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Recently the demands of my job have cooled off which has freed up my time a bit. Enough time to finally allow me to return (some of) my focus back onto my own personal projects, and also, begrudgingly to the sinkhole of procrastination. For the purposes of this thread it's the latter aspect (indulging procrastination) that has led to me creating this topic.
I've never touched TikTok, and mostly ignored Instagram, and for a long time I could say the same about YouTube Shorts as well. For the most part they are a format I hate, but recently YouTube's decided to relentlessly shill several Shorts videos to me to the point that I eventually relented. Then Youtube would shill more to me, and more. And though I could often fight off the urge and ignore them, ever so often I would indulge in those 30-second dopamine hits. That's when I started to noticed a trend. Well several actually. The first of which, is that I was being recommended shorts from the same narrow pool of channels. So that's when I decided to investigate a little bit and check out the channels themselves, that's when the first unnerving discovery became clear. Of course, it's well known that YouTube's algorithm is personalized, especially when it comes to recommendations. So it's highly likely anyone reading this may never have been recommended the two channels I want to bring up. That's not what's important, what's really important is the data surrounding those two channels.
The first channel which was heavily shilled to me was japaneat. Ironic, since I actually hate "look at me I'm in Japan" content of all forms, which is why I think I gave it a hate click. And one hate click soon evolved into hate watching several of his videos. But this is what I find crazy. His channel (as of my writing this) has 668k subscribers. But when I check the 'Videos' section of the channel, there are only two videos on it. One barely breaking 100k in views, and the other a little less than that. When I check the channel's about section, it says that the channel was created in October 31st, 2022. That means a channel less than a year old with only two videos on it has amassed over 600k subscribers in less than a year from shorts alone. Now maybe this is where my age and boomer-mentality is really sticking out. But I always assumed Shorts were used as side-content by YouTube creators, not as anyone's primary bread and butter. Furthermore, as somebody who has actively avoided shorts for the longest time, I naturally (and stupidly) assumed most others did as well.
The second channel far eclipses japaneat, and that would be SenyaiGrubs. Same story, just on a much larger scope. His channel (again, as of me writing this) sits at 1.91 Million subscribers. How many videos has he uploaded? Two, incidentally. His first video is from 7 months ago and sits at 19k views, and his second also from 7 months ago and sits at 49k views. Both his videos have less views than japaneat's videos, yet he eclipses japaneat in subscribers. His channel is also roughly a year old, dating back to May 17, 2022.
So, what has this revealed to me? Notably that I really am a mid-20yo boomer behind the times, as I had no idea it was possible for channels to become so massive (so fast) from Shorts content alone. As much as I hate to say it, it really does seem like the future of "making it" on YouTube for new content creators is through shorts. It also gets me to question if the people who use YouTube for elusively/mostly longer form videos is divided by demographics. I grew up with YouTube, so to me ultrashort form videos hold little genuine appeal. But I wonder if for people growing up on TikTok, they view somebody like me the way I viewed my parents when they stuck to TV in an era when YouTube was starting to dominate.
Anyway, and this is where we get to the title of this thread, I think I've picked up on the key formula to "making it" on Shorts. Please keep in mind that the title is facetious and this isn't a serious guide, but, I do think I've hit on the secret formula, so to speak.
Step 1: Find your niche and stay consistent. Pick one primary topic to focus on, and don't deviate. Food is an excellent choice (for reasons I will go into a bit), but I think it's also starting to get a bit saturated. The important thing is to dedicate your channel to a single topic and upload frequently.
Step 2: It's all about psuedo-dopamine. Hence why food is such an excellent topic to focus on. The name of the game of Shorts (and I'm sure this applies to Tiktok as well) is to simulate in the viewer with the feeling of accomplishment. In japaneat's case that's the primal accomplishment of eating a meal (but in Japan!). In SenyaiGrubs's case, it's the simulated sense of accomplishement of making food. This is a bit of a side rant, but food related videos are not altogether different from how pornography functions. Both focus on titillating the most animal and primordial parts of ourselves. Ever notice how cooking videos never feel satisfying if the person making it doesn't film themselves trying it at the end?Kind of reminds me how a porno doesn't feel complete without a creampie.
In anycase, it doesn't have to be limited to food(or sensually stimulating content), anything which simulates a sense of accomplishment will due. For more on that, check this video out, you only really need to see the first 2 minutes of it anyway.
Step 3: Have a unique, engaging voice. This is kind of the classic advice given to every aspiring writer, or any artist really. But what I mean specifically, is that narration is the crux of these videos. Often they feel like super shorted down internal monolgues. The main focus of what you will be narrating will be on the niche at hand, but the spice that will distinguish you from others in your niche is the personality. Now don't worry, this doesn't have to be your own personality. You could create a character, just so long as you are consistent and that the character is entertaining.
Bonus Step: ADHD editing is good. Zoomers love rapid cuts (really more like flashes) of irrelevant footage interrupting the primary footage.
FAQ:
Q: If this is the secret to making it on Shorts why haven't you utilized your own method?
A: Because I'm not sure if I want to waste my limited free time making virtual cocaine for zoomies. Also, I might actually eventually give it a try. I have a couple ideas of channels that might work.
Well, thanks for reading my blog. I really do intent this thread to be a place to discuss (hate on) YT Shorts, the shifting trends on YouTube, and short form videos in general. So if you have any opinions on the topic please share them.
I've never touched TikTok, and mostly ignored Instagram, and for a long time I could say the same about YouTube Shorts as well. For the most part they are a format I hate, but recently YouTube's decided to relentlessly shill several Shorts videos to me to the point that I eventually relented. Then Youtube would shill more to me, and more. And though I could often fight off the urge and ignore them, ever so often I would indulge in those 30-second dopamine hits. That's when I started to noticed a trend. Well several actually. The first of which, is that I was being recommended shorts from the same narrow pool of channels. So that's when I decided to investigate a little bit and check out the channels themselves, that's when the first unnerving discovery became clear. Of course, it's well known that YouTube's algorithm is personalized, especially when it comes to recommendations. So it's highly likely anyone reading this may never have been recommended the two channels I want to bring up. That's not what's important, what's really important is the data surrounding those two channels.
The first channel which was heavily shilled to me was japaneat. Ironic, since I actually hate "look at me I'm in Japan" content of all forms, which is why I think I gave it a hate click. And one hate click soon evolved into hate watching several of his videos. But this is what I find crazy. His channel (as of my writing this) has 668k subscribers. But when I check the 'Videos' section of the channel, there are only two videos on it. One barely breaking 100k in views, and the other a little less than that. When I check the channel's about section, it says that the channel was created in October 31st, 2022. That means a channel less than a year old with only two videos on it has amassed over 600k subscribers in less than a year from shorts alone. Now maybe this is where my age and boomer-mentality is really sticking out. But I always assumed Shorts were used as side-content by YouTube creators, not as anyone's primary bread and butter. Furthermore, as somebody who has actively avoided shorts for the longest time, I naturally (and stupidly) assumed most others did as well.
The second channel far eclipses japaneat, and that would be SenyaiGrubs. Same story, just on a much larger scope. His channel (again, as of me writing this) sits at 1.91 Million subscribers. How many videos has he uploaded? Two, incidentally. His first video is from 7 months ago and sits at 19k views, and his second also from 7 months ago and sits at 49k views. Both his videos have less views than japaneat's videos, yet he eclipses japaneat in subscribers. His channel is also roughly a year old, dating back to May 17, 2022.
So, what has this revealed to me? Notably that I really am a mid-20yo boomer behind the times, as I had no idea it was possible for channels to become so massive (so fast) from Shorts content alone. As much as I hate to say it, it really does seem like the future of "making it" on YouTube for new content creators is through shorts. It also gets me to question if the people who use YouTube for elusively/mostly longer form videos is divided by demographics. I grew up with YouTube, so to me ultrashort form videos hold little genuine appeal. But I wonder if for people growing up on TikTok, they view somebody like me the way I viewed my parents when they stuck to TV in an era when YouTube was starting to dominate.
Anyway, and this is where we get to the title of this thread, I think I've picked up on the key formula to "making it" on Shorts. Please keep in mind that the title is facetious and this isn't a serious guide, but, I do think I've hit on the secret formula, so to speak.
Step 1: Find your niche and stay consistent. Pick one primary topic to focus on, and don't deviate. Food is an excellent choice (for reasons I will go into a bit), but I think it's also starting to get a bit saturated. The important thing is to dedicate your channel to a single topic and upload frequently.
Step 2: It's all about psuedo-dopamine. Hence why food is such an excellent topic to focus on. The name of the game of Shorts (and I'm sure this applies to Tiktok as well) is to simulate in the viewer with the feeling of accomplishment. In japaneat's case that's the primal accomplishment of eating a meal (but in Japan!). In SenyaiGrubs's case, it's the simulated sense of accomplishement of making food. This is a bit of a side rant, but food related videos are not altogether different from how pornography functions. Both focus on titillating the most animal and primordial parts of ourselves. Ever notice how cooking videos never feel satisfying if the person making it doesn't film themselves trying it at the end?
In anycase, it doesn't have to be limited to food
Step 3: Have a unique, engaging voice. This is kind of the classic advice given to every aspiring writer, or any artist really. But what I mean specifically, is that narration is the crux of these videos. Often they feel like super shorted down internal monolgues. The main focus of what you will be narrating will be on the niche at hand, but the spice that will distinguish you from others in your niche is the personality. Now don't worry, this doesn't have to be your own personality. You could create a character, just so long as you are consistent and that the character is entertaining.
Bonus Step: ADHD editing is good. Zoomers love rapid cuts (really more like flashes) of irrelevant footage interrupting the primary footage.
FAQ:
Q: If this is the secret to making it on Shorts why haven't you utilized your own method?
A: Because I'm not sure if I want to waste my limited free time making virtual cocaine for zoomies. Also, I might actually eventually give it a try. I have a couple ideas of channels that might work.
Well, thanks for reading my blog. I really do intent this thread to be a place to discuss (hate on) YT Shorts, the shifting trends on YouTube, and short form videos in general. So if you have any opinions on the topic please share them.
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