A New Day...Starts Today
Exorcising YouTube + (Re)Focusing On Substack
YouTube has darkened too many of my recent days.
So I’m making the conscious decision to make a different choice.
Fingers crossed, this is the final post about what I think of as “The Trials + Tribulations Of An Angry, Gay YouTuber.”
But first…I need to get a few things off my chest:
Since YouTube continues to ignore me and an appeal I filed almost a week ago, I must learn to return the favor. The one (maybe) person who seemed willing to help seems more interested in apologizing and wasting more time than actually finding a solution to the root problem.
I’ve removed all Shorts from both YouTube channels. While they’ve helped reach new subscribers, Shorts mostly benefit YouTube in its fight to remain relevant in the age of TikTok. I’m not interested in helping anyone/anything that isn’t willing to help me. So no more Shorts. In my opinion, they’re a waste of most creators’ time…and make almost no money or sense.
I'm sick (and oh-so tired) of YouTube treating creators like children...unloved children who should shut up and stop asking "the adults" to make their TOS or Community Guidelines make sense. I get that it’s the YouTube Partner PROGRAM and they don’t consider us Partners…but their condescending power trip have led to more than a few creators to seek other alternatives. I’m now one of those.
YouTube’s dedication to censorship is disgusting. To appeal to every Tom, Dick-Tater, and Harry, they limit everything from what you can say to what you can show to who you can talk about. But then deny they’re not judge, jury, and executioner. No, they’re a court of corporate bullshit, greed, and hypocrisy.
Like most global corporations, Google/YouTube uses subjective jargon and lingo (like “advertiser-friendly” and “sexually-gratifying”) as both shield and sword. And use an army of bot police to remove/strike anything they even suspect might offend anyone. As I mentioned above, there are no trials in YouTubeland. Content creators are automatically guilty. And though they can appeal, those appeals won’t necessarily be reviewed. At least mine hasn’t in almost a week. (YouTube Creator Support has said, on record, that most appeals are reviewed within 48 hours. To date, my appeal has go unreviewed for 150+ hours…and counting.)
Apologies to anyone who’s tired of hearing about my problems with YouTube.
Frankly, I’m just as tired of writing about it. I’m also:
Tired of being mad and sad and sick to my stomach.
Tired of begging and bugging YouTube Creator Support for help.
Tired of being gaslit and ignored by “support” bots and/or humans.
Tired of shit-posting on social media in an attempt to find solutions.
Tired of losing money, sleep, and time because of some glitch YouTube can’t/won’t address much less fix.
It may be Google’s platform, but it’s my content. So, starting today, I’m taking my power back. All of it.
While I’m not sure exactly what that looks like yet, this article did inspire me to switch gears. It details one writer’s success story on Substack. A success story I now aim to recreate for myself and my work.
Going forward, I will use YouTube…as a promotional tool.
My focus will be on SUBSTACK.
YouTube gives creators less than its very best, so it’s time to give them less of mine.
I love (most of ) the community I’ve found on YouTube, but focusing solely on it is a recipe for disaster. Focusing on platforms that respect adults making content for other adults is a much healthier place to be, personally and professionally.
Thanks for reading!
Clint
P.S. I posted this on Threads yesterday. And I still mean every word of it. Especially the graphic: F*CK YOUTUBE.
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I know what you mean, just on a much smaller scale. I got a warning for something I'd written in a comment. The problem was that YT didn't tell me which comment. I followed up several times and explained it's physically impossible for me to address the problem unless I know which comment violated guidelines. I never got a response.