- We all have our grievances with YouTube, and one
of the things they're criticized most on is communication.
It's just so hard to actually speak to anyone there.
So the burning question is,
can you directly speak to somebody
on the YouTube Creator's Support Team?
You can, but you're not going to like the answer.
- [Man] vidIQ.
- [Woman] vidIQ.
- [Man] VidIQ.com.
- Top tip prob, always remember
to turn on your Tetris lights.
Okay here we go!
When was the last time you needed
to contact YouTube about a problem.
What was it?
How far did you get?
Let us know in the comments below.
Just be aware we probably can't help you
directly on that one.
Hello folks, welcome to vidIQ.
My name is Rob, if this is your first time here,
we are the YouTube tool,
and channel that aims to help you get more views,
and save time in the process.
Now, I don't often blow our own trumpet.
(imitates trumpet) (chuckles) I can't do that.
But we here at vidIQ take communication very seriously.
That's why we've got a dedicated support team,
answering your questions 24/7,
and yours truly reading every single comment
that's posted here on our YouTube videos
and trying my best to answer all of them
that don't contain the words,
like, subscribe, comment, I'll do the same.
The problem comes with scale,
and that's where YouTube are right now.
We've nearly two billion users,
and hundreds of thousands of video creators,
all wanting their questions answered.
Now I think people are generally tolerant
of the occasional bug, or maybe a layout change,
which causes some consternation.
But when it comes down to money,
people want questions answered immediately.
So with Adpocalypse, or the YouTube partner program,
if you're wondering what's going on,
you don't wanna wait for an update
from a YouTube channel, or a letter posted on a blog.
You wanna speak to somebody, directly.
Can you do that?
The answer is yes,
but, let's take a look.
Ironically enough, my mini story starts
with me complaining to YouTube on Twitter
about a layout change.
To be fair to YouTube, their communication on Twitter
has improved tremendously over the last six months.
So if there is no other way for you to contact YouTube,
try them @TeamYouTube on Twitter.
Within a couple of hours we were chatting to Team YouTube,
and they suggested giving feedback
through the link on-screen now.
I'll leave a direct link in the video description.
The link takes you to the
Contact the YouTube Creator Support Team,
and this is where things get really interesting
because this layout is customized depending on your account.
If you meet the requirements, you will have live chat.
This looks awesome right?
Well, get ready for the bombshell.
In order to access live chat,
you will need 25,000 subscribers,
and over 100,000 watch-time hours in the last 12 months.
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
(counting under breath)
That's six million minutes of watch-time,
or to put it another way,
11.4 years of watch-time on your channel,
over a 12 month period.
Who's done that?
I mean the only reason we can see it is
because we've got special access
to a hidden YouTube channel.
Actually, that's not true, that's my old channel,
called the Video Gadgets Journal
where instead of saying, enjoy your video-making day,
I used to say, enjoy your tech day.
And I've got the Play Button here to prove that.
That came before vidIQ,
where I also got 100,000 subscribers.
But the problem is I actually damaged this Play Button here,
so I had to buy another one from YouTube,
which meant that I know have three Play Buttons.
Sorry, have I gone off topic here?
If you don't have 25,000 subscribers,
and over 100,000 hours of watch-time,
this is the screen that is going to greet you,
minus the chat option.
In the top right-hand corner, there is a Get Support button,
If you click it, and go through the various options,
you're going to end up with the recommendation
to send an email to YouTube support,
and then you're in the same boat as everybody else.
Now if you are one of the lucky few to have the chat option
when you go to the Get Support button,
go through the options.
You can request a direct chat,
and when I tested this, I was literally talking
to a YouTube support person within about 30 seconds
after completing this form, just like this.
Now I bet you around about the 2:40 mark on this video,
audience retention dropped of a cliff.
No doubt in the comments,
we've got accusations of click-bait,
and more dislikes than usual on this video.
But hey, this is YouTube, that's the nature of the business.
For those of you in the vidIQ community
who are loyal enough to be still watching right now,
first of all thumbs up, and just post in the comments,
#IMSTILLWATCHING.
That'll really confuse everybody else.
And secondly, what do you think
of YouTube's requirements here
for direct online communication?
It's probably somewhere in the top five or three percent
of YouYubers who actually have access to this.
Obviously YouTube can't talk
to everybody who creates videos.
It's just to far too much communication going on.
Do you think it's fair what YouTube do right now?
I'd love to hear your thoughts,
of course, in the comments below.
Now if you are interested in meme-ing vidIQ,
this is the perfect opportunity.
Otherwise, if you want to know more
about the situation of YouTube monetization in 2018,
we've got a wonderful playlist right here.
And if you're working towards monetization,
4,000 hours of watch-time, 1,000 subscribers,
we've got another wonderful video
in the bottom right hand corner right now.
These are very heavy, so I'll see you on those videos.
Right now, enjoy the rest of your video-making day.
Phew!