Why 98% of YouTubers Suck
I know, my title is a bit elementary and a bit over the edge, but it’s true: 98% of YouTubers are uneducated, racist, full of hate and some, yes I said some, are even inbred. <gasp!>
First, I want to say that I’m not a fan of big generalizations and you can’t solve the world’s problems by just putting ALL peoples into one category. Second, the 2% of YouTubers who have something productive to say, who are educated and have common sense, are the ones reading this. So please don’t think I’m directing this to you. Also, even though I personally think YouTube should incorporate an 18+ yr old minimum age limit, I want to say I’ve been so impressed with teenagers such as SpencerC, Chris Farley and Max Murphy. These three are absolutely what America should be proud about in regards to how we raise our children. Props to all three of them.
Now, it’s time to discuss my beef with YouTube. I realize I’m actually crawling down to the level of these people’s “patheticness” by discussing these examples, but how can I not? It’s truly getting out of hand! For any of you who have posted a video, I will be willing to bet you’ve received not just ONE but maybe even 50 to 100 insane, racist, cruel and uneducated/stupid comments from users on YouTube. Nine of out ten times whenever I post a video, there’s always that one 14 yr old who thinks he/she is so cool because they called me a “faggot.” Oh, they really got me… [blank stare]
So I began discussing this a while ago within my social network community. Do others feel the same way? Neal Cambell, Geekbrief.tv producer, was one of the first to agree with me. He told me he never allows comments on YouTube anymore due to some of them coming back hateful. Cali Lewis, his counterpart, said the same thing. I then began getting several responses on Twitter that almost every single person agreed with me! YouTube lacked legitimacy because there were too many idiots on YouTube.
So why is that? Well, a few of the people I mentioned above think it’s because it doesn’t take any education to register. You simply need an email address and the simplicity of YouTube allows for anyone and everyone to upload and post material. Sure, YouTube has a “spam” marker, but does it even work? I recall spamming several people’s comments when I posted something about my brother who had PASSED away, yet they all seemed to keep coming up. “You’re such a fag… who gives a ‘insert curse word’ about your brother.” It was brilliancy as its best.
I have countless examples (personal and others I’ve just recently viewed) where I can show you exactly what I’m talking about. Here’s one I found in literally 20 seconds. PhillyD.TV is a guy I subscribe to on YouTube because he has a funny show. He’s a bit controversial but he’s educated and researches what he’s talking about. He brought up a story of a teenager who was decapitated at Six Flag’s in Georgia. Obviously, a heartbreaking story for this teen’s family and yes, the kid didn’t make the smartest decision. Here’s just ONE out of many video responses I found to this news piece. All I need to say is “wow…” Also, look at the comments on this guy’s video post. It proves my point in so many countless ways.
One more example, just because it’s too pathetically sad and funny. This “eighteen” year old girl (mikanikki07) responded to one of Phil’s videos with “like oh my God, you guys. Like oh, this is like SO GAY. Like oh my Gaaaaaawd.” So I simply wrote “hey, congrats on your first YouTube post, but seriously… that’s gay? Really not appropriate.” Little did I know she and her “boyfriend” would then begin harassing me with comments calling me an idiot, a pedophile and other hysterically funny names. Five minutes later, she SENDS ME A FRIEND REQUEST! [total blank stare]
So, am I prude? Absolutely not. I’ve never minded cursing when it’s necessary. Controversy never upsets me and in all honesty, I got over the “gay name calling” in 10th grade. I’m very proud of who I am. Also, I rarely post things on YouTube anymore, so this is not about me getting my feelings hurt and not being able to take it. Trust me.
My point in this post is where is there a huge community, like YouTube, where the viewers have truly something to say. The comments are constructive and engaging and you’ll never have to see the word “n*gger, f*ggot, or b*tch” in a sentence? AND the show has the mass audience that YouTube has? Sadly, I don’t think one exists just yet.
Do the 98% of YouTubers who suck prohibit you from posting material on YouTube? Do you get upset when the antics of a three year old halt the communication of hundreds of people talking about an important topic? Lastly, do you allow comments when you post on YouTube? I’d love to hear your comments below…
Tags: Culture, Racists, society, Teens, Uneducated, Youtube
July 5th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Hey, Jeff. You know me well enough, that you know I’m inclined to give anyone about ten or fifteen benefits of any given doubt. I hate to speak harshly of any given person or thing. Just not in my nature. But YouTube really is the cesspool of the Internet. I virtually never use the site. Only when somebody I know has posted something interesting sounding do I go there. I watch what they put up and leave. A few weeks ago, Geoff Smith put up his video for “I’m a TWiT”, and I actually *gasp* registered a YouTube account so I could leave a bit of praise in the comments. I doubt that account will get much more use. For posting my own stuff, I use Vimeo. YouTube just has a “bad neighborhood” feel to it. If I were to put a video there and invite friends to come see it, I’d feel like I was throwing a party at a toxic waste dump. Everyone is familiar with the Internet concept of “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” (all thanks to Roger Waters for the term). No where on the web is that concept in greater, more repugnant display, than YouTube.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
I no longer use YouTube to post anything. I prefer Vimeo or Viddler for posting video. Unfortunately there isn’t a large community around either site, but I see them more as sites where you upload content which you can then embed into other sites that might get more traffic. Perhaps that’s the real future: Not a site where you can upload video, but a site where you can embed media you upload anywhere, but have intelligent conversations based around that media. Just a thought.
July 5th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
One other thought: I think the “huge community” may be the root of the problem. In any group beyond a very small size, I think the Stupid Loud Minority will exist. When your user group reaches a certain (huge) size, the Stupid Loud Minority grows large enough in numbers, if not percentage, that they appear to run the place. That’s a potential problem with any forum that grows beyond a certain size. Probably moderation would help. Though the whole idea of filtering commentary makes me uncomfortable, at a certain audience size I think it becomes necessary.
July 5th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Totally agree @davepeterson and @dogboi - great points! Thanks for commenting!
July 6th, 2008 at 7:06 am
YouTube was thinking of changing the tag line from “Broadcast Yourself”, to “Idiots Welcome”, but it kind of seemed redundant.
July 6th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I’ve entirely avoided wading in the polluted waters of YouTube. @DavePeterson is right - YouTube is the “bad neighborhood” in the big Internet world. It’s amazing how these people wear their intolerance on their sleeves - that they would openly and publicly do on the Internet what they would not do in person. YouTube needs a good neighborhood watch group.
With regards to the 18-year-old age minimum, I’m curious as to why you think this would help. In my experience, an idiot at 14 is still an idiot at 41, but I’m open to new ideas.
Thanks for the linkage! Great post,
Chris Farley
http://www.viewfromafarley.com
July 30th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
[...] of my friends, Jeff McCord recently wrote a post on his blog about the nastiness of comments on YouTube. I keep hearing the same thing about Digg.com users too. [...]
July 31st, 2008 at 9:24 am
[...] of my friends, Jeff McCord recently wrote a post on his blog about the nastiness of comments on YouTube. I keep hearing the same thing about Digg.com users too. [...]
July 31st, 2008 at 6:48 pm
[...] Posted on July 31, 2008 by Bill Comments by Cali Lewis: One of my friends, Jeff McCord recently wrote a post on his blog about the nastiness of comments on YouTube. I keep hearing the same thing about Digg.com users too. [...]
August 1st, 2008 at 11:14 am
Hey Jeff;
I completely agree Jeff. You Tube has gotten completely out of hand. Since there is no one to monitor the content, it’s allowed just to fester into a larger cesspool than it already is. Anyone with a lick of intelligence can see You Tube is not where you want to post or be known for posting there. Hate and fear will always be around but we don’t have to take part in making it bigger than it actually is and You Tube is doing just that.