Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

simonwillison.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

911–920 of 1001 posts

Re: How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

#911

Post by talldayo »

gwbas1c wrote: post #846
doix wrote: post #689

There are lot of comments here disliking MrBeast and what not, but some of the advice can definitely apply to all organizations. > Your goal here is to make the best YOUTUBE videos possible. That’s the number one goal of this production company. It’s not to make the best produced videos. Not to make the funniest videos. Not to make the best looking videos. Not the highest quality videos.. It’s to make the best YOUTUB…

>> Your goal here is to make the best YOUTUBE videos possible. > Replace "youtube videos" with whatever the company is trying to achieve. I see a lot of unnecessary negative sentiment towards that quote. The quote has no hidden meaning and should be taken on face value: I could easily see an up-and-coming producer work for Mr. Beast, and get sidetracked with making sure that pixels are "perfect." Or a set designer ma…

[flagged]

Re: How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

#912

Post by ryukoposting »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #835
mightybyte wrote: post #817

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have the sense that Youtube is net bad for the world and the monetization of Youtube has incentivized and amplified mediocrity, stupidity, and social decay. Interesting that you say this regarding YouTube. I've been saying this regarding Twitter for awhile even though I consume quite a bit of YouTube content. However, I've curated my YouTube feed to be almost entirely stuff that is interesting, educational, and t…

> However, I've curated my YouTube feed to be almost entirely stuff that is interesting, educational, and that I think I'm getting value from. Those creators are still making orders of magnitude less money than people who make zero content attention grabbing controversy meme slop videos.

> Those creators are still making orders of magnitude less money than people who make zero content attention grabbing controversy meme slop videos.

Off the top of my head, Gamers Nexus is a counterpoint. Obviously not Mr Beast-scale, but we're also looking at a huge difference in target demographic breadth.

Besides, is YouTube any worse in this regard than what came before it? Substance-free reality TV predates YouTube. For as long as cheap printing and mail services have been around, artists have had strong incentive to go design ads rather than pursue their art independently.

YouTube definitely has a race to the bottom going on, but it's not all-consuming and well-researched, high-quality material is still profitable for creators as long as you know how to play the thumbnail game.

Re: How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

#913

Post by Jabbles »

trustno2 wrote: post #586

I hate the actual content he produces - the first time I watched it, I kept thinking it's a trailer because of all the cuts and I wondered, where is the actual video, when I realized no, I am watching the actual video - but I have to commend the grind. He is trully obsessive about getting the most views, almost soullessly designing the perfect viral content, caring about every second. He literally starts with the thu…

Let's fact check that final comment:

"I Built 100 Houses And Gave Them Away!" 127M views, mentions Jamaica 45 seconds in: https://youtu.be/KkCXLABwHP0?si=3oMfNy0iAGVrTwqo&t=45

"I Built 100 Wells In Africa" 202M views, mentions Kenya 12 seconds in: https://youtu.be/mwKJfNYwvm8?si=qYc8jZWsYXwF1qrm&t=11

"We Powered a Village in Africa" 26M views (different channel), mentions Kenya 12 seconds in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FQvRZg3bcg

Re: How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

#915

Post by talldayo »

javier123454321 wrote: post #784
agluszak wrote: post #721

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the "best YOUTUBE videos possible" are... toxic, useless brainrot? (with occasional for-views philanthropy) These videos are certainly the best in terms of what money they can make... but are they any good for their consumers?

What's wrong with making things for others' entertainment? The moralization of this is bizarre. Don't like it, don't consume it. This man has figured out how to create a ridiculous amount of value, whichever way you slice it.

What's wrong with asking a homeless person to do an embarrassing dance for a $20 bill? That used to be popular content on YouTube. Don't like that, don't watch it.

If your most potent defense of Mr. Beast is that he's made a lot of money, then he stands due the same scrutiny Rockefeller and Carnegie got. I've watched his videos, it's not an incorrect conclusion to say that his popularity hinges on the "savior complex" present in most of his videos. His content revolves around exploiting charity as a social phenomenon. He's a wannabe altruist that pockets more money than he donates. His business relies on the emotional manipulation of a destitute audience.

Re: How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

#916

Post by citizenpaul »

lukas099 wrote: post #705
citizenpaul wrote: post #591

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My biggest critizism of A/B/C is it is always either a delusion, lie, or manipulation. People that talk frequently about "A players/employees" are almost certainly not the ones hiring them. Why? "A players" don't work someplace where they are not respected and ground to dust as a non-owner. That means at best the best employees are "B-players" and probably most of their staff is actually "C-players" "A players" know…

I would like to believe that's true, but honestly, I know some really hard workers who are gluttons for abuse.

Sure. My point really was though that if you find a place that is openly discussing A/B/C dynamics it is a huge red flag.

Re: How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

#917

Post by nothercastle »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #626
nrp wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s one of the most interesting parts of this document. Many people will read it and think “I would never work at a place like that,” and many others would think “that’s exactly the environment I want to work in!” More startups should be this transparent about their stated/desired culture (even if unintentionally).

I appreciate it for being honest tbh, 99% of job hunting in the IT field is filtering out the bullshit, or the greenwashing that what a company does is Good, Actually. Example, I work for an energy company. Their objective is to earn money. They earn money by selling gas and electricity to their customers. Their revenue increases if they have more customers, using more electricity/gas, and if the price goes up. If th…

You don’t understand the model. Residential customers pay most of the fees upfront as hook up fees monthly. You could use 0 energy in many areas and you would still pay almost the same amount.

Re: How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

#918

Post by gwbas1c »

spencerchubb wrote: post #718
ocean_moist wrote: post #77

Lot of people critiquing this, but you can't deny the success. I think a lot of the advice is applicable to startups. 1. KPIs, for Beast they are CTR, AVD, AVP, will look different if you are a startup. I am willing to bet he knows his metrics better than >95% of startup founders. Because he is literally hacking/being judged by an algorithm, his KPIs will matter more and can be closely dissected. Startups aren't that…

I read the entire document and I don't understand where you saw bad culture or micromanaging. Some people may not like the fact that they pull all nighters, but that's a matter of opinion. Clearly some people do like the terms of employment, otherwise they wouldn't work there.

> where you saw bad culture or micromanaging

Mr. Beast is ultimately the star of the video, so he has to micromanage at some point or another. That's his brand. He can't let his employees plan a video that he won't like.

I did find the comments about all-nighters off-putting... And I personally don't like working on multiple things at the same time. But that's personal preference; I don't particularly like Mr. Beast's videos, so I don't see myself working for his company any time soon.

I'm more concerned about Mr. Beast overextending himself. With Mr. Beast (the person) being the brand and the star, I don't think he can scale himself much more.

Re: How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

#919

Post by nothercastle »

meowface wrote: post #792
oulipo wrote: post #638

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people here (and in tech in general) are conflating "being efficient" with "having success"... that's clearly because people in tech generally value efficiency but we have to take a step back collectively and understand that "being efficient at producing addictive video for teens to sell ads for shit they don't need" is BAD, not a "success"

If 100% of his watchers were YouTube Premium subscribers and none of them ever saw an ad, would you feel differently?

It’s still kind if garbage content

Re: How to succeed in MrBeast production (Leaked PDF)

#920

Post by nothercastle »

__turbobrew__ wrote: post #744
threeseed wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always love the "just hire A-players" line. As though startups are trying to hire mediocre people instead of having no choice. And that 95% of startups don't know their metrics. Pretty sure almost all do but again don't have the skills or resources to meaningfully move them.

Startups usually have no choice, they cannot afford A players. There are businesses which do hire A-players such as OpenAI, Jane Street, Netflix, etc. but A players require A compensation.

And a lot of A players are unique snowflakes so they have to be compatible with other unique snowflakes so it can be hard to fill the gaps. You need a few Bs who are moldable to fill gaps
Post reply on HN