YouTube stars heading for burnout • Hacker News Board

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#111

Post by xor1 » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 5:11 AM UTC

savanaly wrote: post #104

mancerayder wrote: post #50

The anxieties are tied up with the relentless nature of their work. Tyler Blevins, AKA Ninja, makes an estimated $500,000 (£384,000) every month via live broadcasts of him playing the video game Fortnite on Twitch, a service for livestreaming video games that is owned by Amazon. Most of Blevins’ revenue comes from Twitch subscribers or viewers who provide one-off donations (often in the hope that he will thank them b…

I feel this way at first glance too. Then I remember that one could substitute Ninja for me, and his income for mine, and from the comparison of, say, a third-world trash-heap scavenger, I have similarly little reason to ever utter a peep of complaint about how my life is going. Yet I don't feel guilty saying negative things about my life or being depressed on occasion. And that helps me to feel sympathy for him.

>Yet I don't feel guilty saying negative things about my life or being depressed on occasion.

I do, especially after traveling. Holy shit do we have it good here.

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#112

Post by MisterOctober » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 5:15 AM UTC

ChuckMcM wrote: post #106

mancerayder wrote: post #50

The anxieties are tied up with the relentless nature of their work. Tyler Blevins, AKA Ninja, makes an estimated $500,000 (£384,000) every month via live broadcasts of him playing the video game Fortnite on Twitch, a service for livestreaming video games that is owned by Amazon. Most of Blevins’ revenue comes from Twitch subscribers or viewers who provide one-off donations (often in the hope that he will thank them b…

Oddly enough it is more like addicts rather than millennials. The money is a dopamine hit, I've seen day traders with the same obsession trying to make their 'nut' every day. And getting so pumped when they do and so depressed when they don't. All while constantly complaining they would rather be doing anything else. It sounded like an addict saying they hated being an addict but they needed getting high to survive.…

Also similar to some online poker players I've known - even some of the lexicon is the same [e.g., 'grinding']

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#113

Post by kkarakk » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 5:30 AM UTC

shard972 wrote: post #83

api wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many of the Nazis and other super divisive youtubers do you think are faking it or hamming it up for clicks? I do sometimes wonder "do these people actually believe this crap?" Same goes for totally outlandish conspiracy theories. Controversy has always sold, but never before has the feedback loop been so tight.

There are nazi youtubers? I won't lie im right wing but the only Nazi I can think of who manages to get around on youtube would be eric striker. Conspiracy theories sure, plenty of those around but nazis? Maybe there are hundreds of accounts out there with 100s of views between them i've never seen before.

you can call it by the new buzzword if you want - "the alt-right".share the common trait with nazi that they believe/invent pseudo-science that PROVES that they are superior & moral/societal degeneration occurs as a result of the left's policies/actions. also some of them hate jews/minorities. intersectional nazi?

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#114

Post by Mediterraneo10 » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 5:59 AM UTC

ravenstine wrote: post #31

> Divisive content is the king of online media today, and YouTube heavily boosts anything that riles people up [...] I look upon this idea skeptically. In my experience, the content delivered to me is as divisive as the videos I've already watched. If someone is getting divisive content, that's probably the content that they want to watch. Is it really up to YouTube to determine if a person has been watching content…

> If someone is getting divisive content, that's probably the content that they want to watch.

I recently used YouTube on a brand new browser installation to watch some clips from various adult cartoons. That was all. No other search terms, no interest in politics. Soon after, the Recommendations on the right side of the page started to be filled with – besides other cartoon clips – all kinds of polemic culture-war videos, on both sides of those wars. That really impressed on me just how funneled towards these videos people can be even if they show no overt interest in those topics.

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#115

Post by sidstling » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 6:02 AM UTC

wybiral wrote: post #19

sidstling wrote: post #11

I respect people who have the ability to entertain thousands of viewers, I really do. At the same time I’m really happy that wasn’t even an option when I was young. I’m sure I would have spent even more time playing video games if esports, twitch and YouTube had been a thing in the 90ies. I know, I know, not everyone is alike, but at age 35 I’m really happy that my job involves serious adult challenges, and that my s…

> my success in life isn’t depending on thousands of teenagers pushing a like button In a certain sense, though, most serious adult business still boils down to people seeing an ad, installing an app, buying a product, attracting investors, or teenagers clicking a like button. Edit: The YouTubers who go on to do it at a more serious capacity will also learn valuable first-hand lessons in dealing with partnerships, sp…

You have a point. I work in the public sector though. Last week I facilitated workshops to analyze how the administration can better implement an IT system as well as the organizational change-management for thousands of employees. If they listen and actually spend the necessary resources (they won’t), it’ll mean better quality for patients and a better work environment for our employees. For me that’s worth a lot more, but like I said, everyone should find their own path.

I just worry about the longer prospects of getting in to social media content creation, and where it leaves you if you want to change paths. I’ve been on quite a few hiring boards and I’ve never seen social media followers benefit anyone. We’re not the most obvious sector where it would benefit you, but I have a friend in journalism and when I discussed this with him, he said they looked at it, but also that the platforms make it so easy that success on YouTube doesn’t necessarily teach you anything useful.

I think I’m more in agreement with you. I personally think some educational youtubers would make good teachers. I also think they’d never get hired, however, because they don’t have the right education and because they are competing with people who have actual teaching experience.

Like I said, everyone should do their own thing, and I respect youtubers for following their dreams and succeeding. I’m just worried about the longevity of it, and I’m mostly worried because I don’t want my own children to get trapped in something that might not last them. I loved video games in my teens and my early twenties, today I haven’t played one in years. Of course not everyone will burn out on their young adult hobbies like I have.

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#116

Post by skybrian » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 6:03 AM UTC

bitreality wrote: post #87

nine_k wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Making $500k a month would allow you to save enough in a few years to jump off the hamster wheel and live completely off passive income. Not luxuriously, but better than most, and have all his time for his own .

Sure it would. But these things don't happen in a vacuum. If someone like Ninja just quit streaming one day, there would be a ton of pressure on him. His followers would constantly be asking him why he did it, when he's coming back. They'd speak rumors about him, comment publicly on his health (mental and physical). I'm sure your answer is to just ignore it all. No problem, if you're a robot. Then there's the pressur…

If they care about some of their fans and their fans care about them, everyone should be understanding if they want to cut back on their hours to something sane. (And if not, they're not friends so who cares?)

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#117

Post by phamilton » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 6:07 AM UTC

mancerayder wrote: post #50

The anxieties are tied up with the relentless nature of their work. Tyler Blevins, AKA Ninja, makes an estimated $500,000 (£384,000) every month via live broadcasts of him playing the video game Fortnite on Twitch, a service for livestreaming video games that is owned by Amazon. Most of Blevins’ revenue comes from Twitch subscribers or viewers who provide one-off donations (often in the hope that he will thank them b…

Have you ever had golden handcuffs?

While I'm sure starvation, lack of shelter, unemployment etc. are certainly in a different league, I can empathize with someone who feels trapped due to their compensation.

My story isn't as intense, but after an acquisition I had a really hard time. My career growth was frozen and I wanted to leave but I felt that leaving money on the table was doing a great diservice to my wife and children. It was much rougher than I had imagined.

That's not to say someone deserves pity for having to choose between a massive income and "getting off the hamster wheel", but I for one don't blame him for feeling trapped.

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#118

Post by Ricardus » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 6:09 AM UTC

Ricardus wrote: post #2

I don't find this surprising. When I started podcasting in 2005, even doing a weekly 'cast with my friend and co-host was a lot of work. We also had day jobs. But the pressure to create content was still there. These full time youtubers must feel in 100x more, particularly if they have Patreon people to keep happy. We derived no income from our show, and in fact it cost us money to produce. In some ways I wish some o…

If my friend wanted to start producing content again, I'd do it in a second. Getting together for a few hours a week to create a ~45 minute podcast was tons of fun, and the conversation was very therapeutic.

I enjoyed the conversation. The back and forth. Many people have suggested I do something on my own, but I have no idea what that would be. And with stories like these, I'm less likely to dive in.

I'm an audio engineer so I enjoy the production end of things, but I enjoy video editing less than straight up audio editing. But people are suggesting I do some sort of youtube channel.

Ah, who knows! :-)

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#119

Post by sooheon » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 6:22 AM UTC

phamilton wrote: post #117

mancerayder wrote: post #50

The anxieties are tied up with the relentless nature of their work. Tyler Blevins, AKA Ninja, makes an estimated $500,000 (£384,000) every month via live broadcasts of him playing the video game Fortnite on Twitch, a service for livestreaming video games that is owned by Amazon. Most of Blevins’ revenue comes from Twitch subscribers or viewers who provide one-off donations (often in the hope that he will thank them b…

Have you ever had golden handcuffs? While I'm sure starvation, lack of shelter, unemployment etc. are certainly in a different league, I can empathize with someone who feels trapped due to their compensation. My story isn't as intense, but after an acquisition I had a really hard time. My career growth was frozen and I wanted to leave but I felt that leaving money on the table was doing a great diservice to my wife a…

We call that "shit you say when you're full" in Korea. It may be subjectively stressful, but don't expect much sympathy from people who objectively have it 100x worse than you do.

Re: YouTube stars heading for burnout

#120

Post by solveit » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 6:25 AM UTC

madeuptempacct wrote: post #51

fragsworth wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not believing what you speak is a huge enthusiasm killer, and enthusiasm is most of what makes a good video. I'd guess almost all of the people with growing channels believe what they speak, and anyone on the fence might even subconsciously start believe what their audience wants.

Except I can fake enthusiasm easily. I don't because it's deceptive. I feel like I am lying to someone when I fake enthusiasm. Doesn't go over all that well in most settings, since most people do fake it.

But can you fake enthusiasm full-time for years as well as someone who is actually enthusiastic? Because otherwise you'll be outcompeted.