The Death of the YouTube Middle Class?

ciaran111

ciaran111

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Around a year ago I noticed I was being recommended YouTube channels and videos that had almost no views or subscribers. I would frequently be shown videos with literally 2 views, from channels that nobody was watching.

I actually found this really enjoyable and interesting, and discovered some really weird, entertaining, odd, off-beat stuff. And at the same time, I was still being recommended stuff from the bigger, more mainstream channels that I regularly watched.

However, during that same period I began to notice my own engagement and views (on a channel with approximately 1.5k subscribers) plummeting, and people just didn't seem to even be seeing that I was uploading content.

Recently it occurred to me that I almost never get recommended channels of this size anymore. I'm only ever shown either big, mainstream channels, or absolutely tiny ones. So rather than stealing from the rich to give to the poor, it appears that what YouTube has done is steal from the middle class to give to the poor.

Does anybody else concur with this theory?
 
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ciaran111 said:
Around a year ago I noticed I was being recommended YouTube channels and videos that had almost no views or subscribers. I would frequently be shown videos with literally 2 views, from channels that nobody was watching.

I actually found this really enjoyable and interesting, and discovered some really weird, entertaining, odd, off-beat stuff. And at the same time, I was still being recommended stuff from the bigger, more mainstream channels that I regularly watched.

However, during that same period I began to notice my own engagement and views (on a channel with approximately 1.5k subscribers) plummeting, and people just didn't seem to even be seeing that I was uploading content.

Recently it occurred to me that I almost never get recommended channels of this size anymore. I'm only ever shown either big, mainstream channels, or absolutely tiny ones. So rather than stealing from the rich to give to the poor, it appears that what YouTube has done is steal from the middle class to give to the poor.

Does anybody else concur with this theory?
Click to expand...
Do not think so much. Just make valuable content.
 
YouTube seems to heavily prioritize extreme ends of the spectrum now: viral shorts and massive channels, or super niche “zero-view” content to test reactions. The middle ground, where solid creators once thrived, feels algorithmically ignored.
 
Yeah, I’ve noticed something similar. Feels like YouTube either pushes huge channels or totally new ones for discovery, while mid-sized creators get caught in a weird no man’s land. It’s tough to grow when the algo doesn’t seem to favor consistency anymore.
 
YT values high watch time and they try to push newer ones to see if they can get more watch time. Channels that you defined as YT middle class remain middle class because the content failed to attract good engagement and they simply stop pushing their content.
 
ciaran111 said:
Around a year ago I noticed I was being recommended YouTube channels and videos that had almost no views or subscribers. I would frequently be shown videos with literally 2 views, from channels that nobody was watching.

I actually found this really enjoyable and interesting, and discovered some really weird, entertaining, odd, off-beat stuff. And at the same time, I was still being recommended stuff from the bigger, more mainstream channels that I regularly watched.

However, during that same period I began to notice my own engagement and views (on a channel with approximately 1.5k subscribers) plummeting, and people just didn't seem to even be seeing that I was uploading content.

Recently it occurred to me that I almost never get recommended channels of this size anymore. I'm only ever shown either big, mainstream channels, or absolutely tiny ones. So rather than stealing from the rich to give to the poor, it appears that what YouTube has done is steal from the middle class to give to the poor.

Does anybody else concur with this theory?
Click to expand...
i think i can understand y.i have also seen that sometimes small channels receive random attention whereas big channels experience very erratic views.i do not think it matters how big ur channel is but what really seems to matter is that utube keeps on expperimenting with the videos among different people.in any case subscribers no longer mean guaranteed views.
 
aprildfwida said:
YouTube seems to heavily prioritize extreme ends of the spectrum now: viral shorts and massive channels, or super niche “zero-view” content to test reactions. The middle ground, where solid creators once thrived, feels algorithmically ignored.
Click to expand...
Then you not use search intent or you have the wrong content framework to get massive views. But get target views these are lower than viral video views, but target leads who will buy from you.
 
It does feel harder for smaller channels now Having a clear niche and making content people actually want to watch seems more important than just uploading frequently
 
SEOBella said:
It does feel harder for smaller channels now Having a clear niche and making content people actually want to watch seems more important than just uploading frequently
Click to expand...
YT= search engine.....use search intent.....hard to copy?
 
mochitoon said:
i think i can understand y.i have also seen that sometimes small channels receive random attention whereas big channels experience very erratic views.i do not think it matters how big ur channel is but what really seems to matter is that utube keeps on expperimenting with the videos among different people.in any case subscribers no longer mean guaranteed views.
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t say that. I think channel size still matters to some extent. YouTube might just be testing smaller channels more these days, which is why some of them suddenly get a lot of views. But I don’t think subscribers are completely irrelevant
 
its such a luck based thing, I've seen people post generic stuff with no hook or planning and get 100k views consistently and my content which is much better gets shadowbanned at 1000 views.
 
SEOBella said:
It does feel harder for smaller channels now Having a clear niche and making content people actually want to watch seems more important than just uploading frequently
Click to expand...
More narrow niche down then the yt algo knows your audience to deliver your videos , not doing faceless videos and use search intent. (sa search intent when you want usa views) , when your niche to too broad like example Ralph Smart then your get tons of views but they will no tbuy from you- most of them are useless.

Other example Sunny Lenarduzzi, she done search intent videos and made her first $1mio within 9-10 months organic reach or only youtube. So not be focused to get mass of views, you need target views. But most not understand , they try to get followers or something, not knowing that only 1-2% of your followers will see your organic content, you must spend money on ads to monetize them.
 
ciaran111 said:
Around a year ago I noticed I was being recommended YouTube channels and videos that had almost no views or subscribers. I would frequently be shown videos with literally 2 views, from channels that nobody was watching.

I actually found this really enjoyable and interesting, and discovered some really weird, entertaining, odd, off-beat stuff. And at the same time, I was still being recommended stuff from the bigger, more mainstream channels that I regularly watched.

However, during that same period I began to notice my own engagement and views (on a channel with approximately 1.5k subscribers) plummeting, and people just didn't seem to even be seeing that I was uploading content.

Recently it occurred to me that I almost never get recommended channels of this size anymore. I'm only ever shown either big, mainstream channels, or absolutely tiny ones. So rather than stealing from the rich to give to the poor, it appears that what YouTube has done is steal from the middle class to give to the poor.

Does anybody else concur with this theory?
Click to expand...

youtube's algorithm does not works like that brother, it's just in your head. Just being consistent and make your content with dedication. if you keep getting average views that means there is a chance to grow.
 
A 1.5 k channel can still grow if the videos keep reaching the right viewers, even when recommendations are not as strong as before.
 
boxt said:
its such a luck based thing, I've seen people post generic stuff with no hook or planning and get 100k views consistently and my content which is much better gets shadowbanned at 1000 views.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it may seem that distribution is rather random at times, but I wouldn't take for granted the theory of being shadow banned straight away. I would compare retention and traffic sources for those posts which struggle versus those which do well.
 
Sylvester_deffy said:
youtube's algorithm does not works like that brother, it's just in your head. Just being consistent and make your content with dedication. if you keep getting average views that means there is a chance to grow.
Click to expand...
Why not doing yt seo- search intent?
 
ciaran111 said:
Around a year ago I noticed I was being recommended YouTube channels and videos that had almost no views or subscribers. I would frequently be shown videos with literally 2 views, from channels that nobody was watching.

I actually found this really enjoyable and interesting, and discovered some really weird, entertaining, odd, off-beat stuff. And at the same time, I was still being recommended stuff from the bigger, more mainstream channels that I regularly watched.

However, during that same period I began to notice my own engagement and views (on a channel with approximately 1.5k subscribers) plummeting, and people just didn't seem to even be seeing that I was uploading content.

Recently it occurred to me that I almost never get recommended channels of this size anymore. I'm only ever shown either big, mainstream channels, or absolutely tiny ones. So rather than stealing from the rich to give to the poor, it appears that what YouTube has done is steal from the middle class to give to the poor.

Does anybody else concur with this theory?
Click to expand...
i know this as well, particularly with those channels which have a bit of a past but are not large enough to influence recommendation algoritthms.a tiny channel could luck out nd be everywhere in no time at all, whereas the same 1-5k older channel would not receive much attention on any new uploads.it is almost as if utube evaluates each individual video anew nd this is good for discovery but tough for creators building consistently.
 
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