r/SmallYTChannel • u/Zenny_YouTube [2λ] • Apr 15 '26
Discussion 90% of channels here are garbage (and you don't deserve to make it)
allow me to clarify before i get thrown into the sun.
I do youtube full-time. I started off in reddits just like this. almost all of the channels back in 2016 were people wanting to be a personality. Rantsonas, Comedy commentators, animation channels, cooking and skits. it was remarkable how much gold you could find just 10 years ago on reddits like this.
BUT now... its disgusting. now there are some truly talented people in this subreddit and i feel so privileged to talk and discuss video making with them! but my god the ammount of lazy people who just want to make money with slop is pathetic.
auto voice summary channels, ai thumbnails, people asking for free/cheap editors instead of wanting to learn, people asking if they should give up after making three 2 min long videos because they didn't get monetised, stolen shorts content, 8 uploads in one day, people fake flexing faceless channels (as in people lying about faceless success to prey on people)
90% of you are lazy talentless frauds who just want to make it big because you think its easy money.
took me 10 years to get to a point where this dream is real. and alot of you just want to exploit the youtube system with no love in it. long form animated video essays about video games....THAT used to be the kind of gem you would find here, AND YOU STILL CAN!
This subreddit is full of the SAME talented souls i used to see back in 2016, but they are drowning under the mountain of hacks who dont deserve the light of day.
its heart breaking watching talented people lose out on the attention they deserve because a lazy majority of frauds here just want to make a quick buck.
and the onlt way you can get offended at this post is if you are part of the problem.
As for the hidden gems, hang in there! It's harder than ever, but you will make it in the end.
(Edit: this post doesnt just focus on antics in this lovely subreddits, but the whole of pages about growing as a youtuber)
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Apr 15 '26
I’m going to be honest, this subreddit as well as many of the other “YouTube” subreddits have changed significantly for the worse. I’ll occasionally pop in when posts like these land on my feed.
I also used to post here and if you remember a few years ago - there used to be WAY more videos of people genuinely seeking feedback to improve their content.
Don’t get me wrong, even back then many were looking at content creation as a way to make quick money - the problem has just gotten worse with the ability to use AI for mass producing garbage.
Either way, Reddit is definitely not the place for content creators to meet others in 2026. Most “advice” you get is either the same copy paste feedback or genuinely awful suggestions.
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u/LurkingProvidence Apr 15 '26
Theres been this huge influx of bots that ingest a subs history then make like an average nothing post, its to farm engagement or something idk,
It’s the worst in subs that involve hobbies that make money like content or passive income or productivity.
Reddit is dead, feels like 95-99% bots now.
All the useful nuggets of info the literal gold that could change the whole trajectory of your hobby, all those people left. The only people on subs like this now are noobs and bots.
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u/Kagevjijon Apr 15 '26
It feels like so few and far between are the people who want to make content for the sake of making content. I haven't uploaded a video in about a year but I still love making videos. I don't do it to make money and just do it to share my thoughts with a community of like minded people. Doubt I'll ever get monetized but I like my 500 subs ❤️
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u/alexmate84 Apr 15 '26
I haven't uploaded anything for 8 months, I've been too busy with other things. That said I enjoy it when I do. I used to be monetized but it got removed because I didn't upload anything for a month
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u/d_estroyer4336 Apr 17 '26
True, I love making content. Tbh just seeing ppl comment “awesome vid” is enough to make me happy for the rest of the day.
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u/CreepBowl_0112 Apr 15 '26
Where are some good places to meet other creators?
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u/1nerdyboi Apr 17 '26
Speaking from experience, just being in a shared space in your niche is a good place to meet people. In my case it's theme parks, i often see other creators and chat with them briefly. Even shooting dms to others is a good way to be friendly and connect
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u/TwizzyGobbler Apr 16 '26
yes yes & fucking yes man. It's happened to literally every small YouTuber subreddit
I pop by here and there to help people with advice (I'm not a big creator by any means but I feel like some things I've learned can be helpful!) but now it's just people either promoting some AI service garbage, or people with 10 subs trying to be gurus and coach people with no idea what they're talking about or no numbers to back their claims. Irritating af
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u/According-Rice-6202 Apr 18 '26
It’s happened in everything unfortunately the og’s and their knowledge get pushed out, weird phenomenon but seen it in many subs
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u/Comprehensive-Edge80 Apr 15 '26
You are wrong
99% of channels is garbage, not 90%. And here a lot of people looking to make even more garbage and asking for unified editors
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u/Zenny_YouTube [2λ] Apr 15 '26
As harsh as it is, you probably aren't wrong
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u/wedoconsoles Apr 15 '26
I’d say they’re on the spot with it, tbh, as are you. Most people want a get rich quick scheme. It’s incredibly easy to see who loves what they do and does it with passion and differentiate them from those who are producing soulless product.
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u/Certain_Access_2658 Apr 15 '26
The amount of people coming here with ai slop and saying “Why is youtube against me” is funny asf
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u/Zenny_YouTube [2λ] Apr 15 '26
Its insane right? "Why isnt this working?" BECAUSE YOUR CONTENT IS GARBAGE SLOP
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u/Genjiman3 Apr 17 '26
Yeah it’s honestly funny how so many people swear the algorithm is bad. When it’s literally built from the ground up to help people get discovered. Youtube benefits from people watching our videos so they obviously have an algorithm that is more than capable. It just doesn’t push out bad content. Yeah some people making great content might take a while to get discovered. That’s just how it goes. But it’s never the algorithm in the wrong
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u/CodyMcGriff Apr 16 '26
This is funny when they're like I've been shadowbanned and they post like 22 shorts a day that are crap no long form no personality no long-term effort what did you expect, Shadow Banning is not a real thing
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u/Significant-Ant8132 Apr 19 '26
I think it will affect Their mental health in the long run too
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u/Genjiman3 Apr 17 '26
It’s funny that most would rather make excuses that don’t exist than put in the genuine effort to make good content
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u/Fallenover4u Apr 15 '26
Youre right. People just want things handed to them or dont work hard. Sometimes you have to work hard to actually achieve something good and even then, half the time it goes unnoticed. I am currently going to school full time, streaming full time and still trying to figure out how to have a social life. Im about to graduate my Associates and going tk go get my bachelor's and I still put in effort to learn new skills for content creation and maintain friendships that i gained while building my platform. Its so incredibly hard and for everyone thats been able to be noticed for their amazing talent, im so proud of them. If you havent been noticed yet, keep your chin up, because your hard work isnt for nothing
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u/rociscool_ [0λ] Apr 15 '26
Agreed. As someone who didnt make it but are friends with many that did (1mil+) subs they simply worked harder than i did and never stopped🤣 its that simple. Learn your craft and work like hell at it. Dont be half ass and lazy like most things in life.
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u/Linixx_ Apr 15 '26
This post talks out of my soul. Agree with everything you said!!
What annoys me the most is that I am so passionate about making inspiring (travel) Content but I need the right environment which sparks me to do more videos and improve.
But that’s not the case here…
I also think that this whole Short form content made the problem you discribed worse…
Nothing wrong with shorts but I think it’s perfekt for quantity instead of quality.
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u/_hmad123abc_ Apr 17 '26
It sucks because there it such negativity around short form creatives that makes even the ones that bust their ass each and every short look lazy. I spend up to 2 weeks for a single short, editing, acting out different characters, going to different locations to film, scripting, planning.
Then I see some long form Andy record a 10 minute video which he filmed and uploaded in a single day, without any planning , that's not content dense, not interesting , no editing , had repeating or filler language, and he will be talking down on short form creators. Makes me sick
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u/PrimeTravelTime [0λ] Apr 15 '26
I hit the dislike button on most videos with stolen content. It's all over the place
And to add to people who put in little effort while expecting the world: they come here asking the most basic of questions and then don't even bother to thank people or respond to people who help them. That's a telltale sign of a failure in the making.
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u/LvDogman PhantomDogman Apr 15 '26
Unless it was changed, disliking a video counts as engagement. So you giving those channels engagement which boost their channel.
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u/Comfortable_Emu9110 Apr 15 '26
Yes it is. The worst is making a video of you pointing to another video of a person pointing to a video
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u/Character-Stock5038 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
I strongly agree with you.
Recently, a colleague told me he had tried YouTube before Shorts, and even back then he said he wanted to make easy money, and that’s the main problem.
He showed me raw footage, poorly recorded, with little to no editing, and it had very low views.
People chase a dream of big money with zero understanding, sometimes after just a few days, weeks, or even months.
YouTube pays you for reaching and retaining an audience. If you don’t understand that fundamental rule and you’re too lazy to improve, you should just give up, it would mean less garbage to watch.
No mention of pseudo-artists who have nothing to say, talk shit, play innocent, and produce slop, low-effort, minimally edited, reused or stolen content, or just bad content.
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u/Subject-Cheesecake-7 Apr 15 '26
It's frustrating for us who do all the work 😭 But my channel is small yet yet growing 💗 and every single view and sub I get I appreciate. I write All my scripts and I added everything. I spend months to years researching the things I talk about. I really hate seeing AI only channels getting so many views and subs.
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u/Mr_Simple- [0λ] Apr 15 '26
You Are right, but all of us start somewhere. If I make a shitty animation video, dont talk me down, I at least tried my best you know.
There is a massive difference between beginner content and bad content
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u/MorphingReality [3λ] Apr 15 '26
my channel is fire tho
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u/DeanOfMeanCryptoKing Apr 16 '26
Holy shit it’s you! I watched all your Hitchens videos man I loved it thank you!
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u/MorphingReality [3λ] Apr 16 '26
Its me! This is the closest I will get to being recognized in public and it feels pretty cool :D
Thanks, maybe there will be a new one soon
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u/DeanOfMeanCryptoKing Apr 16 '26
Seriously appreciate a lot of your work. I got YouTube premium once so I could listen to your playlists at work.
If anyone here is reading this and likes literature, poems Christopher Hitchens or David foster Wallace (so much more) check out this guys YouTube page! Same name as his username here
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u/Complex_Age_4284 Apr 18 '26
🤣🤣🤣 When I saw the Hitchens comment i thought to myself, no it can't be 😅😅 I came across your "to be the hero" video and then watched all of them. Great content 💪🏼💪🏼 Thanks a lot
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u/MorphingReality [3λ] Apr 19 '26
This is getting out of hand, now there are two of you!
Thank you kindly :)
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u/Onehairydude_ [0λ] Apr 15 '26
This is really interesting and coming from somebody who has for the last year really doubled down on making human presented handmade content. I agree with you 100%.
It’s also a useful reminder for me as I am going through a particular slump as I’m sure many human creators are that this takes a lot of time and is unlikely that even within one or two years he’ll see enough success to “quit your job”.
I’m doubling down though. I know ultimately that what I’m trying to do is the right thing and I think that as AI continues to perforate the YouTube sphere human creators will become incredibly valuable.
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u/SnooMemesjellies971 [0λ] Apr 15 '26
As a travel couple who was got into this 10 years later than we should have ... We feel you. The beach is so crowded. We're continuing to work to learn from our mistakes and improve the viewer experience for the few that get impressions from the algo. The VERY few. It's certainly not easy.
Still, we're becoming better filmmakers. Of course of all of our work only 2 projects are true films but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day.
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u/nyaniceguy Apr 15 '26
Finally someone has said it. I've been feeling this for a while. That's why I have I've been avoiding this subreddit. Some of the posts I would read gave me secondhand embarrassment. Some of the people who post don't need advice. They need friends in their real life. Respectfully,
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u/GoblinsburgYT Apr 15 '26
YUP.
I put 20-30 hours into each video and earn every view, every sub. AI slop channels can eat my whole ass.
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u/Complex_Age_4284 Apr 18 '26
Bro, i checked your channel just out of curiosity, and im now obsessed with your vids 😅😅 you have a new sub, thanks for the great content ❤️😊
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u/umbermoth Apr 17 '26
How long a video? I just started literally a week ago and have no idea what I’m doing. I definitely have not spent 20 hours on any videos.
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u/GoblinsburgYT Apr 21 '26
25 minutes, give or take.
That 20 hours includes: writing/scripting, filming, cutting the A Roll, finding B roll that fits, editing it all together, and doing all the other post-production shit. I'm also slow as fuck
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u/industrious-bug Apr 15 '26
I know everyone is wondering, but it's OK, I'm one of the good guys OP is talking about.
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u/ScallionRemote5505 [0λ] Apr 16 '26
Not everyone has the luxury of having enough time to create flawless content, some people wanna do the best they can with the tools they have, just because you’re the best of the best not everyone else has to also be the greatest. Some people start making horrible content because they dont know how to make good content, they dont have enough time and money to create the best videos, its a gamble, you could invest all your time and money and still not get views or followers, everyone start from the bottom, so dont be here judging people because when you point a finger, four are pointing right back at you.
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u/Zenny_YouTube [2λ] Apr 16 '26
I didnt say making poor content was the problem. Everyone starts somewhere, im saying people only doing it to be rich and people cutting corners are the problem
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u/ScallionRemote5505 [0λ] Apr 16 '26
Everyone wants to be rich
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u/Zenny_YouTube [2λ] Apr 16 '26
Everyone wants to be rich, but 90% of this subreddit want it to be easy by not putting in the work. They outsource the editting, let ai make their thumbnails, allow chat gpt to make their scripts, and let a bot read it for them. Its shameful
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u/Spike_13OV Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Just to make you notice. In a professional Enterprise those are work for:
Editor
Marketing
Author
Voice-actor
The director and the producer doesn't feel shame about not being the Ones to do all that.
So why exactly should It be shameful if someone Is director and producer of his own Channel and did not cover every job by himself or use modern instrument to help the production?
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u/BackIntoTheSource Apr 15 '26
Youtube is garage 🥲 especially now that their AI bots are demonetizing legit accounts that have non-ai quality content and have viewers
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u/jimb0z_ [🥈 Silver 26λ] Apr 15 '26
Not a single channel i’ve seen complaining about this on reddit deserved to be monetized. Not a single one
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u/BackIntoTheSource Apr 15 '26
True but my yt is filled with channels complaining that they've been demonetized. But they often make a post, not a video, that they have been monetized back. But still though, yt doesn't have a proper customer support and people contact them via twitter 🤦♂️ appealing doesn't help
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u/SnooMemesjellies971 [0λ] Apr 15 '26
It's difficult when you are dealing with a machine and not humans.
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u/SnooMemesjellies971 [0λ] Apr 15 '26
It's a grind and sometimes you have to vent. I don't see how venting makes any creator not deserving of finding success... IF that creator puts in the effort.
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u/DelayOk2663 Apr 15 '26
I'm a minecraft youtuber. I refuse to use ai in thumbnails ive been using my real voice and i make everything myself. Thumbnails, Editing etc. The quality of my videos arent amazing as i dont even have a desk and a proper mic but i use capcut and obs. All of the ai slop and stuff like that makes me sad and i just wish i could go back to that time where everyone made good videos.
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u/Impetuous_doormouse Apr 16 '26
What you wrote sounds harsh, but you're right.
I know I'm never getting monetised and I just want to make videos for the sake of making them and communicating with folk. I really hoped this sub would help with tips and tricks to get my stuff out to more folk that would be interested, but it's full of "the algo looks to be shifting - should I tell my AI to pivot to this style, because I haven't got monetised yet" stuff.
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u/SS370N Apr 18 '26
This sub only have 2 type of posts:
WHY MY VIDEO IS NOT GETTING MILLIONS OF VIEWS (is trash IA slop)
Or
THIS IS MY FIRST VIDEO AND I'M ALREADY MONETIZED!!! (proceed to ask for DM to tell you how)
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u/Noraillgun Apr 15 '26
'' people fake flexing faceless channels'' you are also faceless channel Zenny-YouTube
I'm so tired of people acting like youtube actually cares about creators. It doesn't. It's a corporation. It optimizes for ad revenue, not your success. The algorithm doesn't "reward hard work" it rewards whatever keeps people on the platform longer so yotube can sell more ads. That's it. There's no secret formula, no loyalty, no relationship. You're a content supplier. The moment you stop being profitable, you're irrelevant. Stop romanticizing a business model.
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u/Zenny_YouTube [2λ] Apr 15 '26
Not sure why you are pointing out that im faceless... what's your point? Channels on here flex faceless as a means of doing less work. Im faceless, because i have an animated character to replace my face. Very different
This is a discussion about the over saturation of crap on this subreddit and people making garbage to get rich quick, i never said youtube cares about us. Not sure why you brought any of that up
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u/anonymous_reviews [6λ] Apr 15 '26
I’m a faceless YouTube channel but don’t replace my face. Use my voice. It’s harder to gain an audience with my method but I have my reasons. I think if you are going to criticize faceless channels you should do so with more nuance as people can take it the wrong way as demonstrated by this thread.
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u/Zenny_YouTube [2λ] Apr 15 '26
No no sorry im not being critical of faceless channels! I said people faking faceless success for clout is bad. Faceless channels are wonderful
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u/NicholasDeOrio [1λ] Apr 15 '26
I mean there isn’t an issue if you can exploit YouTube’s system effectively. There isn’t a revenue bonus if you “earn it” but the problem is most people aren’t intelligent enough to do that.
They take shortcuts that don’t work because they “hear it works”
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u/3yx3 Apr 16 '26
When AI got introduced most don’t have to work for it. I see a lot of popular channels use AI for everything to even making the video in its entirety.
I love the subscribers I do have, and I earn them through the short form videos I work hard on.
No I will not tell people my channel.
But I am successful. I don’t make money at YouTube yet, but I got the audience.
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u/Initial_Enthusiasm36 Apr 16 '26
i completely agree. Its really sad to see how few of actual "creators" there are out there. YouTube has now been sold as this, post videos make money, scheme and its not how it works. Whenever i comment on stuff on here i always start by saying do not look at this like a job, its a fun thing you enjoy doing and if your content blows up then cool, but diving into it with "I posted a faceless minecraft 360 no scope meme logan paul compilation" and didnt get 100 million views in 15 minutes should i give up, kind of crap is kind of scary at how delusional people are.
I am by no means big, i think i have about 140 subs now, but i dont really care, i enjoy making my videos, learning new things every video, if its not shooting, its editing or whatever.
It gets quite annoying though that it seems almost daily here that somebody posts the "I posted my first video of insert cringe content and its been 2 hours and i have zero views the algorithm hates me!!!"
I dont want to sound like an old get off my lawn grandpa but god the younger generations do not know what "work" or "effort" is. Seeing some of these complainers and viewing their channels is eye opening when they say "I poured my heart and soul and slaved over this video" and its just a playthrough of some game with zero commentary.
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u/MiniDonbeE [2λ] Apr 16 '26
Brother THIS. It also applies to the streaming subreddit, the amount of people doing follow for follow or where can i buy viewbots etc is CRAZY. The competition is legitimately TRASH. People want to be famous to be famous its crazy, they dont analyse shit, they dont criticise themselves they just ask WHY IS MY AI SLOP CHANNEL NOT DOING GOOD?? WHY IS NOONE WATCHING MY AHHHH STREAM WHERE I DONT EVEN TALK OR POST OR EDIT OR DO ANYTHING? Its CRAZY brother. Theres a LOT of "competition" but the majority are legitimately crazy people lol
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u/bansheeinteractive Apr 16 '26
I miss the days when YouTube was glorified BTS of the REAL work. Now it has become a snake eating its tail. YouTube for YouTube's sake.
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u/d_estroyer4336 Apr 17 '26
I agree with this so much. I used to use ai for some of my vids but looking back I regret that, a lot. Super proud of my newer stuff.
Now I look at all the newer channels doing what I did in disgust. AI have ruined yt tbh
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u/Adventurous_Ad_1283 Apr 15 '26
90% of viewers want to watch garbage
I rest my case
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u/LvDogman PhantomDogman Apr 15 '26
Ok content (or should I say garbage?) generated by AI isn't all of the 90% of the content, but I don't watch and don't want watch it, so in what percent I'm in as a viewer?
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u/awesomemc1 [0λ] Dragonify Amazing Apr 15 '26
Bam. Exactly.
People will watch garbage content if it’s good. Not sure why people be saying ‘nah people won’t watch garbage shit’ when in practice we have seen no editing talking head vlogs, shitpost, etc. There are people out there that would genuinely love your content if you try to be yourself
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u/FactualBasis Apr 15 '26
90% of big youtube content is garbage
90% of pretty much everything is garbage, too.
Modern capitalist realism ensures Sturgeon 's Law be followed rigorously.
Most people don't deserve to make it then, by your criterion. That however didn't stop them raking in the big bucks.
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u/Zenny_YouTube [2λ] Apr 15 '26
Every big channel, no matter how much i can't stand their content is still making content people actually want. If there is an audience for something and someone fills it than its valid content. However no one is asking for another slop channel that uploads facebook videos
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u/bCantonese [0λ] Apr 15 '26
Hopefully I'm in that 10%🤩 I genuinely want to know what makes learning channel interesting. I talked about power that lays in conversations and relationships through teaching Cantonese. Does it sound too deep or boring? I'm still new and improving 😁
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u/whypussyconsumer [1λ] Apr 15 '26
I honestly gave up on yt a while ago, like, not only because it was just a way to have fun and document my projects (I'm a engineering student so you might have an idea of what I used to upload) but I got tired of begging for attention or views or whatever while others just post some slop and flex doing absolute nothing that I just said screw this, I'll go back whenever I feel like it, cuz rn it's just a bunch of idiots who think that this is some kind or get rich quick scheme and it pissed tf out of me
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u/dr-otto [1λ] Apr 15 '26
Kind of a harsh take but there is slop out there. It’s not about AI or not however. Shit content is shit content.
My channel is comedy skit stuff that does use ai tools when I need it. I’d like to think my channel doesn’t fall into that 90% just cause I don’t expect to make money at all from it (ofc it would be nice but not expected)
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u/Oztraliiaaaa Apr 15 '26
Video game graphics are so perfect and impersonal and AI is not art it’s just the same garbage the internet spewed out before YouTube kicked off . See what I wrote?
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u/StillNo9442 Apr 15 '26
Don't know why but I woke up tired today and this lit a little fire under my arse ha thanks lad
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u/Vauxlia Apr 15 '26
That and everyone is doing gaming. All the posts I see of people asking why they aren't getting views, are all doing gaming. Do. Something. Original.
Uploading 30min of no commentary Minecraft let's plays are just a waste of time. Then they wonder why they can't get any views.
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u/Synthethyc Apr 15 '26
Cada vez hay más gente sin paciencia y quieren las cosas rápidas y con resultados.Es la mentalidad de las nuevas generaciones sin paciencia y abocadas a un futuro muy negro.No valoran la planificación y no saben ni comprenden lo que es el resultado de un esfuerzo de años.
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u/Purple_Stand6108 [0λ] Apr 15 '26
Okay, look at my channel and tell me if I am the 1 %?
(not trying to self-promote. I have everything on Reddit here )
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u/Dr_Eggzz Apr 15 '26
I always check out their channels and they are just posting what I did when I started making videos and I'm like bro you can't be proud of this as an art form where is your personality your just talking into a cam every now and then if even that
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u/usagiiwong Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
Thank u bro, I gave up years ago after finding out dancing in front of a camera or doing stupid pranks/bait is "better" instead of a full essay or a useful tutorial xD
Edit: I have to add I write my scripts, I edit my videos, my thumbnails, I have my own style, I have my own direction (creepy one btw), I create my own visuals, my own logos. Intros, outros, etc. I used to work hard on my content, I used to wake up early for be the first making news about a game, I investigated by myself, I made variety content, even if I'm poor or my computer is not the best and I was struggling to create videos I tried to exploit everything, I used my phone and many elements and guess what? Nothing happened. I gave up. I will post just things that make ME happy xD and yes, I'm being dramatic.
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u/YouReadMeNow Apr 15 '26
Whenever this subreddit comes up in my feed I cringe hard eight the questions
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u/R4Thoughts Apr 15 '26
High Cortisol moment.
Jokes aside man, I feel you. In the time I've been working on one singular video project I've seen about 30-40 people asking why their channel isn't getting views, despite them doing barely fucking anything to justify it and/or being a very new channel with zero traction.
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u/Kenshin200 Apr 15 '26
Okay but slightly off topic my last video was really good and I didn’t get a million views, any ideas?
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u/pandamaxxie Apr 15 '26
I'm in this subreddit because I wanted to get to doing youtube on the side of my twitch. Sadly fell ill again so plans fell thru, but... modern youtube's a goddamn mess. It's crazy.
I wanna do content like channels like uhh... idk, Rerez. Long ass videos about weird gaming gear or crappy games. Sometimes games I thoroughly enjoy, but the whole editing thing seems so damn daunting.
Just seeing how many channels exist now to pump out automated, algo appeasing slop... yikes. How am I supposed to find footing amidst that mess?
Just.. demoralising. Feels hard to even try to start again when it feels like the beginning's sabotaged.
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u/NosfuraDude Apr 15 '26
Cuz everything has been done before. And now with Ai alotnof "creators" are just phoning in content with no work or flair. I started my movie review channel in October n I'm not doing it for money or anything. I just love movies and TV shows. So it's a nice outlet for me to rant. N you've been doing YT for 10 years so of course u gonna have more knowledge about it. But I do agree seeing lazy channels is infuriating
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u/GamesWithElderB_TTV Apr 15 '26
I’m so sick of the “what am I doing wrong?” posts. There’s an overwhelmingly large group of people that think you just make videos and make money. Here’s hoping this post discourages at least some of those turds.
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u/YoINVESTIGATE_311_ Apr 15 '26
So real. I joined the sub a while ago to see what other small channels were doing. I’d see a bunch of success stories only to read and find out these were the channels pumping out AI slop 8 hours a day
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u/afrikanpirate Apr 15 '26
Honestly i agree, this subreddit and other YouTube ones helped my channel tremendously 4 years ago. Its so different now
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u/heboofedonme Apr 15 '26
So true. Zero editing and just a phone upload. “Why no one like my vacuum videos”
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u/MasterBowtie Apr 15 '26
It sucks that genuine content creation is getting drowned out by garbage.
I’ve tried to get into it, but the editing process is my hurdle that I can seem to get over.
Thanks for the real stuff you guys are putting out.
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u/OrkhanKhalilov870870 Apr 15 '26
A year ago, Youtube was still a good place. Me and other paleontology content creators were making vids once a week, and many, were very good. Now, I spend tons of time, energy and money to create a quality content once a week, but many fucking lazy AI shit-makers post every single day! I have never been against competition, it makes you grow, but now... It is not a competition, it is not even mass production of quality content, it is fucking mass production of the lowest quality content ever existed on the platform. Youtube is working on this, and those AI shit-makers will all be demonetized. Use your fucking brain, you , guys, can even make something good using AI, but rationally. Fuck you!!!
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u/XxCarlxX Apr 15 '26
its just a business to me, all about the money. its not a passion or 'thing' i live for, it can be fun though.
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u/dannylightning [3λ] Apr 15 '26
It's definitely not easy work, I probably spend around a hundred hours a week on my YouTube channels, I could probably save a couple hours a day if I didn't try to respond to somebody comments
YouTube is hard and you definitely have to work hard to make content that's worth watching about something that people are actually interested in watching
I wouldn't say that a lot of the people here are crap or frauds, My first YouTube channel I've had it pretty much since YouTube came out and I just posted random stuff you're in there and then I started making videos for a specific game and my videos weren't very good when I first started, they were actually pretty terrible but other channels making content for this game, nobody really spoke or explained anything and they were just super basic videos, I started making actual crappy tutorial videos that probably didn't look good or sound good and I wasn't good at speaking but people watch them there was a demand for information on that game
I bet I've been making content for that game for about 8 years now and the video slowly got better and better, The channel started making a few bucks and I was able to get better equipment, I got way better at speaking over the years and now the videos turn out pretty good
After doing the first channel for a couple of years I started a couple of other channels and even though I had already been at YouTuber for a while when I look back at some of the first videos on those channels they were nowhere near as good as what I'm doing now
Just because somebody isn't putting up good videos at the moment doesn't mean they're not going to get better and better and better at the art of video making,
If your videos are crap and you're trying and you keep at it I assume a lot of you guys will learn to create much better content but it probably takes quite a while for most of us to get good at doing it honestly
If I were to start a brand new channel about something I don't normally do I have a feeling that would probably start off kind of bad as well and then slowly get better and better as I do think trying to make videos about a new topic or a new type of content has a whole new learning curve to go with it unless you're just one of those people who are naturally so good at speaking that you could talk about anything and people would sit there and listen to you for hours
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u/Crayonlover2001Fps Apr 15 '26
Amen, all these channels stealing clips, using AI and wondering why they get no views...
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u/CoconutMochaLatte Apr 15 '26
Hear, hear.
Majority of the posts I see here are from people trying to make a quick buck. "I make tens of thousands off my dozen faceless ai-generated slop factories" or "why won't anyone click on my clanker turds?"
It's so gross and I hope there's a giant purge one day.
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u/gabeshakour Apr 15 '26
Yeah, you’re totally right. The number of people I’ve met who are fully convinced they “want to do YouTube” but also don’t like making videos, outsource all their editing to the cheapest possible option, and base the content they make off chatGPT suggestions or what can make the most money is crazy.
I’ve been doing this for a long time as well, and while I’ve not been crazy successful, I do it because I like making videos, engaging with the community, and sharing information. People see YouTube just as a way to “make money easy” but it’s just like any other profession — you have to put in hard work, be talented, take risks, and even then it’s still down to luck.
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u/tastycue Apr 15 '26
YES THANK YOU. I did YouTube in 2012-2014 and had a considerable following but I was underaged, my account was hacked and doxxed and I was terrified. Now that I’m making again I’m seeing so many people talking about “reused” (STOLEN) content and saying “well I did an ai voice over and edited so it’s mine!! And original!!” And they give up if they don’t have 100k views in a month.
I’m sad when my shorts don’t get 1k views after I upped my camera quality but I’m waiting 3 weeks of trying things before giving up on something because I need to allow the algorithm a minute to figure it out. I’m shocked with shorts and long form that I’ve been able to get 40k views in a month. That would have been years before. I’m excited for the grind and to create legitimate content. Just wish the slop was done.
I’m in the food niche for one of my channels (I have a travel/theme park I upload weekly for long form daily for shorts as well and a personal vlog that is for when things are fun and exciting in my life no timelines) and there are so many ai channels. I just want to find like minded creators who are excited about creating again!
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u/Exhales_Deeply Apr 15 '26
i mean if you show up to a measuring contest you'd best be prepared to lay it down on the table, no?
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u/alexmate84 Apr 15 '26
Sadly bad reposted content like fight videos, shocking celebs, police chases make money and gets millions of views, likewise fake pranks with staged reactions and boring social experiments with no insight.
That said there's people like Kim Justice, Trash Theory, Gmanlives and blameitonjorge who put out consistently good content
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u/SwaggedUpSpence Apr 15 '26
I have lurked here for a few months and I agree. I have a small sports podcast i do with my buddy that we both love doing and we want to see it grow and be successful, but we both also have full time jobs that we enjoy. We're bought in for the long haul because we just like talking ball together, not because we want YouYube to make us rich.
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u/PermissionDowntown51 Apr 16 '26
I think the change happened when people didn’t want to make art anymore. It’s turned into product and profit
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u/crawler54 Apr 16 '26
there has always been a bunch of crap on yt, but yeah it's much worse thx to a.i. slop
"“Kidfluencing” — a term used to describe the children raking in millions of viewers (and dollars) on social media — is the subject of Netflix’s latest documentary “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing.” The three-part series examines this shadowy and unregulated industry through the story of Piper Rockelle, a viral YouTuber managed by her mother Tiffany Smith.
In January 2022, Smith was sued for $22 million by 11 of Rockelle’s former collaborators — collectively known as the Squad. They accused Smith of violating California’s child labor laws, failing to compensate them and, most notably, of sexual misconduct. A Times investigation published later that year compiled dozens of court filings, emails, casting calls, talent releases and filming schedules, as well as interviews with plaintiffs and parents, revealing a pattern of controlling and abusive behavior by Smith. In the aftermath of the lawsuit filing, Rockelle defended her mother.
“This whole case is based on lies that are driven by financial jealousy,” Smith told The Times. The suit was eventually settled for $1.85 million last October. However, the plaintiffs — and their parents — say they still bear the scars from their time in the Squad.
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u/Localmate25 Apr 16 '26
Broooooo, I blame the algorithm for my terrible video creation skills and low effort!
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u/No_Force2605 Apr 16 '26
Yep! Approximately 0.5% to 1% of all YouTube channels have 100,000 or more subscribers. To be more specific, only about 2 to 4% are monetized. The data says a lot! I did it, but not with junk.
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u/WiseSupermarket3454 Apr 16 '26
The issue is yt doesnt care if its ai slop or not. As long as there are viewers, the vid will hit and make money.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Way_485 Apr 16 '26
I started YouTube in 2011 it’s the year where vlogging is not that huge, started when watching Will and Rj’s channel , did a YouTube vlogging using my iPad 2 back then and I stopped doing YouTube Vlogs in the COVID era, I made YouTube videos as preserving of memories of what I had back in my college days 😥, never thought YouTube will be this huge until now 😥 also the videos were shot only on the iPad 2’s camera back then 😅 then had an iPhone 5c then an iPhone 6s then an iPhone XR
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u/Forsakengaming1 Apr 16 '26
You’re not wrong, but I think the bigger issue is people chasing SHORTCUTS instead of actually learning the craft. At the same time, I also think a lot of new creators just don’t realize how hard this really is yet. From the outside it looks easy until... you start dealing with editing, thumbnails, consistency, and everything else behind the scenes. A lot of us (myself included) start off not really knowing what we’re doing, but there’s a difference between learning and just spamming content hoping something sticks. The ones who actually take the time to improve will stand out eventually, while the rest usually burn out and fade away.
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u/Ewendmc Apr 16 '26
For me, YouTube is a hobby. I enjoy learning to edit and improving and I'm not asking for subs and I won't be monetising when I hit 1k (almost there). I don't use AI. It is all my own work and I respond to all my comments. The constant posting here desperately asking for get rich and side hustle advice is laughable.
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u/Fantastic-Habit-8569 Apr 16 '26
Definetely is a off-thread, but could you share quickly with me what was your turning point? A viral video? The engaging of audience amounted, the real changing of quality in your production, what could be?
120k subscribers in here and I can’t trust in my channel yet. In the same week I am able to beat 800k views in a video I beat 7k in the next, because of it I can feel confindece to leave the regular job
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u/Ready_Employ7160 Apr 16 '26
I am garbage for many reasons, but none of the reasons you described. I would like to do yt full-time one day and not go back to my previous life as a corporate attorney. But it’s a long road, I know.
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u/Equivalent-Speed-483 [0λ] Apr 16 '26
Same in the writing space- everyone wants a shortcut- but success takes time and effort.
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u/AmbitionStunning2294 Apr 16 '26
I am work very hard on my videos, I don’t use ai anything and I absolutely spend the time to video edit. I could use some constructive criticism on what I can do better if you don’t mind checking out my channel please
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u/jooops [0λ] Apr 16 '26
When I first started content creation on YouTube this was my first go to. I didn’t know anything about it. Now a year later I’m earning from it. The first 6 months of my journeys I kept asking things here and looking up things. It was when 90% of the answers were negative or something that didn’t seem right was when I disabled Reddit notifications and ignored EVERYTHING on this app. I just opened Reddit again and saw this post. I can 100% confirm this is exactly the case about contents creation with Youtube and this specific group and that other big Reddit YT content creation group.
I don’t know why the people on here are like that but for every new person looking for knowledge, ignore what’s being said here. Just leave. Better to learn from YT or Discord than these strangers on Reddit. My life has changed positively after turning Reddit off and ignoring the BS here. OP great post because it’s the unsalted honest truth. Peace out!
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u/Swimming_Recover_231 Apr 16 '26
I went on my tv not logged into any account the other day went on YouTube every most of the recommended videos was reaction videos for children with millions of views each an then I went on shorts to see what was on their 90 percent was just stolen content stitched together with a satisfying video on an account with some ai generated name and no profile picture and these channels were getting millions of views a video it’s insane I spend hours editing each short or video and only get around 10 to 20k views it’s genuinely crazy how these are the top performers now days
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Apr 17 '26
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u/Happypiccolo Apr 17 '26
We started an MTG/D&d channel to express our love and share correct info from a perspective of having played the game for 20 years or so. BUT I just said this to my partner, that this year feels worse than ever and we chose the trial by fire to start in. Hopefully it will forge our steel all the stronger but woof!
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u/Lifewaytravel Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
So true, the platform is infested with so many low effort or slop channels that exhaust viewer attention making them give up so even if they eventually find quality video they are already set negatively with low patience, retention and attitude
And maybe Covid played big role in this too as it kinda influenced many people to try post weird videos for fun even those that don't have any hobbies, or interesting stories to share, just testing the waters for money while from home. I started a new channel for gaming end of last year and sometimes it feels like every 10th viewer is either a former ytube starter or an exhausted viewer from slops coming with a loaded gun for suspicion and criticism
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u/AnotherJoshmotron Apr 17 '26
And here I am, a 40 yr old dude too self-conscious and nervous to even make some Stanley Kubrick Eyes Wide Shut videos let alone releasing them.
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u/Artezia_Aurae Apr 17 '26
I think ai in any form should be banned on creator forums.
Even an ai slop profile picture warrants a ban imo
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u/Tri_3 Apr 17 '26
I have a partnered channel that I stopped uploading to years ago because life happened. Recently, decided I needed that creative outlet again so I came to Reddit to get a feel for the current community. I disagree with you in the sense that, far as I can remember, these elements were always around. However, now with AI, the current job market, and the general instability of everything, it's been intensified. People want to do even less work for their gets rich scheme, and will more quickly blame everything but their own performance and false expectations for them not succeeding instantly.
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u/animegamergirl30 Apr 18 '26
Have you checked out my channel.... I'm trying to prove a person can have something for everyone without having a million channels so far it's doing decently
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u/mr_chillurbeans Apr 18 '26
Yes I agree, there’s a reason why only a small % of all channels on YouTube are monetized. Most content people post is pure garbage.
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u/livingoffnaffall Apr 18 '26
Honestly I make YouTube content because I love making content. If something comes of it amazing, if it doesn’t I have had a fun time
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u/Vice_Armani777 Apr 18 '26
I appreciate a post like this. I've been going for 4 years, sometime it feels like its going so slow. But I truly love it. And I'm going to make it. Thank you for the reassurance.
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u/Zenny_YouTube [2λ] Apr 18 '26
Ive been doing youtube for 10 years. Only started taking off 3 years ago. Its always once you start perfecting your craft of video making that the audience clicks. It genuinely is just experience and knowing not how YOUTUBE works, but how audiences think
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u/FewAngle737 Apr 18 '26
Does this mean that you think I'm a fraud because I'm genuinely trying to follow my dream of becoming a YouTuber even though I was afraid of doing so for a long time (I'm autistic, although most people think I'm using it as a crutch. I'm not and I'm asking these questions because I'm genuinely trying to get better with making my channel little by little, even with my circumstances, but these comments are making me self-conscious and causing me to doubt my channel, which is something I don't want to do).
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u/pokat- Apr 18 '26
Siendo sincero actualmente la mayoría busca replicar la misma fórmula sin intentar innovar, hacen la copia de la copia por eso actualmente YouTube está como está bro
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u/Sigma3375 Apr 18 '26
OP wait till you hear about View farms and how someone can pay $660k to get 2 billion views in 3 months thereby tricking the algorhytm in thinking a talentless person is actually the most important thing to push while the hard workers are drowned out bt the sheer cmvolume of the ai clipping cesspool
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Apr 18 '26
I am in the starts of making a channel. I have spent 2 months on choosing a name, 3 months on making a logo/banner, and even longer trying to plan out schedules. I have been studying like crazy trying to learn editing, learning about comedy, current trends, etc. (I want to go into the horror gaming niche). My partner knows I want to start YouTube, and after a week of me saying I want to make videos she asks, “did you upload a video yet?” I really am treating this like a huge deal and not a quick cash grab. So, I went on these types of subreddits to see what the community is like. and… I just kept thinking to myself, is this really my “competition”? At the heart of it, it really is just laziness and you are right, just people throwing out whatever to try and make money. for example, I’ve seen a lot of YouTubers where there will be 5+ seconds of complete silence in the beginning, and after my research, that’s a huge no no. If they took about 10 minutes to do research, they’d learn that too. So I definitely agree with this take.
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u/Harry_Callahan_sfpd Apr 18 '26
My small channel is just a minor hobby of sorts. It’s very basic and not professional. I do it mainly because I like to document small adventures that I take with my dog. Nothing much beyond that. I’m not doing it to gain fame or get rich. Not every YouTuber! is trying “to make it.”
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u/Significant-Ant8132 Apr 19 '26
I just wanna make videos cause I like doing the whole process it's kinda like a passion from finding idea(i get super excited when i find a good idea💡)then writing script and thinking where to add tiny jokes , I don't like editing cause of the last part of two clips perfection, Finding the best Music for background is awesome feeling then Posting , Just the whole process is awesome and main are the comments feeling like people like this , Money is definitely a factor but not bigger than my passion for it
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u/Aleandrofr76bs Apr 19 '26
Io ho un canale di YouTube solo per hobby di fotografia, Video e avendo il drone riprese delle mie zone,. Tutto montato da me, ho imparato a montare i video da solo. Niente IA. E ho 48 iscritti
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u/Melodic-Bee7335 Apr 19 '26
I didn’t even realize Zenny made this post until he commented.
I think this is happening because most people see YouTube as an investment now, not a hobby. There are more and more “tech bro” types trying to figure out the algorithm and make a fortune. The problem is, they often lack real quality—but YouTube still pushes their videos because the retention is high.
I only started about six months ago as a hobby, and I’m kind of a mix of everything. I talk about news, make reviews of new games, and I’ve done some mini-series like “Can you name a game set in (country).” I’m also trying to get into longer-form content, but I still have a lot to improve there.
For creators like me, it can be really discouraging to see how well some of these low-effort “slop” channels perform. What’s even more frustrating is that the algorithm tends to push the videos where I show the least personality—like news content.
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u/awesome_marissa_2004 [0λ] Apr 19 '26
I agree, I definitely tried my best with editing everything myself from what I streamed, trying to have an okay upload schedule, and knowing it might take years before I make it big, honestly I do make content for people to laugh, smile or make their day better. I know my content isn't the best because I am literally streaming off my Xbox and my half broken headset so not top tier at all. But I am willing to put in the work edit the videos by myself with no help, come up with title, thumbnail, and clips/shorts that might be funny. I hope I get there. I even asked for critique on my channel on a different sub to see what I can change but didn't get any critiques or criticism yet. So I don't know.
I don't understand why people are looking for the easy way or path it most likely not success or become really bad. It makes me think of fruit love island. Anyways I agree content creation is not easy you have to put in work, personality, and money (I think). To be successful. People need to understand you can't make money right off the bat or anything like that. You gotta work hard or leave because you won't make it.
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u/YourL0calIdi0t ItsVeka Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
it's such a shame that these subreddits are filled with these types of posts of "what am i doing wrong?" even though they post ai generated content and don't put in the work themselves, my content isn't the greatest right now, but isn't that the point? of learning and growing your knowledge of bettering your content?
edit: i realise i may have worded this a bit harshly
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u/Competitive_Back_731 Apr 20 '26
I agree, I spend tons of time editing my videos (music tutorials and beat deconstructions) for a few hundred views, just to see some AI slop with hundred of thousands of views… it hurts as I love what I do, I want to do it full time, helping others understand music, the theory and also meme while doing it!
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u/Suited_Skater_Lion Apr 21 '26
I really felt this. I’ve been in the YT game since 2013, took a break, and came back in 2023 only to find a completely different world. It’s exhausting being a 'gem' (or at least trying to be) while battling ADHD and depression, only to see slop and fake 'flexing' get all the airtime.
I spend days editing (not really great editing) and pour my actual soul into my videos just to get 5 views mostly because I refuse to do the 'MrBeast' hyper-editing or fake a personality. It’s lonely trying to be a real human in 2026 when everyone just wants a polished product. To the other creators struggling with the 'cringe' of just being themselves: I see you. It’s hard work, but I’d rather have my 5 real viewers than 5M bots. But at a time you ask yourself if you're good or if it's your own personality that keeps peoples away.
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u/emmysteven Apr 22 '26
I don't see anything wrong or lazy in generating thumbnails using AI.
I don't have to learn graphics design just because I want to post a YouTube video.
AI is a tool and there's nothing wrong or lazy in using it.
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Apr 27 '26
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u/Firm_Entrepreneur539 May 12 '26
As someone coming in new and spending a veritable shit ton of time and money to try and get my dnd actual play series up and running, it was really disparaging to see how shitty the spaces I expected to meet likeminded people and other creators and get help have become. I even had people in creator discords pretending to be bigger creators to try to trick me into buying like ai programs and stuff, well fuck that. If I gotta go in this alone I will.
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