Linus's Disturbing Trend to Clickbait

[BloodyWaters]

I agree, LTT should go back to a more "professional" look. If I was looking for a review for a prouduct, I would want someone who did it in a professional way. I would probably not click a highly photoshopped thumbnail with exaggerated face expressions (AKA most click bait out there) Avoid this hole, LTT, before you build up a reputation that you don't want. 

[Modzy]

4 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

You watch the video, not look at the thumbnail. 

how do i watch the video without first knowing its worth watching? or who even made it?

 

[vanished]

A lot of people have been wondering/complaining about this lately, and I know it was mentioned briefly in the comments of one video but maybe we can get this thread some attention so more people see the official reply, if @nicklmg would be so kind as to provide one

 

What I remember him saying was that they've chosen to start doing these because the evidence shows that, while someone such as your self may visually filter it out, overall, these get more clicks and they want to stay competitive.

[LAwLz]

6 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

What I remember him saying was that they've chosen to start doing these because the evidence shows that, while someone such as your self may visually filter it out, overall, these get more clicks and they want to stay competitive.

Looking at the views of their current videos get I feel like the whole "we get more views now" is just confirmation bias.

I mean, they started doing it very shortly before CES, at which they made multiple videos a day about brand new product. No shit your views will go up from that, but they would have gone up with the old thumbnails too.

[3 Lions]

12 minutes ago, BloodyWaters said:

I agree, LTT should go back to a more "professional" look. If I was looking for a review for a prouduct, I would want someone who did it in a professional way. I would probably not click a highly photoshopped thumbnail with exaggerated face expressions (AKA most click bait out there) Avoid this hole, LTT, before you build up a reputation that you don't want. 

Professional looks are not always the best route to go.

 

Take a look at this

 

This image is highly edited and has a silly look to it however it doesn't mean the show itself not professionally produced. 

[vanished]

1 minute ago, LAwLz said:

Looking at the views of their current videos get I feel like the whole "we get more views now" is just confirmation bias.

I mean, they started doing it very shortly before CES, at which they made multiple videos a day about brand new product. No shit your views will go up from that, but they would have gone up with the old thumbnails too.

I'm not sure what that data is based on so I wouldn't assume that that's what they did (just look at the views on new videos).  Perhaps someone's done studies ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Modzy]

7 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

A lot of people have been wondering/complaining about this lately, and I know it was mentioned briefly in the comments of one video but maybe we can get this thread some attention so more people see the official reply, if @nicklmg would be so kind as to provide one

 

What I remember him saying was that they've chosen to start doing these because the evidence shows that, while someone such as your self may visually filter it out, overall, these get more clicks and they want to stay competitive.

There is a difference between seeing evidence click-bait works to click the video & actually needing click-bait. I through LTT was a company that was above bedroom youtuber qualities by investing so much in quality production equipment & team members.

If Jay's single owner/operator channel manages to product equally as high quality content, and gets my attention so well through professionally thumbnailed videos. Why does a channel like LTT need click-bait videos? especially when you hear Jay himself says Linus Media Group is the single best example of how to do a tech channel right. 

There are some simple outcomes... they need the money from rapidly more views or control over this was given to someone who doesn't get why LTT even exists at this level.

[BloodyWaters]

15 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

A lot of people have been wondering/complaining about this lately, and I know it was mentioned briefly in the comments of one video but maybe we can get this thread some attention so more people see the official reply, if @nicklmg would be so kind as to provide one

 

What I remember him saying was that they've chosen to start doing these because the evidence shows that, while someone such as your self may visually filter it out, overall, these get more clicks and they want to stay competitive.

I 100% understand why you would want to do this. But maybe take some time and think about how it will help you long term. Will it get you clicks now? Yes. But then you will start to become "the average click bait channel", which will not benifit the future of LTT. Instead of using generic clickbait, maybe think of new and interesting ways to get the views, but still remain professional. If a prouduct is rare and before-market, make sure to boast about it in the title, and show an interesting picture of it that people will want to click on, while the video still seems professional and informative. I have skipped through your videos in my feed, like Modzy, and mistook them for crappy clickbait videos. Upon closer inspection, my first thought was that Linus looked really stupid in it (no offense), and that it was clickbait. Even though I am a regular LTT watcher, I sighed and skipped over the video. I hope you take this into consideration. 

[vanished]

1 minute ago, BloodyWaters said:

I 100% understand why you would want to do this. But maybe take some time and think about how it will help you long term. Will it get you clicks now? Yes. But then you will start to become "the average click bait channel", which will not benifit the future of LTT. Instead of using generic clickbait, maybe think of new and interesting ways to get the views, but still remain professional. If a prouduct is rare and before-market, make sure to boast about it in the title, and show an interesting picture of it that people will want to click on, while the video still seems professional and informative. I have skipped through your videos in my feed, like Modzy, and mistook them for crappy clickbait videos. Upon closer inspection, my first thought was that Linus looked really stupid in it (no offense), and that it was clickbait. Even though I am a regular LTT watcher, I sighed and skipped over the video. I hope you take this into consideration. 

Yeah I don't particularly care for the new style either but I don't make those decisions  

[Modzy]

11 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

Professional looks are not always the best route to go.

 

Take a look at this

 

This image is highly edited and has a silly look to it however it doesn't mean the show itself not professionally produced. 

Does it have the name of the show... yes... can you clearly see "insert personality here", looking professional & representative of the content... yes... your understanding of professional isn't quite what you think it is.

[manikyath]

2 minutes ago, Modzy said:

There is a difference between seeing evidence click-bait works to click the video & actually needing click-bait. I through LTT was a company that was above bedroom youtuber qualities by investing so much in quality production equipment & team members.

If Jay's single owner/operator channel manages to product equally as high quality content, and gets my attention so well through professionally thumbnailed videos. Why does a channel like LTT need click-bait videos? especially when you hear Jay himself says Linus Media Group is the single best example of how to do a tech channel right. 

There are some simple outcomes... they need the money from rapidly more views or control over this was given to someone who doesn't get why LTT even exists at this level.

here's where you went wrong:

 

they dont need them, they just noticed that "in the grand scheme of things" the overly photoshopped thumbnails draw in more people. and more people means more profit, means more money LTT can do other things with.. like you know.. pay those people they just hired

 

LTT isnt funded by love, at its core, LMG is a buisiness trying to run for a profit, ideally as much of a profit as they can, and while there is indeed a portion of their potential audience -like you- who may be turned off by the thumbnals, there is an other, greater portion that likes them, so as a result, the thumbnails so far are a win.

it's a constant balancing act, the fine line between selling out and not making profit, the fine line between professional thumbnails and boring thumbnails, etc.

and let's be honest, linus isnt really known for his professional style

[SydneySideSteveSomewheres]

You may have noticed this change around the time of the current CES coverage, the thumbnails became more colourful in their representation. Possibly, however, you did not notice as you have not been actually watching their content that the fonts used within each video have stayed the same, for example, comic sans is now reserved for Chanel Super Fun. Also with all the new content creators, that they have recently hired the creative process is less focused. Because the newest (interns) staff members do not yet know exactly the format they are meant to be following which you have interpreted as a shift of focus.

And add to that, it may be there is now a larger team or talent pool collectively creating a slightly different output, as every team member has a contributing influence.

[BloodyWaters]

Good. Still professional and will get clicks because of how expensive and rare it is. 

Average. Looks kind cheesy but is still representative of what the video is about. 

Stop it. Get some help. 

[Modzy]

3 minutes ago, manikyath said:

here's where you went wrong:

 

they dont need them, they just noticed that "in the grand scheme of things" the overly photoshopped thumbnails draw in more people. and more people means more profit, means more money LTT can do other things with.. like you know.. pay those people they just hired

 

LTT isnt funded by love, at its core, LMG is a buisiness trying to run for a profit, ideally as much of a profit as they can, and while there is indeed a portion of their potential audience -like you- who may be turned off by the thumbnals, there is an other, greater portion that likes them, so as a result, the thumbnails so far are a win.

it's a constant balancing act, the fine line between selling out and not making profit, the fine line between professional thumbnails and boring thumbnails, etc.

and let's be honest, linus isnt really known for his professional style

That's the heart of the question... who and why made this change? I 100% understand it's a business. But there are business who know their target audience and the quality of content that's made them who they are. Then there are business who only care about money and do marketing based on bottom line and not authentic quality. 

I know the video content is high with LTT, but so was their thumbnail, thats what got me keep watching their content. Now i've missed 4 in every 5 videos each week because i either totally overlook their video in my feed or it doesn't even appear at all.

[Modzy]

8 minutes ago, BloodyWaters said:

Good. Still professional and will get clicks because of how expensive and rare it is. 

Average. Looks kind cheesy but is still representative of what the video is about. 

Stop it. Get some help. 

That works when you looking at 10 videos per day in your feed... 

But when only 10% of your daily list looks like this.... what are you going to click on? you don't stop and read the title of every single video, because you can't even see the title of most of these as you're scrolling through.

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, Modzy said:

But there are business who know their target audience and the quality of content that's made them who they are.

and appareantly, their target audience largely either doesnt mind or prefer the freaky thumbnails

[3 Lions]

20 minutes ago, Modzy said:

Does it have the name of the show... yes... can you clearly see "insert personality here", looking professional & representative of the content... yes... your understanding of professional isn't quite what you think it is.

The goat and flaming tire. Those are edited and have nothing to do with the actual show but it doesn't loose the professionalism because of this.

[treeroy]

They have been getting increasingly click-baity, especially when you look at things like that video about "REVIVE YOUR OLD LAPTOP!" with Luke in a labcoat and a drill in the thumbnail... and then it was just installing an SSD.

[mad dudy]

i didn't sub linus for "professional" made, you people need to find better things to do then bitch about a thumbnail and read the title of the video.

[WkdPaul]

3 hours ago, Modzy said:

*snip*

Thread merged.

[LAwLz]

4 hours ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

I'm not sure what that data is based on so I wouldn't assume that that's what they did (just look at the views on new videos).  Perhaps someone's done studies ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Judging by the recent content, I would be surprised if they put in more effort than "well, our views are up so the thumbnails are working!", and didn't analyze it further than that.

 

 

3 hours ago, manikyath said:

it's a constant balancing act, the fine line between selling out and not making profit, the fine line between professional thumbnails and boring thumbnails, etc.

The fine line between selling out and not making profit... I think Linus blew past that line faster than a speeding bullet a long time ago. He didn't even attempt to hit the breaks.

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, LAwLz said:

The fine line between selling out and not making profit... I think Linus blew past that line faster than a speeding bullet a long time ago. He didn't even attempt to hit the breaks.

you need to reconsider if you think linus is a sellout, seriously..

[LAwLz]

3 minutes ago, manikyath said:

you need to reconsider if you think linus is a sellout, seriously..

Sellout:

noun: a person who compromises his or her personal values, integrity, talent, or the like, for money or personal advancement.

 

 

Linus has:

1) Lied about not making Vessel exclusive content. Now luckily for us Vessel died and the content was released to everyone, but that was not something Linus had planned.

2) Been sponsored by multiple companies, and recommended several products which he has later apologized for (or stopped being sponsored by) because it turned out the product/company was bad and his audience got mad at him. This goes against his words that he would always stay honest and only recommend things he personally liked.

3) He doesn't like the thumbnails himself, but he keeps using them because he thinks it makes him more money.

 

 

Three examples of Linus selling out. He is a massive sellout. Face facts.

 

You can still like his content though.

[manikyath]

8 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

Sellout:

noun: a person who compromises his or her personal values, integrity, talent, or the like, for money or personal advancement.

 

 

Linus has:

1) Lied about not making Vessel exclusive content. Now luckily for us Vessel died and the content was released to everyone, but that was not something Linus had planned.

2) Been sponsored by multiple companies, and recommended several products which he has later apologized for (or stopped being sponsored by) because it turned out the product/company was bad and his audience got mad at him. This goes against his words that he would always stay honest and only recommend things he personally liked.

3) He doesn't like the thumbnails himself, but he keeps using them because he thinks it makes him more money.

 

 

Three examples of Linus selling out. He is a massive sellout. Face facts.

 

You can still like his content though.

1: off memory, he said all linustechtips content would remain free, nerdsports is a series by vessel, for which they hired the LMG crew to make. linus has indicated at several points he's made similar content that never even made it to the public (off memory, they made some internal videos for intel staff training or something.)

2: linus is very direct to these companies that they accept no BS towards their audience, the products may in fact work great for linus, the problem is he cant really fact check if they are truly a great product, or just them bullshitting long enough to gain trust before doing the "bait & switch". as an example i'll use a VPN provider that shall not be named, around the time sponsorship started even their free service worked quite decently, towards where the sponsorship "quit" the free service wouldnt even connect anymore. every sponsorship he does are things that at the start of the ride he likes, the problem is he cant really predict what they'll do later on. and he could either do the professional thing and "drop them quietly" once he is no longer satisfied, or he could do something which could actually be considered illegal in some regions and shit talk the sponsors they dropped, weeks before introducing their replacement.

3: as i said, it is what attracts the viewers, without viewers there is no money, and unfortunately those thumbnails are just what works at the moment.

[LAwLz]

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

1: off memory, he said all linustechtips content would remain free, nerdsports is a series by vessel, for which they hired the LMG crew to make. linus has indicated at several points he's made similar content that never even made it to the public (off memory, they made some internal videos for intel staff training or something.)

Bullshit excuses. Even Linus said apologized and said he didn't expect anyone to want to pay for exclusive content. As for Intel training videos, you can't compare Nerd Sports to that because they are not aimed at the same audiences. Stop making terrible excuses. You might as well say "well he didn't release his home made porno so therefore it is OK that he withheld Nerd Sports!". Nobody was upset because he didn't post those Intel training videos, right? Because nobody gives a damn about them. His normal audience don't want to watch those videos. His normal audience did however want to watch Nerd Sports, which is why he put it behind a paywall so that he could make some extra money.

You are splitting hairs.

 

 

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

2: linus is very direct to these companies that they accept no BS towards their audience, the products may in fact work great for linus, the problem is he cant really fact check if they are truly a great product, or just them bullshitting long enough to gain trust before doing the "bait & switch". as an example i'll use a VPN provider that shall not be named, around the time sponsorship started even their free service worked quite decently, towards where the sponsorship "quit" the free service wouldnt even connect anymore. every sponsorship he does are things that at the start of the ride he likes, the problem is he cant really predict what they'll do later on. and he could either do the professional thing and "drop them quietly" once he is no longer satisfied, or he could do something which could actually be considered illegal in some regions and shit talk the sponsors they dropped, weeks before introducing their replacement.

Everything you said is bullshit.

Don't pretend like Linus went to Full Sail University or that they used a bait and switch tactic.

He recommends products and advertises for things he doesn't use left and right. Some more examples would be Ting, Crunchyroll, FreshBooks, Braintree, etc etc etc.

 

The bar for getting Linus to say positive things about your company is extremely low.

 

 

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

3: as i said, it is what attracts the viewers, without viewers there is no money, and unfortunately those thumbnails are just what works at the moment.

So no counterargument.

Got it.

 

 

It is OK to like his content despite him being a huge sellout. But he has done the things I have listed, and that makes him a sellout. Linus is a big boy. He doesn't need someone on the Internet making up excuses for why it is acceptable for him to sellout, nor do you have to make excuses for why you like his content. Neither of those things will take away the fact that he is a sellout though.