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YouTube tests removing viewer counts — here’s what we know (www.tomsguide.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 30 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (8 children)

As someone who tries to regularly post videos on YouTube I think this would help me, since I'm sure many people (including me, unfortunately) avoid low view count videos.

But I can absolutely understand why you wouldn't want it hidden. I'm sure this will lead to major misinformation clickbaiting (as if that isn't already a problem!), but I believe that the view count will still be visible on the view page.

Is YouTube doing it with small creators actually in mind? Who knows, other than them?

Edit: I do want to clarify that I think hiding the date it was posted is just strange and would probably only lead to problems

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  • [–] [S] 24 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    I don’t like this idea for the opposite reason. I'm one of the people who are suspicious of videos with millions of views since most of them look manufactured. We all use view counts to gauge if a video is something we’re after, probably in more ways than we can come up with.

    If it gives you any encouragement - I’m not discouraged by view counts. I know I like niche stuff and give small channels a try. It’s a chance at having more genuine interaction. As long as a video is not off-putting due to bad diction or very bad production then I’m not going to back out and see what it is about. This can work to your advantage too.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    That's fair, and I'm more inclined to believe people on Lemmy would agree with your view thankfully! A lot of high view videos are for sure manufactured, and from what I can tell usually target children.

    I guess we'll see how the landscape changes if this sticks around? We're all along for the ride, for the most part!

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago*

    Is YouTube doing it with small creators actually in mind? Who knows, other than them?

    I am pretty confident in guessing that they are not doing it for selfless reasons. Imo the reason is that the less information they give the user, the more you are beholden to the algorithm choosing for you.

    But depending how they hide it it actually might not just be users, but also companies that e.g. buy ads from them. The less information they get, the more they need to trust whatever metric google offers them

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    That makes sense. Youtube has mixed more and more small channels with low views into my feed for a couple of months.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I don't avoid low view count videos because...say I get a notification that RedLetterMedia has just published a new Best of the Worst. It's been live for 4 minutes. Of course it's going to have a low view count.

    I'm looking for a repair video on the specific make and model of Dell laptop I have. I've seen exactly two of them in existence, not a popular model. It's going to have a low view count.

    I think it is useful information to have, it shouldn't be entirely hidden like the downvotes are, but I don't think it's necessary on the home page.

    Date uploaded though...that needs to be there.

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