YouTube Ditches the 301+ for New Videos

Srgnt_Ballistic · August 5, 2015

Previously when videos managed to get over a certain number of views (presumably 300) shortly after being uploaded the view counter on the video would simply display "301+" This was apparently so YouTube could filter out some of the spam/viewbot views for a more accurate count for the video.

It was funny sometimes seeing "Views: 301+" and thousands of likes and hundreds of dislikes on videos from popular Tech YouTubers like Linus and MKBHD. I'd never been able to figure out exactly how long it lasts before the more accurate count appeared but according to the info graphic it was "a few hours"

But this almost became a fraternity type thing among YouTubers. Entering the "301+ Club" meant you had at least 1 video that had gone viral very quickly after uploading. Doing it consistently is a mark of a channel with very solid and active subscriber base. It's one of the reasons YouTubers get annoyed with their latest videos don't hit subscriber boxes right away. I've even heard of YouTubers using the 301 stat to show companies the amount of engagement they got on their videos.

YouTube has made an effort recently to have more up to day stats and analytics for content producers. Still often times the subscriber count, total videos and other stats that the public sees isn't nearly up to date. Hopefully this means Google/YouTube is revamping some things to supply real-time or at least closer to real-time analytics. Go here to see a channel's real-time subscriber count and you can see it typically doesn't match what's displayed on YouTube!