it pays to be april wilkerson


blackoak

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14 minutes ago, blackoak said:

What was the upside for Youtube to change these algorithms ? It seems it is to get content makers to create things that are simpler , easier for the novice to understand , creating more "views" .What led to all this ?

The little guy used to get a few bucks for posting content.  They did away with that for some reason.  It used to be, once you hit 100 bucks in revenue, they'd send you a check.  I never received a check and they changed the follower requirements so, it will be much longer for me before I ever see a check.

For me, I post just to share for the most part.  The money was never important to me.  If money was the only reason to do it, I'd of quit about 50 videos ago ;)

Why did YT change?  My guess would be too many little guys.  By changing their stuff, they don't have to offer the little guy anything.  Those that hang on, they might get a couple bucks.  I promise you, it never pays you for the time you have in the work!

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28 minutes ago, ..Kev said:

Why did YT change?

YT changed it's advertising policy in response to Logan Paul's video showing a corpse in the "suicide forest" in Japan, an area many people go to do just that.  That singular video almost sank the whole platform.  Advertisers were outraged and many dropped and many more threatened to drop out unless something was done.  So Google (who owns YT) did.

Of course big channels (like Logan Paul) bring in big dollars for Google, so they weren't about to bite the hand that feeds them too hard.  Instead, they brought in new guidelines for ad revenue that would give the appearance of action, while affecting the bottom line the least, which would be the new, and the smaller channels getting regulated to a higher degree.  

Many advertisers also insisted on contract clauses that would protect them from having their ads appear on certain kinds of videos.  They can now choose to opt out of any segment of the platform that deals with just about any subject they deem to be too "sensitive" for their ads.

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22 minutes ago, Jim DaddyO said:

YT changed it's advertising policy in response to Logan Paul's video showing a corpse in the "suicide forest" in Japan, an area many people go to do just that.  That singular video almost sank the whole platform.  Advertisers were outraged and many dropped and many more threatened to drop out unless something was done.  So Google (who owns YT) did.

That's true, but there's also been something else changed with their algorithm as far as what content gets promoted.  Things get changed all the time.  If their testing shows a different algorithm increases watch time by 0.1% then that's what they do.  

What amazes me about it is they have this absolutely ginormous catalog of videos on their servers but you can't get to any of it by looking for it directly.  You can only ever find anything by their algorithm deciding that other people who watched what you just watched liked this other stuff so therefore you will like it too.  But if you just want to find woodworking channels that you haven't seen before there's no way to find them.  You'd think that would be a fairly basic thing to be able to do.  Searching will only ever get you the most popular stuff and anything else you have to find by accident or through some other social media avenue.  

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31 minutes ago, krtwood said:

That's true, but there's also been something else changed with their algorithm as far as what content gets promoted.

I have learned recently, through a geek friend that keeps up on this stuff, that click through rate (how many times someone clicks to see your video) and audience retention rate (how long they watch the video) are the 2 things YT uses to promote videos.  The change favours a longer video format, IF you can keep them watching.  The standard used to be an 8 to 12 minute video, that has changed in favour of the 20 or so minute video, which, not surprisingly, matches up to the time of your average 30 minute show on TV, which is the direction YT wants to go.  Have you noticed the amount of "news" channels and re releases of news channel programs come up on your recommended list page?  I can't even begin to count how many repeats of Fox News gets on there.  Fox News, Fox News HD, Fox News and Friends, MrD's channel, Gramps (or something like that), and on and on and on with several channels all putting up the same content.

 

Oh, and unskippable ads are on the horizon too.

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1) If you never click it, you don’t get it offered high on the list. If you thumb it down, it goes further down the list. I never see news offered. 

2) On the horizon? Ads you cannot skip have been around since they started selling YT Red or some other paid app. 

3) YT, like all of Google, gives you a different experience based on ISP, browser, device, geographical location, demographics, etc. Your YT experience and mine may be nothing alike. 

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4 hours ago, Tpt life said:

1) If you never click it, you don’t get it offered high on the list. If you thumb it down, it goes further down the list. I never see news offered. 

2) On the horizon? Ads you cannot skip have been around since they started selling YT Red or some other paid app. 

3) YT, like all of Google, gives you a different experience based on ISP, browser, device, geographical location, demographics, etc. Your YT experience and mine may be nothing alike. 

The difference with non skippable ads now is that creators can chose to only run non skippable ads.  They have been around for a long time but they have always been intermixed with skippable ads.  There is now an option in Creator Studio to uncheck skippable ads.

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Well, the mini infomercials show a real person using a real off the shelf product in a real world setting doing something with it that may be applicable to a potential customer.      She always reveals that she has "partners" so it's not like there is something being hidden.      

4 years ago she had never done anything DIY or woodworking and even though she has learned a lot and come a long way she is still very inexperienced.    I think product placement with someone like her using it and getting good results is money well spent for the manufacturers.      

For instance, I wouldn't even be aware of the super jaws thingy without seeing her use it (and yes promote it) on many different projects.    I don't need one of those now, but it would have been very useful to me in years past when I was doing projects more similar to what she is doing.      

FWIW the cyclone video has had 145,000+ views so far in a targeted audience.    Considering magazine distribution these days April should be charging them extra for the privilege of installing it in her shop.  

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3 hours ago, chashint said:

Well, the mini infomercials show a real person using a real off the shelf product in a real world setting doing something with it that may be applicable to a potential customer.      She always reveals that she has "partners" so it's not like there is something being hidden.      

4 years ago she had never done anything DIY or woodworking and even though she has learned a lot and come a long way she is still very inexperienced.    I think product placement with someone like her using it and getting good results is money well spent for the manufacturers.      

For instance, I wouldn't even be aware of the super jaws thingy without seeing her use it (and yes promote it) on many different projects.    I don't need one of those now, but it would have been very useful to me in years past when I was doing projects more similar to what she is doing.      

FWIW the cyclone video has had 145,000+ views so far in a targeted audience.    Considering magazine distribution these days April should be charging them extra for the privilege of installing it in her shop.  

Very true. And I'd much rather watch her 'built in' commercials than the ones that interrupt the video.

In general though, I find the commercials on youtube to be of much higher quality that what I use to see on network TV (haven't watched that in years). I probably watch 10% - 20% of the skippable commercials to the end. The banners at the bottom annoy me to no end & I've never paid attention to a single one except to click it away

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On 9/9/2018 at 8:45 PM, Cliff said:

I got no prob with her or what she does. I don't care for companies dumping all their products on people because they have a few hundred thousand followers. Another crappy version of advertising. And you are rewarding people for being popular, no other reason. It's easy to get annoyed when you see someone that is lacking in skill (whether because they truly don't have it or they just haven't had a chance to hone it yet) getting all the products when you gotta save up all year for them because of other life responsibilities. 

 I also have issue with people that point a camera at themselves, slap it on you tube and make a living from it. Which differs from those that are actually teaching. I think our culture is infatuated with celebrities, and always willing to manufacture some more. 

Those companies aren't running a woodworking skills competition; they're trying to sell product. YouTube isn't there as an educational platform; first and foremost, it's an entertainment and marketing platform. Some people use it as an educational tool, sure- but the only meaningful reason that most people are willing to create and give away free video content, and the only reason that YouTube is willing to create the platform and distribute that content, is because of advertising/marketing/sponsorship. April has convinced nearly 3/4 of a million people that she's entertaining enough to watch doing stuff in and around her shop. That's a pretty valuable thing. I hope she's getting a lot more than free tools out of whatever deals she has with manufacturers- they'd be getting off cheap if the only thing they did was throw some free product her way.

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Here is my $0.02 on the subject:

1. You 20 to 35 years old, are new to woodworking, or making this yourself in general. You stumble across Paul Sellers, a distinguished, grandfatherly gentleman, who quietly talks for 28 minutes about properly sharpening your chisel. You find April, a vivacious, attractive young woman, confidently explaining how to pocket-screw a picnic table together, in 12 minutes or less. 

Which do you watch?

2. You are a 60+ year old, experienced hobby woodworker. You stumble across Paul Sellers, a distinguished, grandfatherly gentleman, who quietly talks for 28 minutes about properly sharpening your chisel. You find April, a vivacious, attractive young woman, confidently explaining how to pocket-screw a picnic table together, in 12 minutes or less.

Which do you watch?

Care to guess the ratio of 25-year-old newbs to 60-year-old hobbyists watching Youtube?

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39 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

Here is my $0.02 on the subject:

1. You 20 to 35 years old, are new to woodworking, or making this yourself in general. You stumble across Paul Sellers, a distinguished, grandfatherly gentleman, who quietly talks for 28 minutes about properly sharpening your chisel. You find April, a vivacious, attractive young woman, confidently explaining how to pocket-screw a picnic table together, in 12 minutes or less. 

Which do you watch?

2. You are a 60+ year old, experienced hobby woodworker. You stumble across Paul Sellers, a distinguished, grandfatherly gentleman, who quietly talks for 28 minutes about properly sharpening your chisel. You find April, a vivacious, attractive young woman, confidently explaining how to pocket-screw a picnic table together, in 12 minutes or less.

Which do you watch?

Care to guess the ratio of 25-year-old newbs to 60-year-old hobbyists watching Youtube?

Loads of wait time in WiFI. I have watched both. 

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On 9/10/2018 at 12:38 PM, krtwood said:

You'll be glad to know that the viewership for woodworking content on YouTube has collapsed over the past year.  A few channels are still doing okay, but for the most part it's a post apocalyptic wasteland.   I've gotten a couple "free" tools over the years but it was never remotely close to what I put into making the videos.   

That's sad because you really have some amazing projects. I enjoy watching it. I know I'm subscribed, but youtube hasn't shown me a video of yours in over a year on the main screen. But I watch one indian guy make my favorite indian dish and I get recommended nothing but him now. Just fantastic.

I don't begrudge a free tool here or there to some guys. But I really find myself wondering how much of everything that has happened with April in the past year is mostly or entirely paid for. It's difficult to respect that. She earned it, but not the way I earned my tools. 

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6 hours ago, Kurt Triebe said:

Those companies aren't running a woodworking skills competition; they're trying to sell product. YouTube isn't there as an educational platform; first and foremost, it's an entertainment and marketing platform. Some people use it as an educational tool, sure- but the only meaningful reason that most people are willing to create and give away free video content, and the only reason that YouTube is willing to create the platform and distribute that content, is because of advertising/marketing/sponsorship. April has convinced nearly 3/4 of a million people that she's entertaining enough to watch doing stuff in and around her shop. That's a pretty valuable thing. I hope she's getting a lot more than free tools out of whatever deals she has with manufacturers- they'd be getting off cheap if the only thing they did was throw some free product her way.

That's absolutely fine. I can only speak for myself and find fault with rewarding her for being popular. 

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