22/10/2016

Please don't exit this post because of the length.

What i will be talking about!

Firstly i want to talk about Youtube and how it turns away new channels just trying to come into their own on a platform that is supposed to be about letting anyone share their content. The second thing i want to talk about is how Steemit gives people like me a chance to post content and possibly make some money while doing it.

My YouTube experience!

I used to upload gaming videos to Youtube hoping to become the next big thing since sliced cheese but instead was plagued with copyright strikes against my account for uploading cut scenes. Keep in mind these were not new releases and some of them were years old. After one and a half years of doing this with hardly any views on my videos and less than 100 subscribers, i decided to quit and do something else with my life. It really pisses me off that these big and some not so big gaming youtubers are allowed to upload game play early for "review" purposes for games that have not even released yet to common folk like you or me. Before people say i'm just jealous, i suppose i kind of am in a way but i think this is a discussion that needs to be had, the beauty of a discussion is that you don't have to agree with me, this is just my two cents on the matter. Maybe i was not determined enough, maybe i didn't tag my videos with irrelevant baiting search words or maybe Youtube is so bogged down with gaming content that a newbie cannot get noticed. One day i will try again but for now Steemit is what i want to post on, if only they could host videos, maybe in the future.

Let me ask you a serious question. Does watching someone else play a new release game in its entirety hurt that games sales?. I think the answer to that question is ... yes. Why would someone want to go out and buy the same game from the developer when they can watch someone on Youtube play it for free. Unlike the older days when you had to buy and play the game for yourself to see if it was any good. Gaming "lets plays" as they are now called is hurting the money earned by the game developer and instead they have to rely on the majority of people like you and me who actually brought their game to make a profit.  It amazes me why game developers allow new release games to be played out in their entirety on Youtube, there should be an embargo until the game has been out for a few weeks before full playthroughs are allowed to be posted. Reviews before the game is out and shortly after the release should be kept in writing with snippets of game play here and there.

My Steemit experience!

I've been looking to voice my thoughts in a blog for a while now, whether i make money is irrelevant to me at this time but any money that i do make is just icing on the cake. Don't get me wrong, i love making money from my content (who doesn't) but that is not my only reason for choosing Steemit over other platforms.

The first attraction for me was from my understanding and i could be completely wrong about this (let me know if i am) the content posted on Steemit can only be hidden if users report it, not deleted and can still be viewed if the "show hidden content" button is pushed. Other blogging and content hosting platforms can be censored if the owner or other users don't like the content being posted, i'm not talking about CP or animal abuse of course that shit should be deleted but subjects like terrorism, religion, politics or any beliefs that are not PC to an oversensitive society can be censored, which is just wrong in my opinion. These topics need to be talked about, so people can tell and discuss the other side of the stories that the mainstream media conveniently forgets to put in their broadcasts. 

Another big plus for this site is that authors and curators get payed in the revolutionary cryptocurrency which is set to make a gigantic impact on not just the financial sector but the entire world. No longer will the government dictate how its citizens money is to be stored and no longer will the banks make money from the fees they charge for people who are bound by law to store their hard earned money in that institution in the first place, its not like we have a choice. They are flat out robbing people with the help of the government. If we decided to keep our money as cash we would be arrested, our cash confiscated under proceeds of crime laws without charge or conviction and branded a drug dealer, fraudster or some kind of criminal, simply for keeping our own money away from the banks.

Probably the biggest attraction for me was that anyone can make money on Steemit, you don't have to have a large following like on Youtube, all you need is a computer, internet and an idea to get started. Steemit makes it easier for the average joe with something to say to say it and if other users like it they can make some money for their hard work, which is always nice. Average joes like you or me can pay other average joes for content they like, on Youtube big companies who place the ads dictate who gets big, who doesn't and censors what they don't like. Steemit is a truth telling platform for the people.

The problem with Youtube today!

Youtube lets people steal other youtuber's revenue by the flawed third party claim feature that allows others to benefit while the original creator are trying to get through the red tape to reverse it. Even if they do reverse it the thief still gets to keep the money they stole without consequence, in what kind of society is that considered OK. 

I have seen users on Steemit as well who don't post original content, instead copy from other websites or embed YouTube videos without any kind of commentary or opinions on what they are sharing. There is nothing wrong with sharing content but i personally think it is good practice to place your own stamp on something to avoid being detected by spam, content detection bots and risking having your content hidden though still visible to users who want to look through the sewer of low quality content.

Youtube has been around for many years now and as a result there is too much competition to get noticed, your content risks getting lost in a sea of shit. I remember when Youtube was dominated by funny cat videos but now is dominated by shit like harrassment, sorry prank videos which go from being harmless fun to an inconvenience to sometimes criminal behavior like the one where someone dressed as a Muslim male throws a "package" in a crowded area and runs. The "reaction" genre has blown up in terms of popularity recently though the greedy Fine Bros were the first to dominate the genre, some of these channels flat out steal copyrighted content by playing other peoples videos in there entirely on their channel while looking into the camera like a moron without saying a word or adding any kind of new substance to the stolen video. Some of the prank and reaction video channels violate YouTube's rules and regulations but are still allowed to remain both active and making money. 

Youtube has gone downhill in these past years and needs to get off their ass and do manual reviews of content instead of thinking they are just a hosting site and nothing more. They have a responsibility to monitor the content that is posted. If Youtube had actual people monitoring videos (its not like they couldn't afford it) they might have picked up the "Hey Walter, it me Patrick" video and reported it to the authorities ( it was posted in 2009) instead the responsibility fell to a post on the image sharing site 'Imgur' to finally get the police, FBI involved and for Youtube to delete the video (this was in Sep/Oct, 2016). For those of you who don't know the "Hey Walter, its me Patrick" video was suspected to show a young female who went missing in 2009 locked in a basement. As far as i know the video has been debunked as a fake, but the point is if it was real 7 years have passed and the real victim is most likely deceased never to be found. The "Happy Anniversary" video from a channel called '112dirtbag' should also be reported and investigated as it could also be linked to a kidnapping and possible murder of another young female who has never been found. Even if these videos are both fake they are in bad taste and should have been proven as fake in order to remain on Youtube, i'm not saying to delete them as i am against any form as censorship except for CP and any animal abuse.

In conclusion!

This is a long post, but an important read,so i will sum it up in dot points:

• Youtube is not what it used to be.
• Platforms like Steemit that use cryptocurrency are the future.
• I used Youtube for one and a half years and made exactly $0.
• I have used Steemit for less than 1 week and have already made some money from my posts.
• This is the platform to use for those who are fed up with sites like Youtube.
• Steemit has the potential to be huge.

As you can see, my discussion got off topic from what it was supposed to be about which was Steemit vs Youtube and ended up at the benefits of cryptocurrency than to the greedy banks who rob us, the customers who they are supposed to care about with their "fees" and finally to the governments logic that keeping large amounts of cash on hand somehow equals that you must be involved in criminal activity. The money i made from my posts doesn't mean i can retire anytime soon but once cryptocurrency gets more mainstream we will see the benefits of platforms like this and people will flock to here by the 1000s. I just hope that as more users arrive this site doesn't get too big for its own good. The popularity of Steemit has seen its cryptocurrency STEEM skyrocket to number three on the charts behind of course Bitcoin and Ethereum. There's much more i wanted to talk about but this post is long enough, i don't want to bore people, maybe i will do a part two later in the future.

Anyway that is my rant for today. If you are still here thanks for reading, if you have a different opinion leave a comment, if you agree with me leave a comment. Don't leave a comment if you are not willing to have an intelligent conversation about the issue.  

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btw: There are no sources for this article, this article is based on my personal experiences and opinions. I don't claim to know everything or be an expert, these are just my thoughts.