Why Are So Many People Quitting YouTube?

Second Thought
26 Jan 202418:16

Summary

TLDRThe video script discusses the phenomenon of YouTubers retiring from their channels, citing common reasons such as work-life imbalance, loss of joy and creativity, and the feeling of alienation. It delves into the challenges of maintaining content quality under the pressure of capitalist demands and the platform's algorithm, reflecting on the broader implications for creators and the nature of work in the digital age.

Takeaways

  • 😔 The creator expresses a deep sense of burnout and dissatisfaction with the constant demands of content creation, leading to the decision to retire or take a break from YouTube.
  • 🌐 The script discusses the common reasons behind many creators' goodbyes to YouTube, including work-life imbalance, loss of joy and creativity, and feelings of alienation.
  • 💼 The struggle to maintain a work-life balance is highlighted, with creators often finding themselves working around the clock, even during what should be personal or leisure time.
  • 📉 The unpredictability of YouTube as a career is emphasized, where hard work does not always equate to financial reward, leading to stress and uncertainty.
  • 🏠 The constant availability of work through the internet and the pressure to adhere to upload schedules are identified as significant contributors to the erosion of personal boundaries.
  • 🎨 A loss of creativity is lamented, as the business side of YouTube content creation takes precedence over the joy of making videos, leading to a sense of unfulfillment.
  • 🔒 The script touches on the concept of 'inhi-bation' or platform decay, where online platforms evolve to prioritize revenue over user satisfaction, stifling creativity and leading to homogenization of content.
  • 🤖 The impact of capitalism on creativity is critiqued, with the pressure to monetize and conform to algorithms overshadowing the original artistic intent of many YouTubers.
  • 👥 Alienation is a key theme, with creators feeling isolated despite their online presence, as they grapple with the impersonal nature of internet fame and the lack of genuine connection with their audience.
  • 🔄 The script suggests that many creators are not quitting creativity altogether but are seeking new outlets that allow them to express themselves without the pressures of full-time YouTube.
  • 🔄 The potential for creators to shift focus from commenting on others' intellectual property to creating their own original content is presented as a positive outcome of stepping back from traditional YouTube obligations.

Q & A

  • Why did the speaker decide to retire from their YouTube channel?

    -The speaker decided to retire because they no longer wanted to do the work, they felt a loss of joy and creativity, and they were struggling with work-life balance, constantly feeling stressed and always at work.

  • What common factors did the speaker notice in the goodbye videos of other creators?

    -The common factors mentioned by creators in their goodbye videos include work-life balance issues, a loss of joy and creativity, and some form of alienation.

  • How does the speaker describe the impact of capitalism on the problems faced by content creators?

    -The speaker suggests that while capitalism isn't the sole cause, it exacerbates the problems by creating a constant pressure to work and earn money, which can make it difficult to achieve a decent work-life balance.

  • What does the speaker mean by 'YouTube as a career your input doesn't necessarily equal your output'?

    -This means that on YouTube, the amount of work you put into a video does not guarantee financial reward or success. You could invest a lot in a video and earn less than a video you put less effort into.

  • Why is achieving a work-life balance difficult for YouTubers?

    -Achieving a work-life balance is difficult for YouTubers because they are constantly worried about producing content to feed the algorithm, and their work is always accessible, making it hard to switch off and relax.

  • What is the concept of 'inhiification' as described by the speaker?

    -Inhiification, or platform decay, refers to the tendency of online platforms to exploit their users and business customers to maximize revenue, eventually leading to the platform's decline as it becomes less user-friendly and more focused on profit.

  • How does the speaker feel about the trend of content becoming more homogenized on YouTube?

    -The speaker is disheartened by the trend of homogenization, as it stifles creativity and forces creators to produce content that maximizes retention and adheres to certain metrics, rather than being unique and artistic.

  • What is the speaker's view on the alienation that YouTubers face?

    -The speaker feels that alienation is a significant issue for YouTubers, as they often feel alone despite having a large audience, and the pressure of being constantly on display can be stressful and isolating.

  • How does the speaker plan to move forward with their creative endeavors?

    -The speaker plans to continue creating content but is stepping back from the full-time grind of YouTube. They are focusing on other outlets like a second channel and a podcast, and are looking to create their own intellectual property.

  • What is the speaker's perspective on the role of YouTube in the larger context of work, art, and life?

    -The speaker sees YouTube as part of a larger narrative about the challenges of work and creativity in the digital age, where the platform has merged with the film industry and is subject to similar issues of labor conditions, income instability, and the impact of technology on content creation.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 The End of an Era: Work-Life Balance and Creativity

The speaker announces their decision to retire from their YouTube channel, citing a loss of joy and creativity, and a desire for a better work-life balance. They reflect on the common reasons behind other creators' goodbyes, such as the constant stress of work and the impact of capitalism on exacerbating these issues. The speaker emphasizes the struggle to maintain a balance between the dream job and the reality of it becoming an all-consuming, stressful endeavor, and how the pressure to constantly produce content can lead to burnout.

05:01

📱 The All-Consuming Nature of YouTube and Capitalism's Role

This paragraph delves into the challenges of maintaining a work-life balance as a YouTuber, where the platform is always accessible, and the pressure to adhere to a strict upload schedule is immense. The speaker discusses the unpredictability of YouTube as a career, where effort does not always equate to financial reward, and how this uncertainty can be draining. The paragraph also touches on the broader issue of capitalism, where the need to work or face starvation is a harsh reality, and how this system affects not only traditional jobs but also the creative freedom on platforms like YouTube.

10:02

🎨 The Struggle for Creativity in the Age of Profit Motive

The speaker expresses a deep longing for creativity that has been overshadowed by the business side of YouTube. They use the analogy of a contractor to illustrate the transition from enjoying the creative process to dreading the work due to its necessity for survival. The paragraph discusses the homogenization of content under capitalism, where the profit motive leads to a saturation of similar content aimed at maximizing viewer retention and ad revenue, leaving little room for genuine artistic expression. The speaker also introduces the concept of 'inhiification,' describing how online platforms evolve from user-focused to business-focused, ultimately leading to their decline.

15:03

🤝 The Alienation of YouTube Stardom and the Future of Content Creation

In this paragraph, the speaker talks about the loneliness and alienation that comes with being a YouTuber, where one's work is constantly under public scrutiny, and the creator is isolated from the audience. They discuss the transition of YouTube from a platform for amateur content to a professionalized industry, similar to Hollywood, with its own set of labor issues. The speaker also hints at their own future, suggesting that they are not quitting but rather evolving, as they plan to focus on creating their own intellectual property and continue to contribute to their niche through different channels and formats.

🔄 The Changing Landscape of YouTube and the Importance of Message Over Metrics

The final paragraph reflects on the broader implications of YouTubers retiring and the state of the platform. The speaker acknowledges the challenges faced by smaller channels without the financial security or fame to transition to other endeavors. They emphasize the importance of the message and the impact on viewers, rather than just focusing on views and revenue. The speaker also touches on the convergence of YouTube with the film industry and the labor issues that come with it, suggesting that the retirement of YouTubers is part of a larger narrative about work, art, and life in the digital age.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Retirement

In the context of the video, 'retirement' refers to the decision made by the video creator to step back from their regular content creation on YouTube. It is a significant theme as it sets the stage for the discussion about the challenges faced by content creators. The creator mentions 'I made the decision to quit retire' indicating a desire to take a break from the pressures of constant content production.

💡Work-life balance

The term 'work-life balance' is a central concept in the video, reflecting the struggle many creators face when their job becomes all-consuming. The creator cites personal experiences, such as discussing business logistics with a best friend during dinner, to illustrate the difficulty of maintaining a balance between professional obligations and personal life.

💡Creativity

Creativity is highlighted as a driving force for many YouTubers, but the video discusses how it can be stifled by the demands of the platform and the need for financial stability. The creator expresses a personal loss of joy in creativity due to the business aspects of content creation overshadowing the actual process of making videos.

💡Alienation

Alienation in this video refers to the feeling of isolation and disconnection that can come from being a content creator. The creator mentions that each creator mentions some aspect of alienation, indicating a common experience of feeling separated from one's own content and the community due to the impersonal nature of online interactions.

💡Capitalism

The video touches on capitalism as a system that exacerbates certain issues faced by content creators, such as the pressure to constantly produce for financial gain. While not solely blaming capitalism, the creator suggests that it plays a role in the problems of work-life balance and the exploitation of creators.

💡Algorithm

The 'algorithm' is a key concept in the YouTube ecosystem, determining the visibility and success of videos. The creator expresses concern about the necessity to 'feed the algorithm' to ensure financial stability, which can lead to a focus on metrics over creative fulfillment.

💡Homogenization

Homogenization is discussed as a trend where content becomes standardized and generic to maximize viewer retention and meet the demands of the platform. This can stifle diversity and originality in content creation, as creators may feel pressured to conform to popular trends rather than explore unique ideas.

💡Inchiification

Inchiification, a term coined by writer Corey Doo, is introduced to describe the process by which online platforms exploit their users and business customers to maximize their own profits. The video uses this term to critique the evolution of YouTube from a platform for user-generated content to one that prioritizes revenue generation.

💡Demonetization

Demonetization refers to the removal of monetization from a video, often due to content that is deemed unsuitable for advertisers. The video mentions this as a risk for creators who invest significant time and effort into content that may not be financially rewarded due to platform policies.

💡Ideological content

The term 'ideological content' is used to describe videos that promote specific beliefs or ideas, such as socialism in the case of the video creator. The creator discusses the challenge of maintaining a commitment to ideological messaging while navigating the commercial demands of YouTube.

💡AI content farms

AI content farms are mentioned as part of a broader critique of the content creation landscape, where artificial intelligence is used to generate content at scale, potentially undermining the work of individual creators. The video suggests this as a symptom of a system that values quantity over quality.

Highlights

Creator's decision to retire from YouTube, citing a need for a break and a change.

Mention of the common reasons behind YouTubers' goodbyes: work-life balance, loss of joy and creativity, and feelings of alienation.

The struggle with maintaining work-life balance when work is always accessible and the pressure to constantly produce content.

The financial instability and unpredictability of YouTube as a career, where effort does not always equate to income.

The historical context of work-life balance and the modern challenges faced by individuals, including YouTubers.

The impact of capitalism on exacerbating work-life balance issues and the pressure to work more for less financial gain.

The alienation felt by content creators as they become increasingly disconnected from their work and audience.

The loss of creativity as YouTube channels grow and the need to focus on business logistics over creative fulfillment.

The concept of 'inhiification' or platform decay, where online platforms become more exploitative over time.

The shift in YouTube's platform from a space for user-generated content to a corporate-driven revenue maximization model.

The challenge of maintaining authenticity and creativity in a platform that prioritizes algorithmic performance over artistic value.

The loneliness and pressure of being a YouTuber, where one's work and identity are constantly on display and subject to public scrutiny.

The transition of many YouTubers to other creative outlets as they step away from the pressures of full-time YouTube content creation.

The ethical dilemma faced by creators who aim to make ideological content, balancing financial stability with the desire to spread meaningful messages.

The broader implications of YouTubers retiring, reflecting a larger narrative about work, art, and life in the digital age.

The merging of YouTube with the film industry, creating a new landscape where professional content creation is becoming the norm.

The creator's personal reflection on their journey and the potential for future changes in their content and career direction.

Transcripts

play00:00

a couple of months ago I made the

play00:01

decision to quit retire reti I'm taking

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a break not clickbait things are

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changing I am bringing them to an end if

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I'm honest with you guys don't want to

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do this anymore now it's time to take a

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breather I'll be handing off the

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channels full-time filmmaker has been

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acquired this era of polyphonic is over

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it is the correct decision and it's time

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to move

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on in the last few months and especially

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since the new year each of these

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channels has posted some form of goodbye

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video it's been really interesting to

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see and I just want to take a few

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minutes to talk about it I'll be using

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clips from some of them throughout the

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episode so make sure to show your

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support by watching on their channels as

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well I've left links in the description

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what I and a lot of others have noticed

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about these goodbyes is they all have a

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lot in common there are a handful of

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factors that each of these creators

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mention work life balance a loss of joy

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and creativity and though they might not

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use the word each of them mentioned some

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aspect of alienation I'm not going to

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say oh it's all capitalism because there

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is more to it than that but it does make

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a lot of these problems worse as you'll

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see in a bit anyway I think let's start

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with work life balance take a listen for

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as much as I love you and I love

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overthinking things and I love

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theorizing I don't love late nights I

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don't love the fact that Steph and I

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have been work first for over a decade

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where I'm sitting down and dinner with

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my best friend and we're talking about

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business Logistics if I get that feeling

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you ever have that feeling when you're

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like you know I'm with family right now

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but I need to get back to the office or

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I should take you know lunch to work or

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whatever it is um I want to stop that I

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want to completely eliminate that I

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can't keep this up this is my dream job

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and I have a lot of fun doing it I know

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I'm incredibly lucky but a dream job is

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still a job and it's a job that keeps

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getting bigger and more complicated and

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I am so tired

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there's nothing in my life right now

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except work but in reality it just put

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me in a constant state of stress and

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work and now I'm always at work my home

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is work a vacation should become a vlog

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every TV show I watch and song I hear

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should be turned into some sort of

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content like I shouldn't be relaxing

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right now I should be making content and

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it just isn't possible for me to turn

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that mindset off and I realized this is

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not how I want to live any longer I

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don't get any satisfaction from the type

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of work that I do here anymore and and

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if you work seven days a week that

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becomes very heavy mentally for the past

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10 years of my life there has not been a

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single vacation where I was not working

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there has even been time where I was

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working on Christmas day and don't even

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get me started on New Year's Eve because

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I hated it when it was getting too late

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because I wanted to be fit the next day

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to work again work life balance the

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Pinnacle of achievement throughout

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history since the very first caveman

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enslaved his neighbor we've been

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fighting to secure a decent balance

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between the time we spend to work and

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the time we have for leisure friends

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family recovering to go back to work

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you've probably seen that old image from

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when people were fighting for an 8 hour

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work day 8 hours for work 8 hours for

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rest 8 hours for what we will that

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sounds pretty nice these days 8 hours of

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work just doesn't really cut it for most

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people and believe it or not that goes

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for YouTubers too and we'll get to that

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in a sec a growing number of Americans

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work more than one job and some 400,000

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work two full-time jobs just to make

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ends meat everything from housing to

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groceries to utilities is getting more

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expensive and the only thing that's not

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going up is Wages you've heard it before

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but if the minimum wage had just kept up

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with inflation and productivity gains

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since the Reagan Years it' be over $24

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an hour today but here in the richest

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country on Earth the federal minimum

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wage is still

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$725 an hour it's hard to have a decent

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work life balance when the hour as you

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work don't earn you enough money so you

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have to take on more work YouTube is

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similar but there's an added layer of

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complexity Caleb makes a point in his

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video that I think a lot of people don't

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realize about YouTube as a career your

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input doesn't necessarily equal your

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output you can put a ton of work into a

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video and make way less money than you

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did with a half-ass video that's very

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different from other jobs exploitation

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aside yes obviously everyone should be

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making more money but in general with

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traditional work if you put in more

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hours you're financially rewarded for

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that if you're in sales and you put in

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an extra 10 hours a week you sell a

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couple more cars you make more money if

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you do hourly work add a few hours to

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your schedule you make more money if you

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work freelance and you take on another

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gig you make more money on YouTube you

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could add 30 hours a week and not see a

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cent in extra income in fact you could

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see the complete opposite and have your

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Revenue tank for what seems like no

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reason at all so it's not surprising

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that just about every YouTuber says they

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have a bad work life balance you're

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constantly worried that if you don't

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feed the algorithm you won't be able to

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pay the bills this is one of the core

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features of capitalism you work or you

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starve and on YouTube sometimes you work

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and you still starve that uncertainty is

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draining in a way that is difficult for

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a lot of people to understand but the

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money aspect is only part of the work

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life balance thing when you're a

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YouTuber you have work at your

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fingertips 24/7 much like Ken's job is

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just Beach my job is just phone YouTube

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is right here all the time in my pocket

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I'll just have a quick peek just one

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just one little peek I swear one more

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peek just Just One Look it becomes all

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consuming you can't escape it gets so

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bad sometimes that I'll be running

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errands and I'll check YouTube Studio

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when I'm stopped at a red light you also

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have to stick to a schedule religiously

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or people forget you in a month I upload

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here every other Friday at 9:00 a.m.

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Central Time the program is every Friday

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first thought news episodes are every

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Monday and Wednesday analysis episodes

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are every other Friday and my new

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channel is every other Friday staggered

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with second thought and don't get me

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wrong I enjoy a lot of this yeah it's a

play06:02

job and sometimes I just want to throw

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my computer out the window but YouTube

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is still a dream job for me I like

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sharing things with people and being

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creative but that's where we run into

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another problem my whole life just

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turned to this business and it's all fun

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when you get to make videos but not when

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you're managing a business and

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constantly doing tasks that you just

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don't like to do I miss to be creative I

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I really miss that so much

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one thing I use as an analogy is kind of

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like a contractor building houses um

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when you first start you know you're

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loving it you're building houses you're

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making money you're doing your thing but

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after a certain point um you kind of

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develop things you enjoy and things you

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don't enjoy about something and when it

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comes to making a video if that's a

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house you look at your next video that

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you need to do because it's your job and

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you don't want to pour another

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Foundation you don't want to frame out

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the whole house you can see all of the

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work ahead of you and you just don't

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want to do it throw in all that other

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fun stuff we already talked about and

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you have kind of this mess and so that's

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where I'm kind of at or have been at I

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feel like everything online is slowly

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converging towards the boring Bland gray

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middle point where everyone just tries

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to maximize retention use and this

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metric and that statistic which just

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leads everyone to like the same end

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product and it's become Beyond saturated

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for me and my own creativity I just

play07:30

don't enjoy where this is going so

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creativity and homogeneization this is

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another challenge under capitalism we

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are all unwilling subjects of the profit

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motive YouTube is an inherently creative

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job you're producing art or content or

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entertainment or whatever you want to

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call it but your base consideration has

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to be Financial stability there's a

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reason most YouTubers don't do it

play07:52

full-time and those that do have to

play07:54

supplement their income with patreon

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link below please love of God link below

play08:00

or sponsorships or selling L packs or

play08:03

online classes when you're doing YouTube

play08:05

as a side project you can afford to make

play08:07

the videos you want but when this is

play08:09

your full-time gig like it is for people

play08:10

making these goodbye videos your art has

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to take a backseat to putting food on

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the table that's a tough pill to swallow

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for people who are genuinely invested in

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creating artistic or thoughtful things

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for Their audience to enjoy no one

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starts out making money on YouTube it is

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always first a labor of love but as soon

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as your channel gets verified

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the calculus changes now you have to

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figure out okay do I want to keep this

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as a side project or do I want to build

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this into something that can pay the

play08:36

bills and even if you decide on the

play08:38

former sometimes your channel will grow

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and become financially stable anyway and

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then it's really hard to turn down

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leaving your dead-end job to focus more

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on the work you enjoy which then becomes

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a job which then requires you to play by

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the rules of the YouTube game to

play08:52

continue growing staying relevant and

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making a living it's the Trap pretty

play08:57

much every successful Channel Falls into

play09:00

but there's another aspect of creativity

play09:02

under capitalism that's worth exploring

play09:04

there's this concept called inhi

play09:06

ification sometimes called platform

play09:08

Decay coined by writer Corey doo in

play09:11

November of 2022 inchi ification refers

play09:13

to the tendency of online platforms like

play09:15

Amazon Facebook Reddit Twitter and

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YouTube to act as a predatory two-sided

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Market here's how drro describes the

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process here is how platforms die first

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they are good to their users then they

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abuse their users to make things better

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for their business customers finally

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they abuse those business customers to

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clawback all the value for themselves

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then they die I call this in shid

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ification and it's a seemingly

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inevitable consequence arising from the

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combination of the ease of changing how

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a platform allocates value combined with

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the nature of a two-sided Market where a

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platform sits between buyers and sellers

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hold each Hostage to the other raking

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off an Ever larger share of the value

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that passes between them the internet is

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full of examples of this form of Decay

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Google search used to Simply return

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results to the the best of its ability

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based on the parameters you gave it now

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the whole first page of results is ads

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and websites full of articles that are

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90% SEO phrases Amazon shows you a dozen

play10:07

sponsored items before you get to the

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Real Results Tik Tok and Instagram are

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specifically tailored to keep you

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scrolling and consuming YouTube is a

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prime example of this form of Decay

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first it was a place for normal people

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to publish silly videos then it

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attracted investment and advertisers

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then it changed how the platform Works

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to maximize Revenue generation and

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encourage content that plays by those

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rules and now it's running an ad block

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blocker to really crack down on any lost

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revenue and force people to pay for

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YouTube premium to stop the incessant

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advertising and none of this is evil

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it's just the logical conclusion of a

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neoliberal capitalist system every

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platform is a market everything must

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have a dollar value attached and

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consumption is a lifestyle so it's no

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surprise that big channels that have

play10:49

grown with the platform are noticing

play10:51

this trend and are disgusted by it

play10:53

there's no room for creativity when

play10:54

everything has to be scripted edited and

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presented for retention Above All Else

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that's how we ended up with Mr Beast he

play11:01

plays the game perfectly and his videos

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are disgusting and devoid of any actual

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value Beyond being used as slop for the

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content trough and hey look no hate for

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people who just want to watch Mr Beast

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run some deranged game show that's your

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prerogative but for the people who

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started out making beautiful things for

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the sake of making beautiful things this

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trend of inhi ification is really

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disheartening and kind of along those

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lines is the alienation aspect of all

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this at the end of the day it's you

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against the all-consuming ma of the

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internet YouTube is still such a niche

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career that there are so incredibly few

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people who actually understand what it's

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like to do this it's lonely it's

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stressful it's scary strip away all the

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Frills and at its core YouTube is an

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altar on which you lay yourself at the

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mercy of a billion people you play for

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the crowd you make a spectacle of

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yourself you know there are buzzards out

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there waiting to turn your next video

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into drama content you know who you are

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you are at the center of hundreds

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thousands millions of views and yet

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you're completely alone none of these

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people know you none of them see the

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work that goes on behind the scenes it's

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you and your camera and your laptop

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that's not how humans were meant to

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function even these large channels face

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alienation to some extent they often

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grow beyond the capabilities of one

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person and that person then relinquishes

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creative control of the content in order

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to run the business side of things

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separated from their own art for the

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sake of playing The Profit driven

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YouTube game

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speaking of profit and big channels

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there's one more thing we need to

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consider I should have just done this as

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a live stream and uploaded it to Captain

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Sparkles 2 which Speaking of no changes

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planned for live streaming and and the

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Vada uploads on the second Channel

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That's business as usual I have like

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another Channel called POA meat that's

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doing really well and if you haven't

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heard of that feel free to check it out

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we post like every 3 days but that's

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becoming more of like my money maker

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actual job thing now this probably isn't

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goodbye goodbye like not forever the

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podcaster host lateral is still going

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out weekly my newsletter is still going

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out the plus channel will probably

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return at some point there'll likely be

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new technical difficulties episodes I'm

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still going to be here I'm still going

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to be alongside the creative directors

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talking about programming brainstorming

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ideas for upcoming episodes that's

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awesome I love that I don't want to give

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that up but the other cool thing about

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this is that it opens up the door for me

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to turn the script for the last 13 years

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I've been commenting on other people's

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IP but now that I'm stepping out of

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those roles I get to create the IP

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here's the part that no one that I've

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seen has really talked about the one big

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thing to realize is that most of these

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people aren't quitting being creative

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just about all of them have other

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outlets for that whether it's a second

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Channel or a podcast or some other

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Avenue they're just stepping away from

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the horrible grind that full-time

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YouTube has become and this isn't me

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saying aha you're not really quitting

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that couldn't be further from the truth

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I'm genuinely really happy for these

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people because I recognize that in the

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near future I'm going to be in the same

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boat I I've been running second thought

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for 8 years it's gone through a couple

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different iterations but I've never

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missed an upload in that time and I'm

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tired too if you think about it what's

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the point of YouTube what's the bottom

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line in 2024 more views more money more

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recognition the information you're

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trying to get across the message you

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want to send that takes a backseat I

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know a whole lot of channels in the

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education Niche that have transitioned

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from making videos they think are

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interesting to making videos they think

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will perform well and when that works

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you scale up you hire a couple people

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then some more and then suddenly your

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line is Tech tips with an army of

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employees and now you're just running a

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business okay so why not stop it's one

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thing to step back from gaming content

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or infotainment or Gear reviews but it's

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a bit more challenging when you're

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making ideological content yes obviously

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everything is ideological but you know

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what I mean I make content designed to

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get people interested in socialist ideas

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my main objective is to get people over

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that initial hurdle of socialism bad and

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funnel them into organizations to help

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build class Consciousness and dual power

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not to Pat myself on the back but I

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think I do a pretty good job of that

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I've gotten a bunch of really nice

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messages over the last few years from

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people who have gotten involved in

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organizing because of my videos and it's

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really hard to justify stepping away

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from that I'm not under any illusion

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that my channel is the only thing

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driving Western viewers to get organized

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there are so many Fantastic channels

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that do excellent work but For Better or

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For Worse second thought is the largest

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channel in this Niche which means I have

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at least somewhat of an obligation to

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keep doing this work and don't worry if

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if all this sounds like I'm quitting I'm

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not I'm not going anywhere I'm just

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thinking out loud most of these

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YouTubers retiring are from massive

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personality channels they've made their

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money they can ride off into the sunset

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and more power to them that's great but

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I think it's also important to remember

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that YouTube is home to literally tens

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of millions of channels and the majority

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of them over the course of their YouTube

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career will throw in the towel for all

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the same reasons as any of the big names

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but without the financial security or

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enough Fame to segue to something else

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you YouTube like anything else is not

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really voluntary under capitalism you

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work or you starve if YouTube is your

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full-time job you better make the right

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sacrifices to the algorithm because you

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need the money and you have no idea if

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you're going to get it and that's before

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we even consider demonetization or age

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restriction you could put a 100 hours

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into a beautiful documentary and end up

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way in the red because you showed

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current events that YouTube thinks are

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not Advertiser friendly but that's a

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topic for another video and there's a

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whole other aspect to this that we

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didn't get into which is people looking

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at YouTube and seeing a platform by and

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for amateurs and that's just not really

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the case anymore yeah anyone can upload

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to Youtube and that's great but most

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people don't realize that YouTube and

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the film industry have kind of merged

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into this one big content blob I mean

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heck our team has worked all across the

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media landscape from you know

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documentaries TV you name it and if you

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followed the news about the labor

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situation in Hollywood you know that

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everything is on fire a couple years ago

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there were horrible stories coming out

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about working conditions for VFX artists

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same thing for animation last year you

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had the Screen Actors and The Writers

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striking and they haven't both gone on

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strike at the same time since 1960 iotti

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the labor union that represents a lot of

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technicians and Crafts People they're

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talking about going on strike sometime

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this year and all of this is connected

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to the same kinds of things that

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YouTubers are talking about crappy

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residuals insane overwork unreliable

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income and now these stupid AI content

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Farms this is all connected

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and YouTubers retiring is just one tiny

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aspect of a larger narrative about work

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art and life in the 21st century anyway

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this was uh this was not the script I

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was expecting to write this week uh I

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came into the office and I watched a

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couple of those goodbye videos and I

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just I felt compelled to give my two

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cents this is also a big part of the

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reason I've started the new Channel I

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want to share cool things with people I

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just want to stretch some creative

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muscles I haven't used in a while but as

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always you can find my content here

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every other Friday please please do

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consider supporting the show on patreon

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I genuinely could not do it without you

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you get all sorts of cool perks

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including access to the Discord server

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where I try to do a live Q&A every month

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or so thanks for watching and I'll see

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you next

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time

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Related Tags
YouTubeWork-Life BalanceContent CreationCapitalism CritiqueCreator BurnoutAlgorithm PressureCreative FreedomPlatform DecaySocial Media ImpactOnline Business