YouTube launched in 2005 as a video sharing platform, and was acquired by Google (now Alphabet) in 2006. It has built an entire community of creators that run channels dedicated to topics like gaming, tech reviews, and beauty. It also houses news videos and entertainment such as music videos, movie trailers, and clips from late-night TV shows.
YouTube’s rapid growth has not been without problems. YouTubers typically make money from ads that run in front of their videos, but if they break the platform’s rules, their channels and videos can be demonetized. Executives and moderators have worked to combat harassment, misinformation, terrorist propaganda, hate content, and other abuse.
The Verge runs two YouTube channels, The Verge and Verge Science.
9to5Google reports that some YouTube TV subs are seeing a pop-up message noting that a long press of the OK or Select buttons on their remotes will quickly flip back to the last-viewed channel. That’s one of the best old-school cable box remote features there was, so let’s hope it rolls out wide soon.
Green walks through the intricacies between TikTok, Reels, and Shorts — along with his earnings from each. The gist is Shorts > TikTok > Reels in terms of CPM, but watch the full clip for more context.
Creators are in a weird spot right now: TikTok wants videos longer than a minute, and Shorts only allows clips up to 60 seconds. And even when you’re making money, it’s hard to understand the exact breakdown.
Wired reports that YouTube recently removed a bit of public code that flagged whether a channel was monetizing through ad revenue. The change happened a few weeks ago, according to developers tracking it:
[Developers] say the code on YouTube channels disappeared as early as November 17—the day after WIRED asked YouTube about the flag when fact-checking a story about YouTube excluding creators in the Palestinian territories from its revenue-sharing arrangement.
Max just became the latest addition to YouTube’s Primetime Channels. As of today, you can subscribe to the ad-free tier of Max directly from YouTube.
It still costs the same $15.99 per month that you’d pay anywhere else, but the key benefit is that you can stream Max shows and movies right from YouTube itself after subscribing — no need to open the Max app anymore.
If you’ve never come across it, here’s a 1986 commercial featuring then-future Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer selling Windows for $99 (except in Nebraska).
It’s a parody, of course, and was never actually aired in the first place. But Ballmer’s unfiltered enthusiasm at Microsoft events and elsewhere really sells it for those who want to believe.
Hyundai has a new concept for dealing with snow driving: shape-changing, bent memory alloy rods, integrated with a “wheel and tire assembly,” that extend out to act like snow chains when a current is applied.
It’s a very cool idea, though I doubt these will be cheap to fix when they go flat. Still, probably a less fraught approach than spinning chain wheels under your car.
Google showed off Bard’s new ability to pull deep content from YouTube videos recently, but if the robot is watching YouTube for you, does the YouTube Creator make any money?
Jules Terpak, a content creator who explores digital culture, asked that very question to Bard lead Jack Krawczyk, who didn’t seem to have very much in the way of an answer. You can hear it below at about 18:50.
Google is telling users who pay less for Premium because they once had Google Play Music or YouTube Red that they’ll owe the recently-instated $13.99 per month fee in January, 9to5Google reports.
Google had already said that it was going to give legacy subscribers a grace period before bumping them up to the higher fee, but that period is now coming to an end.
Google mentioned the date in a support document about transferring your subscriptions away from Google Podcasts. You’ll have until July 2024 to migrate your subscriptions to YouTube Music or another service.
[support.google.com]
About a month before the famed driver and DC Shoes co-founder Ken Block died in a snowmobile accident earlier this year, he filmed another installment of the popular series in Mexico City that you can watch right here.
After racking up over 650 million views on YouTube for the Gymkhana series, this final video combines his trademark precision driving with Audi’s purpose-built EV and some new modifications: simulated gears that program multiple levels of wheel speed controlled by the paddle shifter, opposite-driven wheels for a standing AWD burnout, the ability to go into reverse at any speed, and instant switching from AWD to RWD.
Despite Rockstar releasing the GTA VI trailer early following a leak, it still managed to rake in 72 million views and counting. PC Gamer points out this makes it the most-viewed non-music video on YouTube in the 24 hours following its release — a record previously held by MrBeast.
It’s also getting close to dethroning BTS’s “Dynamite” music video, which currently holds the record for getting the most views on all of YouTube in 24 hours.
YouTuber Charles Cornell recently broke down the unassailable soundtrack of Streets of Rage 2, and his glee mirrors the feelings I’ve had about that song collection for the last cough years.
While you’re watching, check out The Verge’s interview with Yuzo Koshiro, the game’s composer.
Spotify and Apple Music have both released their end-of-year roundups, and now it’s YouTube Music’s turn. This year, YouTube Music will create a custom album art based on what you’ve listened to in 2023, as well as match your top songs to different moods.
You can also access your Recap from the regular YouTube app for the first time, but it might not have any stats if you aren’t a YouTube Music listener.
Verge pal Taylor Lorenz shared this Game Theory video about over-optimized content on YouTube leading to what MatPat calls the “era of excess” on the platform. Her prediction? A new creator will break out by becoming the “anti-MrBeast” and defying this trend. You can argue it’s already happening on TikTok — and the video itself is a fascinating deep dive into creators gaming a platform’s algorithmic incentives.
This noise is the price you’ll pay for the uncropped 4K 120fps shots of the Sony A9 III’s global shutter that’s supposed to fix the distortion caused by the usual rolling shutter. (Well, really the price is $5,999)
Okay, so you don’t actually have to hear the sound of an early PC crashing — there’s no mechanical shutter. But this is an awful noise, and I love that it’s there.
Fast Company’s latest cover story is on tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee. There’s the main feature itself and a highlights reel of his most significant videos, but perhaps the best quotes in the package come from this interview with Brownlee’s mom, Jeaniene Brownlee:
People sometimes wonder if Marques grew up in a house with lots of technology, and he was just tapping into that. And the truth of the matter is, it was the exact opposite. We had one television. It was in the family room. We’d rent a movie from Blockbuster on weekends. There were no video games—I wouldn’t allow them.
Why shouldn’t I speaker it?
(Sorry for the puns. Please enjoy this Penguin DIY video of a walnut shell being turned into a tiny Bluetooth speaker.)
Earlier this week, YouTube confirmed “a global effort” to crack down on ad blockers — and it’s already affecting the ad blocker business. A new report from Wired suggests that the crackdown is causing users to uninstall and install ad blockers at a record pace as they search for one that actually works:
Previously unreported figures from ad blocking companies indicate that YouTube’s crackdown is working, with hundreds of thousands of people uninstalling ad blockers in October. The available data suggests last month saw a record number of adblockers uninstalled—and also a record for new ad blocker installs as people sought alternatives that wouldn’t trigger YouTube’s dreaded popup.
The owner of James Channel on YouTube has perfected the art of the home portable console conversion, using hot glue, duct tape, and (feigned) carelessness.
