I'm Quitting YouTube, too.
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses the phenomenon of YouTubers quitting or retiring early, questioning the viability of YouTube as a career path. The speaker shares their decision to quit and the reasons behind it, including the lack of growth and the changing algorithm that fails to support creators. They also touch on the challenges of being a YouTuber, such as the difficulty in monetizing content and the all-consuming nature of the job. The speaker suggests that the concept of financial independence and early retirement (FIRE) might not be as appealing as it seems, as it can lead to a loss of status and purpose. They end by contemplating the future of YouTube as a career and the need to redefine the business model for success.
Takeaways
- đ« YouTube Career Sustainability: The speaker questions the viability of YouTube as a sustainable career path due to many content creators quitting or retiring early.
- đ Niche Saturation and Exodus: The tech influencer space, once bustling with creators, has seen a significant decrease in participation, with the speaker being one of the last few remaining.
- đ Two Approaches to Leaving YouTube: Creators can either quit gracefully or opt to burn out their channel with low-value content and excessive monetization strategies.
- đ Algorithm Changes Impact: The YouTube algorithm's changes have led to stagnation or decline in growth for channels, affecting creators' motivation and perceived value of their work.
- đž Monetization and Business Value: YouTube channels, unlike traditional startups, often have no equity to sell or transfer, leading to wealth destruction when creators decide to quit.
- đ Dreams vs. Reality: The realization that YouTube channels may not reach their full potential or replace traditional media leads to a loss of dreams and motivation for creators.
- đ Changing Content Landscape: The shift in YouTube's focus from long-form content to shorts and podcasts reflects a broader change in consumer preferences and creator monetization challenges.
- đŒ Labor Economy Reflection: The difficulty in hiring and managing a team for YouTube channels mirrors the broader labor economy's challenges with finding dedicated and hardworking employees.
- đ Isolation and Creativity: The isolation of YouTube work and the stagnation in video technology innovation contribute to creators' struggles with maintaining creativity and engagement.
- đ The FIRE Movement Critique: The speaker critiques the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement, suggesting that continuous productivity and engagement with society may be more fulfilling than early retirement.
- đ Potential YouTuber Return: The speaker speculates that some creators may return to YouTube after experiencing the boredom of early retirement and realizing the value of their work.
Q & A
Why are many YouTubers quitting or retiring early?
-Many YouTubers are quitting or retiring early due to the perceived inability of the platform to sustain a YouTuber as a viable career path. The lack of growth and stagnation of channels, despite hard work, leads to a decrease in motivation and a realization that the potential of their venture has been reached, with dreams of turning their channels into nationwide successes like TV shows not being realized.
What are the two ways the speaker mentions to quit YouTube?
-The two ways mentioned to quit YouTube are: 1) Exiting gracefully by creating high-quality content and bowing out on a high note, and 2) Burning the channel to the ground by producing low-value content, clickbait headlines, and excessive sponsored products and advertisements to squeeze the last bit of value out of the channel.
What is the main issue with the YouTube algorithm according to the speaker?
-The main issue with the YouTube algorithm, as per the speaker, is that it has failed to support creators by capping out the growth of their channels. This has led to a situation where creators put in more work but see their views and progress decline, leading to a lack of potential for their businesses.
Why does the speaker believe that the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement might not work for some YouTubers?
-The speaker believes the FIRE movement might not work for some YouTubers because the idea of completely withdrawing from productive work and society into a life of comfort can be boring and lead to a loss of status and power. They argue that to engage with the world, one needs to do interesting things, and merely having wealth without contributing to society might not be fulfilling.
What is the speaker's view on the future of YouTube as a career path?
-The speaker views YouTube as a challenging and interesting problem space and a new career path that is still being defined. They suggest that it might evolve into a lifestyle entrepreneurship path valued for creativity, freedom, flexibility, and doing meaningful work, but it requires a significant time commitment and a variety of high-level skills.
What technological change has the speaker noticed in the field of video production?
-The speaker has noticed a stagnation in innovation and technology related to video production. They mention that achieving high-quality audio and video is no longer a challenge, and the quality is uniform across creators, which used to be a distinguishing factor but is no longer the case.
How does the speaker describe the working conditions of a YouTuber?
-The speaker describes the working conditions of a YouTuber as self-isolation, often working alone in their apartment, talking into a camera, and editing videos by themselves for hours. This can lead to a lack of social interaction and a feeling of being trapped in a solitary environment.
What are the speaker's thoughts on the potential return of retired YouTubers?
-The speaker believes that some retired YouTubers might return after taking a break and realizing that retirement might be more boring than they imagined. They suggest that the lifestyle of constant leisure might not be as fulfilling as they initially thought.
What is the speaker's advice for those considering quitting YouTube?
-The speaker advises not to take the decision to quit YouTube too seriously and to consider it as an interesting hobby. They suggest that if one is stressed about the platform and considering burning out, they should reevaluate their approach and expectations.
How does the speaker describe the state of the labor economy as reflected in the YouTube business model?
-The speaker reflects that the state of the labor economy is such that it's difficult to find good help, as people are unwilling to work hard. This is seen in the reluctance of YouTubers to hire teams, as they feel they would not receive a sufficient return on their investment in terms of effort and dedication from their employees.
What are the key features of the Keyron Q5 Max keyboard mentioned in the script?
-The Keyron Q5 Max keyboard features a full-size layout with a numpad, a compact 96% design, double gasket sound acoustic design, custom Gadon Jupiter banana switches, double-shot PBD keycaps, a 100Hz wireless mode for low latency gaming, Bluetooth and wired connectivity, RGB backlighting, and an all-aluminum casing.
Outlines
đ« The Decline of YouTube Careers
The paragraph discusses the phenomenon of YouTubers quitting or retiring early, questioning the viability of YouTube as a career path. It highlights the mass exodus of content creators, especially in the coding and software engineering niche, and the speaker's own decision to quit. The reasons behind this trend include the algorithm changes that have capped growth and monetization, leading to a lack of business equity and the realization that YouTube channels do not reach their full potential. The creator also talks about their chosen method of quitting, which involves producing low-value content and exploiting the channel for remaining value.
đ€ The Challenges of Content Creation
This paragraph delves into the challenges faced by YouTubers, such as the shift in the algorithm favoring short formats like 'shorts' and podcasts, which are difficult to monetize and may not be suitable for all creators. It also touches on the labor economy and the difficulty of hiring quality help, as well as the working conditions of YouTubers, which often involve isolation and long hours. The speaker criticizes the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early), suggesting that it may not be sustainable or fulfilling in the long term, and speculates that some YouTubers may return after realizing that retirement is not as satisfying as they had imagined.
đč Unboxing the Keychron Q5 Max Keyboard
The speaker transitions from discussing YouTube and its challenges to reviewing the Keychron Q5 Max mechanical keyboard. They describe the full-size layout, its features, and how it balances compactness with functionality, especially for those who work with numbers. The keyboard's design, sound quality, and performance are highlighted, including its double gasket sound design, custom Jupiter banana switches, double-shot PBT keycaps, and wireless connectivity. The speaker concludes by positioning the keyboard as a refined piece of metal art, suitable for connoisseurs, and provides a link for those interested in purchasing it.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄYouTube
đĄRetiring early
đĄAlgorithm
đĄContent creation
đĄMonetization
đĄCreator burnout
đĄFinancial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE)
đĄCreator economy
đĄLifestyle entrepreneur
đĄKeyboard sponsorship
đĄCreator community
Highlights
YouTubers are quitting or retiring early, questioning the viability of YouTube as a career path.
Many YouTubers in the coding and software engineering niche have quit, with the speaker being one of the last few remaining.
The speaker has already quit YouTube and is sharing their experience and thoughts on why creators are leaving.
There are two ways to quit YouTube: gracefully or by burning the channel with low-value content and excessive monetization.
YouTube businesses built over years have zero equity, leading to massive wealth destruction when creators quit.
The YouTube algorithm change has capped the growth of channels, leading to a decline in views despite increased effort.
The potential of YouTube channels to replace TV shows and become nationwide ventures has not been reached.
YouTube's shift to promoting short formats like Shorts and Podcasts is challenging for creators to monetize.
The labor economy reflects the difficulty of hiring good help, with many preferring to burn out their businesses rather than manage unproductive employees.
YouTube working conditions often involve self-isolation and long hours of solitary work, leading to stagnation in creativity and innovation.
The Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement is questioned as a viable lifestyle for ex-YouTubers.
The concept of retiring and doing nothing may not be as appealing as initially thought, leading some YouTubers to return.
YouTube as a career path is still undefined, with successful creators like MrBeast and Linus Tech Tips building corporate-like teams.
The lifestyle entrepreneur path is an alternative to traditional employment, focusing on creativity, freedom, and meaningful work.
The Keychron Q5 Max mechanical keyboard is introduced as a high-quality tool for productivity and gaming.
The YouTube platform presents a unique challenge for creators, requiring a redefinition of business models and career paths.
Transcripts
all right so this is not going to be
like a normal video but something is
wrong with YouTube I'm sure you've
noticed by now with so many other
YouTubers announcing they're quitting or
retiring early as if this platform is
unable to sustain a YouTuber is this
actually a viable career path even or is
it just a dead end with so many people
dropping out like flies and I'm sure
you've noed as well a lot of people in
my Niche the coding software engineering
Tech influencer space you know in 2019
2020 there were a lot of us out there it
was a pretty good time we even had a bit
of a community going on and I think they
all quit basically I'm like one of the
last few remaining out here and so with
all that now it is it's finally my turn
to quit YouTube that's right now I've
already quit YouTube actually I
announced I was retiring a few months
back and I wanted to explain how that's
been going why I've been having such a
difficult time quitting YouTube actually
why things don't work and what I would
suggest people try doing instead and you
know I would start by saying that there
are two ways to go about quitting
YouTube one is you can can gracefully
just bow yourself out on a high you know
exit gracefully and then there's the
second way the way I've opted which is
to just burn this channel to the ground
with low value content clickbait
headlines sponsored products everywhere
advertising and a power grab to just
milk this channel for whatever it's got
left and so really now we're just having
some fun out there you know make some
travel Vlogs chill check out some cool
tech gadgets occasionally like sponsored
products this keyboard I'll talk about
it in a moment you know one of the trou
Parts about being a YouTuber though is
that a lot of these businesses that
people have been building over the past
5 10 years there's absolutely zero
Equity built up it's not like a normal
startup where after putting in 5 to 10
years of building it out you can sell it
as a business to some invest or somebody
else to take over it's just massive
wealth destruction as the value of the
business evaporates to essentially zero
and maybe somebody else should be able
to take over the business if they want
like I would love to take over some of
these large YouTubers businesses and
just you know like burn their channels
to the ground with a few product
placements and advertisements you know
like milk it for whatever I can but a
lot of people are saying no these
businesses cannot be sold not at a good
value and they rather just leave it
stagnant there decaying all right so
here's my take why are YouTubers
dropping like flies arguably first of
all something must have changed with the
algorithm last year people were putting
in the same amount of work if not even
more work and then they saw their
progress their growth actually not going
up anymore in fact the more work they
put in they would see their views
continuing to CLI and it was like
pushing a Boer up a hill and it was this
infinite Hill and the payoff just didn't
seem worth it anymore when you think
about it given say $5 CPM if you have a
100,000 view video which is a lot
actually that's about
$500 right for 100k view video just on
Ence it's really not enough to make a
living out of this but really the thing
is once your channel stops growing and
it's just stagnating or even starting to
go down it's not really Venture anymore
it's like you've seen the maximum
potential of that Venture that you
thought maybe it could become like a
whole TV show or something like you had
all these dreams and you were going to
invest in the business and then you saw
oh wait this is this is the max that it
can get to and it's just a job at that
point a lot of dreams die you realize
this is not going to become some
Nationwide talk show like the Oprah
Winfrey show or the late night talk show
Jay Leno show rather the potential's
been reached and you can even measure
your hourly wage which is not going to
be great and it becomes quite difficult
to justify continued further investment
or putting in the late night and
weekends because it's more like running
a restaurant with cap seeding capacity
where the algorithm doesn't seem to give
you more customers no matter how hard
you work or how tasty you make your food
and I would note two things about this
number one is that arguably the YouTube
algorithm has failed or the YouTube
platform has failed its creators in
being able to support them the
businesses got capped out and people did
not see further potential in their
businesses like what happened to YouTube
replacing TV talk shows a lot of these
channels did not reach anywhere near
full Market potential and I think it is
a issue with growth because people will
not just walk away from a channel if
it's continuing to grow if this gu the
limit is like well they want to see what
they can become and so on the one hand
there's been this Grand Vision of
YouTube replacing daytime TV making
Nationwide stars of his creators and
then on the other hand it's like a no
man's land where you've got a bunch of
junky YouTubers who lack any type of
societal status or respect everybody's
out there making fun of them and they're
stuck in this long hour side job it sure
there may be some flexibility but
typically the balance is such that
they're not making enough to really hire
a team and yet the time commitment is
all consuming and it requires you having
a bunch of different high level skills
you know like video editing camera
production sure maybe it can replace
your day job for a while but then the
promotions stop coming and then you
start getting the Motions where the
harder you work the less pay you get
after a while simply because the
algorithm is changing and the
prioritizing what used to be the long
video essay format which I think is kind
of dying recently in favor of shorts and
podcasts and that's partly because this
is what the algorithm's trying to
promote these days YouTube's been going
heavy on shorts because it's a great
format actually for Millennials and
people who have short attention ADHD
spans but it's a pretty difficult format
for creators to monetize so maybe it's a
game really viable only for teenagers
who are willing to put in a ton of work
for low pay and then the podcast maybe
it's just a disruption to traditional
YouTube because podcast maybe just have
better higher quality more genuine
authentic content from sometimes really
great guests it's like how can a
YouTuber who's just staring at their
belly button compete with that and the
fact that people don't want to hire
anybody they rather just burn their
businesses to the ground I think
reflects the state of the labor economy
where it's just so difficult to get good
help these days because nobody wants to
work so it's like you can hire somebody
for 100K per year payt them out of your
own pocket and they're still not going
to put in the work for you they're not
going to appreciate that they're going
to demand more and they're going to have
all of these arguments with you all the
time and they're going to put in like 5
hours per day or less and just slack off
on you at that rate you don't even want
to be a boss or manage people like this
you rather just give up on the business
and then to make matters worse when you
look at the working conditions of a
YouTuber it tends to be self-isolation
in their own Apartments talking into a
black hole of a camera editing videos
for hours by themselves and another
change I've noticed as far as creativity
goes is that there's been a lot of
stagnating innovation and camera audio
video technology where there's really no
challenge anymore it's it's not hard to
get good video quality or audio quality
everybody's quality is about the same
these days it used to be something that
set people apart they would get the best
cameras the best microphones and it was
a very interesting topic of debate and
you would see like who's investing the
most in their cameras it's all the same
stuff nowadays now here's the thing I
think a lot of these YouTubers are going
to be back actually because this whole
retirement thing this fire plan I don't
think it actually works so this
financial Independence retire early
movement this idea that you would would
just stop being productive that you
could withdraw from society into your
own cave and just live out this life of
comfort by yourself playing video games
and reading books there seems to be some
fundamental flaw with that I'm still
trying to figure it out but in that
process not only is it quite boring and
you lose a lot of status you don't need
the world and the world no longer needs
you either and you become powerless in
the world in that way even if you have
some wealth even if you have some money
nobody really wants to get to know you
nobody wants to talk to you you can't
just show somebody your bank balance and
say say hey come talk to me and so what
happens is if you want to engage with
the world you have to do interesting
things you can't just print out your
bank account balance statement and say
look I made some money and a prior job I
had as a YouTuber I I don't do anything
these days I just play video games now
uh why don't I come to your podcast and
talk about the video games I'm like
nobody wants to talk with you you've got
no status it's not interesting it's not
attractive you become quite a boring
person who's just walking around with
their bank statement balance showing it
to everybody and this ability to just
sit around and do nothing playing video
games is arguably an ability you've had
since birth and really quite frankly
anybody can already do this if you don't
want to work just go move out to the
middle of nowhere go move to Kansas
somewhere and you you you can do this
you can live this life if you want but
the reason most people go out and
struggle is they want a reason to go
live in a High Cost of Living City and
in order to live in some of these cities
like La New York somewhere nice you
would typically want at least some
reason that justifies why you're out
there paying those High rents and simply
sitting around playing video games being
retired or reading books and gardening
may not be sufficient reason even if you
can pay the rents even if you can afford
it it doesn't make much sense it never
feels good to be burning money at some
point you would optimize your lifestyle
and probably move to a lower cost of
living place unless you had a reason to
be in that High Cost of Living nice city
and so it occurred to me that this whole
entire concept of fire may not really
work it may not be a thing even though
it sounds like common sense to me and
like I had always I mean of course right
fire you that's what we're all working
towards for some people it's just not
even a consideration look at people like
Elon Musk Mark Zuckerberg Steve Jobs
those people they just worked the whole
entire time they never even thought
about retirement early and maybe they're
on to something there and so I have a
feeling some of these YouTubers are
going to be back after a while after
they take their little vacation do a
travel break they may find that
retirement is a little bit more boring
than they imagined it to be and as for
everybody still hustling out here I
would say it's a pretty interesting
problem space actually because YouTube
is such a new career path actually you
can consider how does this really play
out how do you scale it how do you build
this out what's the business model
behind it is their business model it's
not well defined at all some people seem
to have achieved some level of success
when you take a look at people like Mr
Beast or Lina's Tech tips they build
this massive team they make it very
corporate they hire people they become
managers for many people though they
don't want to become people managers and
boss around lazy people who don't seem
to really want to work in this type of
economy and so then there may be this
other routes like a lifestyle
entrepreneur it's not like a
full-fledged corporate entrepreneur
where you're there working at 9 to-5 job
managing people it's not a employee life
it's more like this other different path
we don't even have a good name for it
Hustler or grifter perhaps although
maybe in the future everybody's going to
want to walk this path it's a path still
being defined and it's going to be
defined by values like creativity
Freedom flexibility doing work that you
love or find meaningful and enjoying
that Journey that is life and speaking
of joying life we have to talk about our
tag of the day this stunning full layout
mechanical keyboard the keyron Q5 Max
now if this keyboard looks familiar it
is because it is actually a full-size
layout version of the Kyron q1 Max which
I introduced in a prior video you see
when I first saw this keyboard this one
the 10 keyless version that's the Kyron
q1 Max I was just flirted by I thought
this was just marvelous and then Kyron
showed me this the fulls size layout
version and so with this now you have a
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Verification codes authenticator codes
if you're doing a lot of data entry
Excel sheets spreadsheets taxes
accounting any of that stuff if you work
with a lot of numbers you've got a npad
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keyboard apart in particular if you'll
notice here is this layout it's quite
compact actually for what it gives you
and that's because I misspoke earlier
when I said this full layout this one's
actually a 96% layout also sell a q6 Max
version which is the full 100% layout
but for my personal preference at least
and yours may be different I think the
strikes a great balance between the
compact 10 keyless version and a fulls
siiz layout that features the numpad you
notables for this one is the double
gasket sound acoustic design it's got
these Foams layers and layers of foam in
here this one's using the custom gadon
Jupiter banana switches which are made
to sound like the holy pandas which is
just beautiful sound it's got double
shot pbd key caps featuring the higher
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your skin with the keyron spherical
angle design that curves against your
fingers natural curvature making the
dist Keys faster and easier to type the
max version features a 1,00 HZ Wireless
mode which is great for low latency
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wired connectivity it's got the all
important RGB to light your way to
success in the darkness of night and
it's overall a refined piece of metal
art with all aluminum casing the keyron
Q5 Max another one for the connoisseurs
out there there'll be in the description
below if you're interested and otherwise
this whole YouTube thing it is a
challenge and whenever I'm looking for a
challenge it's a good one to think about
and it can be an interesting hobby if
you're getting yourself worked up over
this and stressing out and thinking
about quitting and burning out maybe
just don't take it so seriously chill
people probably don't care about you as
much as you imagine with that see you in
the next one thanks
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