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this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2023
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Linus Tech Tips .....
Click baity as heck and most of the content are just ads or have misleading information.
At this point, how many different ways can you build a PC then benchmark it, all the while shitting on top tier equipment like it's for brokeasses? You made a server and put the highest capacity drives in it you could afford? Cool bro.
The clickbait is what gets me.
The video is covering the Toughbook CF-19 but it's not mentioned in the title and the thumbnail looks like generic YouTube trash and makes me not want to watch it out of principle.
Unfortunately, the stupid thumbnail and clickbait title is by design. Linus has spoken about this long before the latest controversy, but unfortunately they do increase views.
I'm fact, they trial different titles and monitor which brings in more views - if you catch a video early enough, you'll probably notice the title change a few hours later as they trial different ones. So as frustrating as it is, it's a symptom of the platform and the market at large.
For all of Linus' flaws and mistakes, he's generally a good businessman and make no mistake, LMG is a business at the end of the day. Put yourself in his shoes, is he going to do the thing that will get him 1,000 views but put off 1 person, or appeal to that 1 person but lose 1,000 views? It sucks, he been vocal about how much he also hates it, but it is what it is. His goal is to grow his business, at least he's up front about it.
I'm not completely defending Linus as an individual here, he's definitely fucked up a lot (especially lately), he still thinks he's a "little YouTuber" and doesn't appreciate how much sway he has, how his words can destroy an entire business overnight - the very thing his own company was nearly hit by several times in the past when he was small - but the clickbait and thumbnails aren't something I think he should be blamed for, he's just playing the YouTube game and if I was in his position, I'd do the same.
I get it. It's just not something I appreciate and at times it has gotten so annoyingly cringy I've unsubscribed for a bit.
The combination of the Youtuber face thumbnails and the lack of descriptive thumbnails makes me irregularly watch their videos. Probably as irregularly as if I wasn't subscribed and was finding them through the related video section.
Yup I hear that. I know they use different video titles because they've talked about that on the show a few times, but having worked in a very SEO-driven business myself, I would be surprised if they don't pay attention to all of the metrics - including numbers of unsubscribers (Which you can get a breakdown of per video) and things like that.
In this line of business, there's always some amount of churn/attrition, you literally cannot please everyone when your audience is tens or even hundreds of millions of people. The best you can do is aim for the net gain/growth and when you don't hit that, learn from it.
You're doing the right thing by unsubscribing, if you're not enjoying the content or engaging with it, that'll literally tell them as much. The only issue is if that same content is engaging with more other people, there's a good chance they won't miss you as a subscriber. Which sucks, but that's just business. It's one of the reasons why so many youtube channels have gone downhill, because you end up invariably chasing the numbers and the numbers are decidedly mainstream. LTT is firmly in that camp now.
They increase views at the cost of credibility. Not worth the cost in my opinion.
Their revenue is continuing to grow, it's really not an issue for them.
Yeah but for how long? Ship of thessius moment is going to sink them.
Why do you think that? None of this is new, they've been using clickbaity headlines and thumbnails for years and years now.
Yes but the public perception flipped when the long working hours, pressure to release videos and culture became evident in the recent scandal that ended with 3? apology videos.
Did it, though? They certainly got called out, but as far as I can see his content is still growing.
DeArrow can fix those
Negative information is still information. Knowing something isn’t worth the time/money can still be helpful.
Disclaimer: didn’t watch the video in question
After watching the video, I thought it was pretty solid. Only 1 of the 4 was mostly bad, the rest just had sharp edges that the viewer needed to be comfortable with before launching in.
I’m not saying Linus isn’t guilty of clickbait and junk content to some degree, but this one felt good to me :)
I like this one too and generally like the videos with Alex. Just because something doesn't make practical sense to do doesn't mean it's not interesting.
I'd disagree with the last statement as negative results may still be useful. But I didn't watch the video, maybe it really was not worth being made
and theft, and lies.
don't forget the theft and lies.
And wasn't there someone who was involved there who later made claims of sexual harassment/discrimination?
I was never a big follower but that was enough to get me to banish the channel from my homepage.
That's what happens when you base your entire business model coming up with new video ideas to make money.
I just got tired. Stopped enjoying the videos as much, and when the last big controversy happened, I realized I only watched them out of habit and not for entertainment or even the info they gave out (if it could even be trusted).
Nowadays if I need straight data or a good review I go to Gamers Nexus. Dont need a forced meme every other minute to enjoy what could be a well constructed and informative video.
Agreed. They are supposedly working to fix the misleading info and quality control, but the damage has been done for me. I stopped watching them a long time ago
Clickbait ≠ Clicky titles.
Say what you want but their videos aint bait and switch.
They sure are borderline there though.
I remember the title of the video about how he wished he would have invested even more at framework, being titled "I made a bad decision about investing in framework" and the thumbnail being all on fire
I guess, rules are meant to be broken?
But even here: Not a bait and switch. He made a "bad" decision. Wording is (as you said) bad but technically not incorrect.
“Technically correct” is how clickbait gets justified while blatantly misguiding.
When you intentionally induce such different expectations, it is a “bait and switch” in my book.
If I'd had to choose between the framework clickbait and this video by Mint Blitz "This Is Concerning", I'd prefer the LTT type of clickbait.
At least I got the information that it's about Framework and Linus considered it a "mistake". If I wouldnt care about framework I wouldnt even click it.
I've watched their content, practically from the inception of Linus' own channel. It used to be a really nice outlet for info, because he'd open up products, and actually show useful details during an unboxing. Over the years, I've unsubbed from all of their channels, minus the main one, but when the drama dropped, that was the last drop for me. I totally get entertainment, but not when it's fueled by harassment, gross negligence, drama, and "hot takes about the hard R". Everything is scripted and corporate. It doesn't feel enjoyable anymore
non-ad videos are still decent-ish... definitely not as fun tho...