Clickbait titles and thumbnails

[RomHeu]

Hello!

 

I've been a loyal subscriber of the Linus Tech Tips channel for years even though I've never posted on the forum.

 

I'm posting for the first time to share my opinion before it's too late.

 

I just wanted to say that I never click on content with clickbait titles or dumb thumbnails by principle. Unfortunately, more and more Linus Tech Tips videos on your YouTube channel have those.

 

Here are a few examples:

 

I don't click:

• We NEVER expected NVIDIA to allow this...
• How has EVERYONE overlooked this??
• Why would you even…?
• Razer thought this was a good idea??
• I can't believe this.

I click:

• Alienware's CRAZY upgradeable laptop
• The OLED Gaming TV from ALIENWARE!!
• Preparing for 10 GIGABIT Internet! What Could Go Wrong? (even though I could do without the "What could go wrong")
• Electrical Wiring for the Gaming Center - What could go wrong? (I see a pattern…)
• MacBook Air 2018 – A PC Guy's Perspective
• "Water" Cooled Smartphone - S#!t Manufacturers Say
• Are Walmart Gaming PCs actually THAT bad?

In general thumbnails have all been dumb for a few months now, with the "mandatory" funny and/or exaggerated face and the white outline. Thumbnails used two years ago with just the products were fine!

 

You have 8 million subscribers interested in computers, I'm not sure that they need these tactics to watch your videos.

 

I may be the only one to feel that way, and if so I would understand that you ignore this "rant", but I hope that I'm not alone, that other people feel the same and that hopefully you'll adapt to this portion of your audience.

 

I still like many of your videos, I hope you'll keep posting good ones!

[Vulrax]

Oh don’t worry, many people feel this way.

[Silentprototipe]

Its been explained in the past already, the man himself did. It really just is to attract new veiwers. So they are sadly here to stay  

[WkdPaul]

2 minutes ago, Romano2K said:

I'm posting for the first time to share my opinion before it's too late.

Seeing as we've been getting threads like this for a year now, I would say it's already too late!!!

[RollinLower]

and many people have expressed their disapproval of these tactics. yet the numbers don't lie, these clickbait titles work and as long as they bring in more clicks and cash LTT is going to keep using them.

LMG is a business, eventough their videos are all pretty laidback and stuff, don;t forget that Linus has a whole staff of people that need to eat.

[Skiiwee29]

Welcome to Youtube and the ever changing Algorithm for showing videos to new viewers on the front page. 

[Blademaster91]

I don't like the clickbait titles either, can't totally blame LTT as apparently Youtube wants it and it's better revenue that way.

[TheKDub]

On Floatplane the clickbait titles are virtually nonexistent. There might be one or two here or there, but it's much better than the mess on YouTube. So if you're looking to escape the clickbait garbage, that's an option.

[JZStudios]

I also find it quite aggravating and actively avoid most of the LTT videos. Gamers Nexus or Science Studio are typically okay. I like Dave Lee or 2D, whatever he goes by.

[Canada EH]

7 hours ago, Romano2K said:

I just wanted to say that I never click on content with clickbait titles or dumb thumbnails by principle. Unfortunately, more and more Linus Tech Tips videos on your YouTube channel have those.

You should just stop watching LTT all together, thats what a bunch of us did, including me. Linus is trying to cater to a certain demographic age.

[Bouzoo]

So, this just happened. Improvement nonetheless. I can live with that. I hands down refuse to watch previous videos with no mention of the product in the title. 

 

 

[GoldenLag]

2 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

So, this just happened. Improvement nonetheless. I can live with that. I hands down refuse to watch previous videos with no mention of the product in the title. 

 

 

its a rewind to almost 2017 titles. so i guess that is a step in the right direction, but i doubt it is going to continue

[lewdicrous]

*Insert "another one" meme here*

[RomHeu]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one to feel that way!

 

I'm sorry if I posted a dupe, I haven't been using the forum.

 

Regarding the "need" to use clickbait titles to pay the bills, I'll just say that Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) has the same number of subscribers (7,7 million subscribers for him versus 7,9 for LTT) and that he makes as much, if not more, views, without any clickbait title and with just a few subtle funny faces and the occasional outlined "?".

 

You can always make more views, just use girls in swim suit with huge boobs as thumbnails. I think it's a matter of balance between quality and money.

 

If Linus has already been "warned" and hasn't changed anything, I'm sorry but I'm unsubsribing right away. Obviously as a nerd in his 30s I'm not his target anymore.

[lewdicrous]

 

[Rohith_Kumar_Sp]

I Don't mind the thumbnails, but this is the problem, the titles, how can you even know what's the video about? even if you search gtx 2060 review the video still wouldn't show up

@LinusTech

 

 

 

The thumbnails won't even wont show up in youtube search 

 

 

 

[r2724r16]

3 minutes ago, Rohith_Kumar_Sp said:

even if you search gtx 2060 review the video still wouldn't show up

As protest against LTT's clickbait titles, I don't watch any LTT video that has a clickbait title lol.

[r2724r16]

20 hours ago, TheKDub said:

So if you're looking to escape the clickbait garbage, that's an option.

Why pay money for a bunch of LTT videos, when you can just watch a different YouTube channel with non-clickbait video titles?

[Spotty]

8 minutes ago, Rohith_Kumar_Sp said:

even if you search gtx 2060 review the video still wouldn't show up

Well, I wonder why...

If you search "RTX 2060" the LTT video does show... You just have to scroll down to the 24th video in the results to find it.



... Or at least I think the "Why would you even...?" video is about the RTX 2060. I can't tell.

[TheKDub]

7 hours ago, Geography said:

Why pay money for a bunch of LTT videos, when you can just watch a different YouTube channel with non-clickbait video titles?

It's simply an option.

 

Nobody forces you to pay for FloatPlane, nobody forces you to be subscribed on YouTube.

[Canada EH]

On 1/10/2019 at 9:17 AM, Romano2K said:

I click:

Why bother?

Its just a waste of time!

 

Would you trust a person who steals from stores?

[Totallycasual]

When i first subbed to the channel several years ago i watched literally every video he posted but something changed when he got bigger, now its all about the bold/colorful words, Linus pulling a stupid face and some type of click bait type title, i probably watch 20% of the content now  

 

I get that he has people relying on him now and with the way YouTube crap works he pretty much has to pull all that shit to stay ahead of the game but it's a huge turn off for me. 

[Canada EH]

22 hours ago, Newenthusiast said:

its all about the bold/colorful words, Linus pulling a stupid face and some type of click bait type title, i probably watch 20% of the content now

You should watch 0%   !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kamjam66xx]

On 1/10/2019 at 11:17 AM, Romano2K said:

!

Its called data science. Its so simple a caveman could do it.

[Canada EH]

1 minute ago, Kamjam66xx said:

Its called data science. Its so simple a caveman could do it.

Its called data science. Its so simple a child could do it.