Youtube's Demonetization Dilemma (Week 4)
Unless you have been living under a rock for the last decade, you are probably familiar with the online video streaming platform, Youtube. Youtube officially hit the web about fifteen years ago in 2005. Since then, the platform has seemingly taken over the world, and is now the second-most used search engine in the entire world. Youtube would be the world's largest search engine, if it were not for one other monster of a company that dominates the search engine space. We all know them as Google, and odds are, you're using their service in some way as you read this.
With Google as its only main search engine competitor, it is not hard to see why Youtube is so widely recognized and used all around the world. Youtube's 2 billion active monthly users is an astounding figure, and with 4 billion eyeballs watching Youtube on a monthly basis, the potential ways to profit on user activity is seemingly endless. This massive number of viewers on the platform has also created the opportunity for Youtube stars to be made, and many have capitalized on that opportunity. Youtube has been encouraging and anticipating this for a long time. Less than a year after launching the platform, Youtube started to allow content creators to profit from their videos through "monetization."
The monetization payout for the average Youtube channel is not very high, but for viral content creators who receive millions of views, the Youtube checks can add up in a hurry and allow them to turn their channels into full time careers. However, some of these viral content creators are now running into a huge problem. In 2017 various news outlets released stories claiming that Youtube was supplying ads to people who were promoting hate speech, and also allowing people to profit off of their promotion of hate and other violent or inappropriate themes. One of the news outlets that released a story regarding this situation was The Times in London.
In the aftermath, some of Youtube's largest sponsors, such as Verizon and Pepsi, threatened to part ways with the company if they did not get the situation under control. With the threat of losing key sponsors dangling over their heads, Youtube ended up enforcing a strict new policy for monetization. Now Youtube's policy states that videos will be demonetized if they feature "medium or strong profanity in the title or thumbnail image; or if a video features strong profanity used repeatedly in a hateful or derogatory way." There are many content creators and fans who feel that Youtube is suppressing their rights, while also continuing to profit off of the viewers that these creators bring to the platform. Remember, the videos are not removed from Youtube, but the creator is no longer able to profit from their video once Youtube deems that they violated the policy.
There are some who feel that Youtube is doing the right thing, while others believe that the company has taken this too far. The Youtube demonetization dilemma is especially polarizing given the current discussions centered around hate speech, as well as the current political climate. Many famous content creators have boldly spoken out about their disapproval of Youtube's actions, and continue to do so. It seems that this story will only continue to gain more attention in coming years.
Source links: https://www.businessofapps.com/data/youtube-statistics/
https://www.walkersands.com/are-you-taking-advantage-of-the-2nd-largest-search-engine-in-the-world/
https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/10/17268102/youtube-demonetization-pewdiepie-logan-paul-casey-neistat-philip-defranco
With Google as its only main search engine competitor, it is not hard to see why Youtube is so widely recognized and used all around the world. Youtube's 2 billion active monthly users is an astounding figure, and with 4 billion eyeballs watching Youtube on a monthly basis, the potential ways to profit on user activity is seemingly endless. This massive number of viewers on the platform has also created the opportunity for Youtube stars to be made, and many have capitalized on that opportunity. Youtube has been encouraging and anticipating this for a long time. Less than a year after launching the platform, Youtube started to allow content creators to profit from their videos through "monetization."
The monetization payout for the average Youtube channel is not very high, but for viral content creators who receive millions of views, the Youtube checks can add up in a hurry and allow them to turn their channels into full time careers. However, some of these viral content creators are now running into a huge problem. In 2017 various news outlets released stories claiming that Youtube was supplying ads to people who were promoting hate speech, and also allowing people to profit off of their promotion of hate and other violent or inappropriate themes. One of the news outlets that released a story regarding this situation was The Times in London.
In the aftermath, some of Youtube's largest sponsors, such as Verizon and Pepsi, threatened to part ways with the company if they did not get the situation under control. With the threat of losing key sponsors dangling over their heads, Youtube ended up enforcing a strict new policy for monetization. Now Youtube's policy states that videos will be demonetized if they feature "medium or strong profanity in the title or thumbnail image; or if a video features strong profanity used repeatedly in a hateful or derogatory way." There are many content creators and fans who feel that Youtube is suppressing their rights, while also continuing to profit off of the viewers that these creators bring to the platform. Remember, the videos are not removed from Youtube, but the creator is no longer able to profit from their video once Youtube deems that they violated the policy.
There are some who feel that Youtube is doing the right thing, while others believe that the company has taken this too far. The Youtube demonetization dilemma is especially polarizing given the current discussions centered around hate speech, as well as the current political climate. Many famous content creators have boldly spoken out about their disapproval of Youtube's actions, and continue to do so. It seems that this story will only continue to gain more attention in coming years.
Source links: https://www.businessofapps.com/data/youtube-statistics/
https://www.walkersands.com/are-you-taking-advantage-of-the-2nd-largest-search-engine-in-the-world/
https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/10/17268102/youtube-demonetization-pewdiepie-logan-paul-casey-neistat-philip-defranco
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