the end of the influencer?

Every year people come online to talk about how they think influencing is "over", but are they actually right this year? Let's talk about Emma Chamberlain's culture shift prediction, Hank Green's curse of the swipe, and Vidcon Meet and Greets pointing to the much-anticipated fall of the influencer.

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[scorpiocusp]

as someone who's not a content creator at all--i actively avoid shorts and reels because i know its all reposted content from somewhere else, and i don't want to allow reposters to monetize my views when all they've done is steal.

[TheGreatChrisB]

When everyone's an influencer, no one is an influencer. Social media allows anyone to become an influencer, it's no longer an exclusive club that is incredibly hard to break into.

[gothicxromantic]

I had tik tok for over a year before deleting it and I can’t name a single creator I followed. I consumed a ton of their content, but none of it made an actual impact on me. It’s mindless consumption, mostly. YouTube though? Jenna Marbles, Safiya & Tyler, Abroad in Japan, Yes Theory… so so many creators I’ve been watching for years that have been positive “influences” on me.

[scottietrademark]

Honestly I find it funny that Emma says she doesn't want to make content anymore by making content in the form of a podcast, the most (in the past couple years) popular move for literally every influence

[jaclynmarta]

I personally get the vibe that people are going to YouTube now for more longform content. I think people that do video essays or analysis style videos do well because people want something that has more meaning. I put on YouTube all the time when I am cleaning my house or grading papers and I think it has replaced basic cable and putting on like SVU in the background like you would have in the 90s or 2000s.

I also wonder how well Tik Tok influencers will last because I don’t feel like the format of TikTok allows you to get a good idea of personality the way YouTube does. On a YouTube video you usually spend at least seven minutes with the influencer whereas in TikTok world you usually spend like one minute with them. It is a lot harder to be memorable and to develop a parasocial relationship with someone when you get a very small taste of them

[imjustdandy]

I will say, this "ease of followers" does not count for a lot of other kinds of creators. It is harder and harder, for example, to make a sustainable following as an artist or illustrator on social media, because social media is becoming intentionally more inhospitable if you are not the kind of influencer that makes the brands (and therefor the platform) money. You are literally fighting against an algorithm that does not want you (mostly talking about instagram)

[RobinSmithBenitez]

As a viewer, it's really hard to get attached to a short-form creator until you've consistently watched their content. Following someone on TikTok has the same impact as you liking a Facebook page but opting not to see their content often.

Also, I noticed OG content creators stayed longer on YouTube because they either created a strong following enough for them to post whatever content they want, or they morphed into companies with dozens of employees who can take turns churning content without the risk of burning out

[FearlessFighterAkida]

Honestly part of the issue is that social media websites are trying to compete with each other by *being* each other. Facebook is trying to *be* TikTok, Same for IG and YT. Rather than just cultivating their own niche and competing that way, they're trying to compete by having the same exact features and working their algoritm in the same exact way.

Rather than YT focusing on and *improving* their long form content, they're trying to introduce shorts and stories. Rather than IG trying to focus on and *improving* image sharing, they're pushing a hellish algoritm wehre you have to share stories, reels *and* post almost daily. Rather than trying to compete in a way that is meaningful for consumers and improves user friendliness, they're trying to be "the one" platform everyone uses when for creators that kind of algoritm just isn't sustainable.

[carlylarsson]

"The Last Great Year of VidCon" being 2017 also coincides with when the Green brothers/Complexly sold VidCon to Viacom in 2018. People in content creation actually planning and hyping up VidCon probably made it much more in line with what audiences and creators wanted.

[MissDatherinePierce]

My personal take on this is actually that I, at 26, just don't want to meet the people I watch online. For example, I enjoy the content you make and the way you present it but what worth would there be in meeting you personally? That sounds harsher than it was supposed to but in the end it is like you said a parasocial relationship. You don't know me and I only know what you tell in the videos. We are not friends. This is more a business transaction for me. I look for entertainment, you give it to me and thousands of others. Done.

[TheWholeEntireCake]

Social media creators need to look at Emma Watson for a reality check. She’s an internationally known celebrity who, after the age of 10, could have never worked a single day for the rest of her life and live very comfortably off of her earnings from acting for the Harry Potter enterprise. She did not rely on continued roles in the realm of media. She used some of her earnings to study at Brown University and get her bachelor’s degree. Even when her infamy in the fickle entertainment industry dwindles she chose her next moves wisely and have a solid career opportunity outside of media. Many of these “influencers” make enough money ten times over to pursue an education to fall back on but they just spend their money like it’s going to be this everlasting gig with continuous windfalls of wealth.

[joanacastanheira]

The difference between how we as audiences interact with youtube versus tik tok is so interesting. I never find myself purposefully "manipulating" the yt algorithm but with tik tok I often follow or comment on a specific video just because I want the algorithm to know I wanna see more of this kind of content or not interacting with a tik tok not because I didn't like it but because that's not the type of content I want to see all the time. Also, I haven't seen take a break reminders in soooo long I assumed they got rid of them.

[yamiyami]

I've never used tik tok but by the way Amanda describes it, it sounds like tik tok creators might be better off thinking of a majority of their follower count in the same way you would think of a 'like' on a video, thousands of people can do it, but it doesn't necessarily translate to a large amount of long-term consumers of your content if that makes sense

Very interesting video! 😊

[Aogami]

The fact that the internet has been reduced to the same 5 websites for everyone means that all the power is in the hands of the platforms. They use up creators like tissue paper and they don't care because every teenager wants to be a YouTuber or TikTok star like their idols and they'll come replace them. The audience has no power because they have no choice. You HAVE to go to one of these 5 sites to get your entertainment; the alternative is to just not be online. It's a massive monopoly problem.

[mdg]

The things that drives me nuts about platforms copying short form content from tiktok, is they don’t seem to try to build a compatible algorithm. Like THAT’S the driving factor that makes tiktok work so well. I scroll and 9/10 videos are relevant to what I like watching. I scroll on reels and it’s like 2/10 and I see the same video 20 times instead of new ones. YouTube shorts doesn’t give a single fuck about why I clicked the one I did and is throwing spaghetti at the wall and I immediately click out of it.

But also, I don’t always want to watch TikToks. Sometimes I want to let a longer video play in the background while I work. Stop trying to change what I come to a platform for because the new kid on the block is doing well doing their thing.

[hanpear]

this is why i really value youtube and long-form content like yours. i genuinely enjoy the content of everyone i am subscribed to and pretty much watch every video they put out.
i have been off of tik tok for a while and could not tell you a handful of people that i was followed to but i could list most of the people i’m subscribed to on youtube and actively watch.
idk, i see the shift that you’re talking about happening and while it’s concerning i hope there are more people out there who are committed to monitoring the content they consume, and that idk maybe instagram and youtube will go back to focusing on creating good user experiences for what their apps are good for. i.e. photo & video.
i’m also in my mid 20s so i’ve had time to figure it out/have been on all of these platforms for a long time and have a better perspective on the shift than younger audiences do. can’t even imagine being in my early teens right now.

[LunaWitcherArt]

YouTube needs to adapt the way they measure creator success to the new, older demographic that is still here. It's ridiculous that I'm considered by the platform as a "lesser" subscriber simply because I can't watch a video in the first hour it was published. People need to work, they can't be glued to their screens all the time, and the fact that these platforms not only don't take that into account but also stimulate the opposite, which is dangerous in many many levels, is disheartening and disrespectful.

[Edward_Avila]

I totally agree with you on that you can be making similar content as other people, but what sets you apart is YOU. But the problem I find especially with this newer generation of content creators (especially lifestyle/beauty/vlogs) is that they're basically just imitating the content creators THEY grew up watching. And being on YouTube myself for over ten years I'm finding "unique" personalities to be very few and far between these days 🫠 so that’s why I watch all your videos lolol I could listen to you talk about anything. Cos im interested in YOU.

[Enajirot]

Tik tok also has a weird way of “showing” you the content of people you follow. It’s like when you follow someone the app removes all of their content from your for you page and puts it on your following page. But the thing no one goes to their following page because the app open on the fyp, so you basically loose the content by following someone. I remember one there was a girl on my fyp that bought a paintable dollhouse from micheals and would make multiple part tik toks decorating each room. I saw like every post of her doing that, like parts 1-5 in sequential order, on my fyp without following her but then when i did follow her I never saw her again until I manually checked her page to find she had upwards of 8 or 9 more parts. I didn’t see those because I followed her. At least on YouTube vids from people you’re subbed to will show up on your home page. Maybe that’s why people on tik tok complain so much about being “shadowbanned” because they’re just being put on peoples following page and not their fyp

[MrBaskins]

sat next to a micro "influencer" at govball and she had to prepare mentally for the fake enthusiasm she showed on camera. it seemed incredibly tiring and she mentioned to her friend when she stopped recording that this brand only called her the day of the festival because they had an extra ticket. she then recorded three clips of her thanking this brand for the ticket. I'm poor and ugly so I was in General Admission inhaling a funnel cake on my own dime