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In the belly of the MrBeast

kevinmunger.substack.com

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Re: In the belly of the MrBeast

#91

Post by infecto »

matsemann wrote: post #34
infecto wrote: post #9

Not entirely related to MrBeast but related to YouTube. I genuinely miss the older algorithm where after watching a video you would go progressively further down a hole of videos somehow related to the one you just watched. It was quite entertaining and really uncovered fascinating videos.

I don't miss watching a video about a dog herding sheep, and then getting nothing but dog herding sheep videos the next week, heh. But I also don't like the new algorithm, it is as if youtube has assigned me to a demographics and really wants me to watch what other techy males around 30 y.o. watch, constantly trying to give me some rage political content to test the waters.

What I am describing is not the home page recommendations but the hole you would go down on post video recommendations, essentially the queue that Youtube would create for you had for a long time a heavier weighting on the current video you were watching. The simple example being you watch the dog herding sheep, then you the next video was about sheep, then you got to some video from a different country with sheep in it, then finally you ended up with some person who pretended to be a sheep. Purely making that example up but it often even in weird obscure videos quite quickly.

Re: In the belly of the MrBeast

#92

Post by cyost »

drawkward wrote: post #75
wodenokoto wrote: post #51

> in cybernetic terms, a long lag time in production is deadly. Does "long lag time" or "deadly" mean something else in cybernetic terms than in regular terms? I found the "in cybernetics terms" insert quite puzzling.

Cybernetics has a lot (everything?) to do with feedback loops; the word itself comes from the Greek for "steersman". If you have a long feedback loop in a process that is supposed to self govern, it would be potentially deadly to the equilibrium.

Similarly, in a positive feedback loop (as in the article), a long lag time would decrease its growth rate.

Re: In the belly of the MrBeast

#94

Post by jprd »

HanClinto wrote: post #24
suyash wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great analogy! As a performing magician and a big fan of the movie, I get how obsession with a craft can blur the line between reality and performance. But that line still exists. The best actors, creators, and magicians make us feel they’re being real, even when they’re not.

This is why I struggle with enjoying Andy Kaufman's content -- I'm never entirely sure where that line is. I respect his dedication to the craft, but I have a difficult time enjoying it -- on a meta level, it's unsettling.

Also, exactly his aim

Re: In the belly of the MrBeast

#95

Post by hbn »

magicalhippo wrote: post #50
hn8726 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no clue how to use YouTube. It seems like as soon as it latches on 3-4 interests of mine, the entire home page is exclusively filled with videos relating to that. I can mark videos as "not interesting" but it doesn't do much. I will see exactly the same videos on the home screen, ones that I'm not interested in and don't plan on watching, for weeks or months sometimes. I'm sure there's plenty of interesting co…

While I do agree it has a very strong focus on suggesting more of what you've recently watched, I feel it's also managing to suggest new and interesting unrelated stuff from time to time. Some habits I have is to subscribe to channels which I truly enjoy, instead of marking as "not interested" I select "do not suggest channel", and be cautious of click-bait titles. If I get lured in, I remove them from my history. So…

I've found sometime in the last year or so YouTube has been suggesting random videos from very small channels much more, which I like a lot. Most of the videos are garbage, but every once in a while I'll find a gem that entertains me and my friends.

Recently I found a video of a young kid doing a taste test of a sour soda, and then demanding his dad come over from the other room to try it too. At one point the kid does a really loud burp that I found funny. Obviously not something that will do numbers, but it satisfies my people-watching itch.

Re: In the belly of the MrBeast

#96

Post by thinkingtoilet »

ravenstine wrote: post #19
infecto wrote: post #9

Not entirely related to MrBeast but related to YouTube. I genuinely miss the older algorithm where after watching a video you would go progressively further down a hole of videos somehow related to the one you just watched. It was quite entertaining and really uncovered fascinating videos.

I don't. My experience with their algorithm between 2014 and ~2020 was that autoplay would quickly turn into a form of video diarrhea composed largely of Jordan Peterson and Lex Fridman. Was pretty bizarre because I only watched a few Peterson videos in the beginning, mostly his "Maps Of Meaning" videos which I think are mostly poppycock, and ever since then YouTube would quickly bring me back to his content even tho…

Funny, I have the opposite experience. I used to get relevant videos to what I was watching. If I'm watching a Phish video, it would recommend other Phish videos. These days, if I'm watching a Phish video I will literally, as in literally literally, get a Candace Owens video recommendation. I have literally never clicked on one of her videos ever. I don't watch political content on youtube at all, and if I did I am very left leaning. I can't fathom what has made the algorithm so terrible that if you're watching 90s Phish videos it recommends right-wing talking heads.

Re: In the belly of the MrBeast

#97

Post by drawkward »

xyzzy4747 wrote: post #70
satisfice wrote: post #22

Interesting experience to read an essay of such insight regarding a subject that is the opposite of insight. Best thing I’ve read this week. I am happy to say I have never seen a Mr. Beast video, and now I will be sure never to see one in the future.

There's not much you're missing. His videos try to appeal to the lowest common denominator and are relatively vapid. Sort of like the junk food of YouTube.

In analogy with the article: what is the junk food experience, but the craving for more junk food? It is literally engineered to make us want more.

Re: In the belly of the MrBeast

#98

Post by n4r9 »

hartator wrote: post #58

> and I confess that I feel vindicated by the analytic approach in the book I feel the opposite, everything seems reasonable, business-centric, and marketing-aware strategies.

Isn't that the point? By purely focussing on business-centric strategies, the videos no longer have meaning.

Re: In the belly of the MrBeast

#99

Post by infecto »

x187463 wrote: post #27
infecto wrote: post #9

Not entirely related to MrBeast but related to YouTube. I genuinely miss the older algorithm where after watching a video you would go progressively further down a hole of videos somehow related to the one you just watched. It was quite entertaining and really uncovered fascinating videos.

I obviously don't know your personal experience, but your description is still how YouTube works for me. For example, over the holidays I would occasionally put on a video from a channel that plays holiday music with various videos of this guy's model train setup in the background. I immediately started receiving model train videos, which, of course, I had to click on and now I know a little bit about trains and buil…

I don't think thats the case. Don't confuse homepage recommendations with end of video queue recommendations. It used to be end of video recommendations were heavily weighted on the current video or chain of videos you just watched. Essentially you could keep going to the next video and go down a weird hole of obscure videos. Now the algorithm will quickly circle you back to your profile homepage of videos as opposed to the video you just watched.

Re: In the belly of the MrBeast

#100

Post by llamaimperative »

RajT88 wrote: post #77
kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a straight line through 70s Falwell, 90s Limbaugh, tea party, to MAGA. All fueled by a self-reinforcing rage machine.

Left leaning folks are swept up in rage machines too. Leaf through the BoingBoing BBS sometime to get a sense for it.

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