lot of articles were written about it in the last few days.
Some youtube burrs, we'll try to avoid certain trigger words that we think cause a video
to lose monetized status.
Other youtubers think that it really comes down to the topic.
It's not so much about the video title itself.
Uh, there are debates about does the thumbnail influence whether the youtube algorithm will
or won't monetize your videos.
Those are all sorts of the debates that exist around monetization.
But there's a totally different conversation about the algorithm, which is how does the
Youtube Recommendation Algorithm work?
This is the algorithm that determines which other videos we'll youtube suggest to you
as you are watching videos on youtube website.
And this is tailored to each individual viewer based on their watch history and other, uh,
elements, uh, which aren't totally clear to us.
Again, because the algorithm is relatively opaque.
So, for example, when I was logged into my personal youtube account this morning, not
the show account, and I watched a video from yesterday, uh, the algorithm suggested to
me a John Oliver Video, a good morning Britain video about Trump, a CNN video from a congressional
hearing, CBS News Video about 2020 democratic polling, a Bill Maher video from years ago
that infamous radical Islam video with Sam Harris and Ben Affleck, uh, and then a video
from vice about black conservatives.
So an open question is how many of these recommendations are based on what Youtube thinks I'm most
interested in?
How much of it is based on what is most profitable for youtube to promote, which may not be the
same as what I'm most interested in.
And does youtube have a sort of black list and white list white list, including channels
that youtube is going to disproportionately promote merely because they've decided that
that's what they're going to do?
I don't know the answers to any of those questions, but I have a really interesting data point
for you today and it has to do with my appearance on Joe Rogan's program.
Last week, viewer Alexander wrote to me, take a look at what he said.
Hey David, I just wanted to share an interesting experience I've had with your channel after
watching you on Joe Rogan last night watching today's show.
My recommended videos are entirely Joe Rogan.
Scrolling down, I count 10 Joe Rogan videos all before any content I've watched recently.
I've only once viewed Joe Rogan's content and that was last night.
Now my queue is full of his content.
I know you're always looking for insights into the Youtube Algorithm and I thought I'd
share this with you and Alexander actually sent me a screenshot of this and indeed while
watching our full show for members video from yesterday, every single recommended video
was from the Joe Rogan experience.
Now this is fascinating because Alexander says he has only watched one Joe Rogan video
in his life and it was the one I was on and it was yesterday.
He presumably has years of youtube history of watching all sorts of other things and
he watches one Joe Rogan video and suddenly every recommendation, even when he goes back
to my videos is only Joe Rogan video.
So there's a few things that could be going on here and there are more, which I encourage
you to write to me.
If you think of them.
Number one, youtube could have certain channels that it promotes as soon as someone watches
even a single video because they are in some sense playing favorites with certain channels.
Maybe Joe Rogan's channel is a youtube favorite because uh, youtube finds it profitable.
Youtube finds that it increases watch time drastically and keeps people on the website,
whatever the case may be.
It doesn't have to be nefarious reasons.
Another possibility is that Joe Rogan's content is genuinely so engaging in a way that nothing
else is on youtube.
That the algorithm has determined that as soon as anyone watches even one Joe Rogan
video, the algorithm should show them all Rogan videos because that is going to lead
to really high engagement and it's going to keep people on the website.
And it's not about playing favorites or a white list of sorts, it's just that the content
is that engaging.
But something about this is more than random chance or what we would call like typical
algorithmic behavior, watching youtube for years and never Rogan.
You Watch one Rogan video and the next day, every single video in the recommendations
feed is a Joe Rogan video.
I don't know what we learned from this, but it's interesting and given the interest in
understanding Youtube's algorithm because it's so opaque and because it really is an
important thing in determining how much creators like us make.
Uh, I want to get your thoughts about this and I want to really, I think Alexandra for
taking a screenshot of that and sending it to me, let me talk about something that I'm
getting more and more emails about.