We’re wrapping up the summer. We’re near the end of “The Tech Doldrums”. Instead of circling back for long term reviews, or spending time with gadgets which might not have gotten as much attention, the popularity algorithm demands we feed it popular topics.
We don’t have any news on iPhone 11 or Note 10 or Pixel 4, but if you spend any time covering less popular brands, your channel metrics will take a hit. If your viewership falters slightly, Google stops recommending your channel. It’s a direct punishment metric designed to discourage you from straying. Even when you see a video these days about a Sony or an LG, it’s rarely a true review. It’s more likely what you’ll watch is a thinly veiled comparison against a more popular device.
“In reviewing the Sony, I’ve come to the conclusion that you should buy a Samsung instead.”
But I digress…
When we’ve run out of actual news and review topics, but we still need to feed the popularity algorithm, what we arrive at is pretty obnoxious. I call it “The Drama Dance”.
I poked fun at this at the top of my Galaxy S10e review:
That’s the drama dance in a nutshell.
It’s an annoying trend. Gin up fake drama, then resolve that drama. Rinse. Repeat.
Before a gadget from a popular manufacturer has been officially unveiled, my news feed will be slaughtered by leaks and rumors. Hacks will latch on to any possible defect or compromise. Maybe take one speculated feature out of context, or decry a new feature as a gimmick.
Once the gadget has been announced, the internet pundits will be tripping over themselves to point out the deal breakers. What was this company even thinking?!?!?
Reaction video after reaction video after reaction video.
Devices then get sent out to reviewers, and suddenly the tone shifts. What was once a “deal breaker” in speculation, well now that’s in the reviewer’s hands, now it’s not so bad. You get used to it. It might be ok.
(I have to reiterate, this only happens with popular devices. If the device isn’t a trending tech topic for Google, then deal breakers stay deal breakers for less popular gadgets.)
Wrap up with a video or article about how this hugely successful, billion dollar corporation, AGAINST ALL ODDS, managed to win the reviewer over. It’s truly a meritocracy. It had nothing to do with the video producer getting to milk a topic for a handful of videos, and YouTube rewarding them for feeding the popularity algorithm. It had nothing to do with front-loading “outrage traffic” by picking at a larger fanbase, and then stroking the egos of those fans later.
See it in action now. Search for “iPhone 11” on YouTube. It’s in the speculation “Apple is DONE!” phase of this cycle.
I’m all for having my mind changed. It’s delightfully refreshing when a product takes me by surprise. It’s beautiful when you really capture a moment like that, but it’s not something you can force.
I have a friend who produces reality TV, and he pretty much ruined every reality competition or pawn shop style show. I’d always hoped that some of the finds were authentic, but literally everything is planned. Once you see the tricks, the entertainment value of that show plummets. It’s all fake. Fake is boring.
The Drama Dance is YouTube’s inelegant arrival at reality TV production. We’ve suffered clickbaity titles. We’ve suffered horrifically stupid video thumbnails. We still had to raise the stakes. Now entire video series are being produced to tap into conflict, and then later resolve that conflict. We know it’s artificial conflict because those producers will never really walk away from the most popular topics on YouTube. They can’t.
Google will punish them for it.
I’m so tired of the Youtube thumbnails. Just look at the trending tab on Youtube. Nearly all of them are people making absolutely ridiculous faces with huge words. It’s the same crap over and over again. There are so many great smaller channels out there but they will never get noticed because of all the click bait crap that is out there.
Starting to feel like an unfixable situation.