I wrote the first draft of this script over two years ago, but as you'll learn over the
next 10 minutes - this is an uncomfortable topic for me to discuss, and puts me in a
generally vulnerable position.
I'm sure plenty of haters and trolls will only see the video's title, and immediately
take it as some admission of guilt, or failure.
I am certainly able to put aside my ego and narcissism, and admit when I'm wrong... but
make no mistake: the issues I'm about to describe are *not* a result of my blocking trolls in
the comments, Jory and I's decision to retire the 'Microwave Show'.
The issues I'm about to describe run deeper than that, and affect thousands of content
creators, with no sign of respite.
Speaking of fellow-YouTubers, my friend Michael Buckley recently shared a similar video that
echoed a lot of my prepared words, and then Olga Kay reflected on her life and career...
so despite my apprehension, this seems like the perfect opportunity to finally share how
I feel about my place on YouTube.
So thank you Mike and Olga for giving me the inspiration and motivation to finally record
this.
I touched upon this topic briefly in my "10 Years On YouTube" video from April - but it's
time I finally ask: where have all the viewers gone?
I've built and maintained many channels over my this past decade, and they've all been
affected by similar declines in audience, but let's focus on my flagship channel, Jogwheel.
Viewership here has all but evaporated, going from an average of 100,000 views in the first
few month's of a video's existence to barely breaking 20,000.
On a channel with over 825,000 subscribers, this is a precipitous drop-off.
I post a variety of high-quality videos across several genres, so we can't really attribute
this decline simply to the content itself.
The uninformed masses might be quick to suggest, "Bring back 'The Microwave Show'!" - but that
wouldn't solve anything.
Indeed, had we not retired that show when we did, it would fallen victim to the same
fate, and instead I'd hear complaints that the show was "run into the ground".
When you listen to the mob, it's often a lose-lose situation.
But when I do upload a new episode "Microwave", why does it only receive one-fifth of its
former average?
If it was a scheduling flaw, or poorly received content, that at least I could understand,
and address... but my content is consistently rated very highly.
The problem runs deeper than that, and affects all channels and types of content.
Creators that were hot shit a few years ago, like Epic Meal Time, Julian Smith, MysteryGuitarMan,
WheezyWaiter, Michael Buckley, Olga Kay, Mitchell Davis, Freddie Wong, are all lucky if they
break 5% viewership against their subscriber count.
This even effects biggest channels on the site like PewDiePie; a channel with 45+ million
subs only averages 3-million views.
I don't know about you, but I love these channels... and their content is better now than its ever
been.
But that doesn't seem to be enough anymore.
Plenty of people have given me shit for using 'click bait' titles, even though they represent
less than one half of one percent of my total library.
But, can you blame me?
My top-ten most popular uploads weren't watched by 50-million people because I spent all week
writing, filming, and editing them.
They got there because I put some celebrity's cleavage in the thumbnail.
I'm not proud of this - but when YouTube stops rewarding hard-work...
what other avenue is there?
Only new channels with viral success, or those who rely on outside traffic like Reddit seem
to be growing (I'm looking at you, Hydraulic Press channel).
Does that mean hope is lost for the older channels of YouTube, who have been consistently
producing quality content for years?
Sure, maybe their audiences have matured, and grown tired of the material old shtick
... but why is there no recycle rate?
Surely...
some of my newest viewers enjoy the content they literally just subscribed to, and watched
for the first time, right?
So why isn't anyone watching?
The best answers I have, based on the observable facts available is that the community we all
love and contribute to has simply become over-saturated...
it doesn't matter how great SMPFilms' last upload was... there are now hundreds of other
channels doing the same thing.
For many, this might just be an unfortunate reality... the slow slide of the receding
tide.
But for others, like myself, and my content creating-peers, this site is a way of life,
it is how we earn our livelihood.
I certainly don't want to reduce this complex issue down to, "I'm going poor!", but I also
won't pretend this isn't a serious situation for thousands of YouTube partners - especially
those on the bubble of earning a full-time wage.
One major, and obvious culprit is the massive design change YouTube underwent in June of
2013 known as the "One Channel" layout.
This switch to a cleaner, and generally boring-looking UI also brought with it new algorithms, that
place a higher emphasis on watch-time, which incentives longer content while largely marginalizing
anything under 10 minutes.
The data doesn't lie.
The Jogwheel channel saw an immediate 50% drop in viewership overnight the day "One
Channel" was forcibly rolled-out to every user.
It's been three years, and viewership still hasn't recovered.
The other, equally infuriating answer is that YouTube's subscription-delivery system was
been re-tooled in a way that favors newer channels.
Recent redesigns to the homepage emphasize a "rich get richer" mechanism, promoting videos
and channels that are already popular, or channels you frequently watch anyway.
It is frustrating, that despite my tireless efforts to improve myself, and my videos...
shows like "The World According To Jon?" and "Movie Night" do so much worse now than a
couple years ago, when the videos themselves are objectively much, much better than when
they started.
Seriously, I dare anyone to find an episode film review of mine from 2010 and say the
quality, writing, energy, or entertainment is better than what I'm creating in 2016.
Plus, when you visit 'YouTube.com' - you're no longer directed to your subscription feed,
but a "home" tab, where YouTube haphazardly recommends whatever it *thinks* you want,
instead of just showing you what you actually subscribed to.
Clicking over to the 'Subscriptions' tab may seem like a quick, simple step to you and
I - but for many more casual users, the behavior difference between these tabs isn't something
they're even aware of.
One prevailing theory is known as "Subscriber burn", wherein, if a user decides not to watch
a channel's videos a few times in a row, YouTube simply stops serving them the content altogether...
forever.
So, good luck to my fellow content creators, if you ever go through a rough-patch or rebranding;
your viewers are gone for good, even if they never made that conscious choice to permanently
unsubscribe.
This theory explains why older channels suffer the worst; after 10 years on this site - the
only way I can maintain my audience is if each and every subscriber watches everything
I post.
How's that for pressure?
This discourages YouTubers from ever creating new or original content.
If they take a chance on something different, as I often do - the end result may be very
rewarding creatively, but ultimately - it'll just bleed off even more of their audience.
What was once a reliable delivery mechanism, that guaranteed your video would at least
be put in front of your subscribers is now a meaningless and broken system that doesn't
even give viewers a chance to decide for themselves what they want to watch.
The only time my videos do perform well is when I tap into a topical story or get re-shared
by third-party sites and blogs.
It's an unsustainable formula, to say the least.
More than 33% of YouTube's coveted top-100 most subscribed list is now populated by VEVO-controlled,
and YouTube-owned channels.
This site was *supposed* to be for the little guy, allowing anyone to upload their own ideas
and content... and once upon a time, that was enough for my friends and I to crack the
top-50 most-subscribed plateau... but today, the landscape is entirely different, and if
you don't have a team of people, thousands of dollars, or a celebrity name behind your
campaign: your only hope to one day rise to the top is to release the next viral video,
or sing karaoke with Adele in your car.
Obviously, my fall from relative-popularity has been difficult - and the constant reminders
from haters doesn't make it easier.
Not being invited to VidCon this year, after never missing a convention really stings.
And the painful truth is that since I'm no longer important enough to be invited, I'm
also not earning enough money to afford the 5-day, cross-country trip on my own.
Indeed, in addition to the aforementioned issues, the growing popularity of AdBlock
means my per-view-revenue has dropped 80% over the past few years - making it harder
than ever to do YouTube as my full time job.
So, if you enjoy what I make please support my content at Patreon.com/JonPaula.
Just a few dollars a month makes a HUGE difference.
Failing that, at least stay subscribed and tell your friends - it matters now more than
ever.
To the wonderful few who have already pledged - I can't thank you enough.
But I am excited to officially announce I'll be producing a new monthly podcast for Patrons
only starting in the next couple weeks.
I've been seriously producing video content since I was 14 years old - over half my life.
And for the past eight years YouTube has allowed me to turn that passion into a career.
Being able to support my family, doing what I love is a real accomplishment - and something
I'm extremely proud of - even if it doesn't last forever.
And the resulting opportunities, friendships, revenue and viewership are all things I'm
immensely grateful for.
Besides my wife, YouTube is, quite simply the greatest thing that's ever happened to
me.
My viewership may have 'gone downhill' - but the only reason certain individuals point
this out is to gloat like an asshole, to make themselves feel better for rubbing it in my
face.
So, to this particularly outspoken minority I say, go fuck yourself.
I'm happy where I am, and I love what I do - and I'm sorry you're too ignorant and jealous
to understand that.
But to my friends and fans - thank you so very much for the support.
And to my peers: keep fighting, and good luck.
My name is Jonathan, I hope to see you next time.
In fact, I'm counting on it.