YouTube

[castle]

For me, YouTube has kinda gotten stale. With exceptions of course, but I’m really aiming this at fishy YouTubers.

There’s a little to decompress here, but I have a couple of theories.

Covid gave content creators a lot of free time, increasing quality. Viewers had a lot of free time too.

Content creators (not many) have made so much cash, they’re now creating low quality effort videos so that their channel stays relevant for YouTubes algorithm.

And I guess my third guess is that content creators have seen what works, and are milking it dry haha.

I think the key issue I have with content creators is it’s become formulaic, increasingly people are trying to sell me something, and I guess enthusiasm seems to be reduced from the creators? I’m not sure what I’m looking for from a video, but I’m not finding it anymore.

Or am I alone in feeling like this? Any YouTubers I should check out?

 

[Scaperinc]

Start watching car detailing videos lol I rotate from fish to car to woodworking to music reaction channels

 

[Bradders]

You’re not alone. I feel the same way. The constant search for something new, or something which is not a covert sales ad has become harder and harder. There seems to be little people doing this for a hobby-sake, and more doing it for a commercial sake.

 

[Bradders]

Actually, it would be really nice to see some of good people on here do a YouTube video and relay their experience without any sales aspect!

 

[LondonDragon]

Use to watch a few aquarium related channels, I don't recall the last time I watched one of those, I don't even get any aquarium related recommendations any longer. and I do spend at least an hour or two a day on YouTube if not longer.

But then again creating decent content takes time and effort, and lots of cash! So understand why the ones that do it have a more commercial aspect to it!

 

[Miniandy]

I agree that a lot of content is now repetitive and short term. Often setup videos include a final shot which negates any investment on the part of the audience in the success of any scape. Instead its rinse and repeat setup videos and the next view of the tank is often of a neglected scape which is getting torn down.

There is a huge niche being totally ignored, which is getting over problems that everyone will face. Battling algea, dealing with older
tanks, refreshing a scape...

I very nearly started making videos myself earlier this year as I was getting fed up with the lack of enduring content.

Having said that, I still enjoy George's rambles and that's where I first started watching aquascaping on YouTube many many years ago. I think George is largely responsible for a lot of aquascaping stuff on the net (in the best possible way) and a lot of what's out there now wouldn't have existed without the path being laid out in the way it was.

 

[foxfish]

I have operated a few youtube channels over the years, I only have one now and that only has 1.5k subscribers so there is no monetary pressure to keep posting videos.
My point is, it is quite hard work to keep finding new interesting content and you need to be very thick skinned to absorb some of the trolls and scammers!
I did try to build one channel and at one stage I was getting paid a few quid but, I had a lot of problems with trolls so I stoped allowing comments and within a couple of months my channel went from growing rapidly to going in to rabid decline!
However I think youtube in its self, is growing very fast and some of the bigger channels are producing top quality videos.
Some of the lucky few who started up their channels 20 years ago had it easy compared to trying to get noticed nowadays….

 

[Maf 2500]

Below Water is always a must watch for me... but they only put out one (or two if lucky) vids per month.

On the whole most of the aquarium and aquascaping content has been done to death and becomes increasingly formulaic the more you watch... and then you stop watching... It would be nice to find something original again...

 

[richardcunliffe]

I agree, in the last couple of years I watched lots but now rarely. I use the time here instead! I will say though also that I tend to find the thumbnails uninviting but the tanks in the videos always better than expected from stills. Also, I do find George's all caps click bait titles bizarrely at odds with his general approach of aquariums for relaxation and mindfulness 😛

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

...... My point is, it is quite hard work to keep finding new interesting content

I think that is a real problem. Very few people are going to have content that covers more than a few videos.

And you need to be very thick skinned to absorb some of the trolls and scammers!.....

I can't imagine the abuse you get on YouTube, it is bad enough just on the WWW.

Cheers Darrel

 

[ElleDee]

I've heard that the YouTube creator ecosystem has gotten more difficult over the years and monetizing is harder than ever. It's time consuming and expensive when done right, so if it's not making money how can you justify it? I don't think attracting eyeballs and relying on ad revenue is enough for almost anyone. You need to have a Patreon, a company, a book, or at least a sponsor.

I don't mind a commercial aspect as long as it's not hidden and there is still some feeling of integrity. Of course it's cooler and more authentic-seeming when a creator doesn't seem to be in it for the money or attention, but that's a very, very high bar and not a requirement for good content IMO.

(It's not impossible though. I got into the hobby because Foo the Flowerhorn was exactly the kind of relaxation I needed at the beginning of covid. He never asked me to smash like and subscribe, or even showed his face or spoke. I hope he made millions.)

I love to put stuff on in the background while I do other stuff, but I agree offerings in the hobby have gotten thin. I'm not a beginner nor trying to be a pro aquascaper, so maybe my interests have gotten too narrow?

 

[PARAGUAY]

I haven't had a CO2 aquarium for a while but still like looking in on ADA creations and like MD Fish tanks, BTW Marc get back on UKAPS. Most of my YT Watch now is Below Water ,Ivan Mikolji and few music stories channels

 

[seedoubleyou]

MD Fish tanks

I liked him better when he was just an ordinary bloke having a go in his shed.
He’s become a little entitled now and just repeats the same tanks.

 

[Wookii]

Personally I think YouTube is a hugely valuable resource. Not necessarily just within this hobby, but in other hobbies or interests, or indeed anything where you need to learn something new. I have found it amazing when tackling various DIY projects I've never done before, you can almost guarantee to find someone has already posted a step by step video showing the best way to tackle it.

Similarly with new hobbies I've taken up over the years - brewing; masses of useful videos that enabled me to learn everything I needed. Similarly getting back into weight training, tonnes of useful science backed technique videos have really helped me get back up and running.

Similarly with product reviews/unboxing, it's hugely useful to see an item you're considering buying, pulled out the box, taken apart and tested. If you can find a few videos of the same products, you soon get a feel for which ones are 'sponsored', and quickly learn to read between the lines.

A lot of 'YouTubers' have a product to sell, and I don't have a problem with that as long as it's obvious - ultimately I'm watching their content (that must have taken substantial time and effort to produce) completely free, so if they want to plug a product to help fund it, chip on I say.

Getting back to the OP though, its ultimately this:

I think that is a real problem. Very few people are going to have content that covers more than a few videos.

And this applies to all areas of interest - there's got to be a finite number of topics that can be reasonably covered in a video. For my brewing, there are only a certain number of way you can show how to brew a lager, and then it's kind of done, for my weight training there's only a certain number of ways to learn how to train shoulder muscles, and then its kind of done - similarly with aquariums, there's only so many ways you can show how to scape and plant a tank, or trim plants, or breed fish, before it's kinda done.

Beyond that, you're back a recycling old topics.

For me, YouTube has kinda gotten stale. With exceptions of course, but I’m really aiming this at fishy YouTubers.

For us as YouTube users interested in aquarium and fish related content, maybe we should have a master thread with links to useful content channels? If everyone contributes something they've found that isn't on the list, it might lead us to new (to us) old content we haven't seen before that YouTubes algo doesn't normally present us?

I'll start it off, I found this guy and his channel yesterday, stumbling on it looking for tips on breeding Red Neon Blue Eyes - nicely put together video, decent quality filming, and surprisingly knowledgeable for such a young guy. I'll be checking out some of his other videos in due course:

 

[castle]

Glad I’m not alone on this one; there are some great videos out there but I have grown bored of the popular channels. YT algorithm keeps me interested, somewhat but I go between all sorts of stuff.

I watched a fantastic underwater vid of the Amazon the other day () inspirational tbh.


@ElleDee modern YT is a bit of a double edged sword, it’s certainly pays more a video these days (viewership is longer, generally) but the discoverability of your video is much lower. I was told that a lot of “viral” creators upload their video to dozens, sometimes hundreds of accounts for just one of them to get noticed then they quickly delete all the other channels. If the system can ben gamed, it’s broken imo.

One thing to note, for every hour of content you film is almost 10 hours of editing 😩😅

 

[Conort2]

I'll be checking out some of his other videos in due course:

He has some very good informative videos and is very knowledgable. I don’t watch much aquarium related stuff on YouTube anymore, it all ends up getting a bit repetitive.

Below Water puts out some good stuff but it’s only once a month or even longer.

 

[ScareCrow]

As others have said I think this is the main problem for many, especially small non-monetised or sponsored creators.

My point is, it is quite hard work to keep finding new interesting content

Simply just run out of space/funds to keep creating new and different content.

For me fish breeding is my main interest and once you get past the 'easy' species there are fewer videos but when you find something relevant it's great. I also watch and rewatch talks on fish breeding and fishroom tours but there are a limited number of these and I guess there's fewer visually appealing frames to grab for a glossy thumbnail and a more limited audience so they pull in fewer viewers and so there's less drive to make such videos.

Nick from "keeping fish simple" (@Wookii post above) is a great creator and covers all facets of fish keeping including trips to see them in the wild.
Lowells fish lab is one of my favourites for breeding fish
Russel Tate for seeing fish it their natural environment
Aguabonita for scapes and breeding/fish selection

There are quite a few more that I can link to if interested. I think I completed YouTube a few years ago 😂

Also worth noting YouTube has added auto translate for closed captions so if like me you don't speak any other languages, this opens up a lot of additional content.