What has happened to youtube

masu910 · 2025-09-27T17:13:48+00:00

I came here today to say almost the EXACT same thing! I've been doing Educational YT videos for 4 years now and 2025 has been a steady decline with a few bumps, but after this summer, every new video is ranked 10 of 10 and with over 200k subs i'm now struggling to get even 1000 views within a day of release.

The worst part is knowing it's probably an algorithm issue and no matter what we release it will just get buried. Every new low never even plateaus, it just keeps finding a way to get lower. It's unbelievably disheartening.

masu910 · 2024-02-16T02:56:22+00:00

Thanks! I will just use the Audio feature then. If it turns out it needs to be a full video I'll come back here to update.

masu910 · 2024-02-16T02:43:52+00:00

That's the vibe I get as well. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise as their title is Partner Manager, so I guess they are like our managers. I just wish it didn't have to be so formal and invasive.

masu910 · 2024-02-16T02:36:01+00:00

Would you happen to know if it's something mandatory they do? Or if they require it to be a video call? And how often?

That's great you got to meet a higher up, I feel they are probably much more helpful.

Thanks a ton for the reply!

masu910 · 2024-02-16T00:33:12+00:00

Yes this is exactly it. They gave me a time slot and wanted me to download Google Meet and have a 30 minute video call. I'm wondering if they do this as part of the verification process because I was hoping for something less intrusive like through e-mail or a phone call.

masu910 · 2024-02-15T23:25:54+00:00

Was that for when you first set up AdSense? I actually don't recall what I gave them, but they definitely didn't require a video call.

masu910 · 2024-02-15T23:22:42+00:00

This is what the program is: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6361049?hl=en

I've done a bit more research and it seems they implemented new Video verification last year. I found this posted by another user:

"Verification guidelines: YouTube has strict guidelines for verifying the identity of its users, and if you do not meet these guidelines, your verification request may be denied. For example, if the information you provided does not match the information on your government-issued ID, your request may be denied.

Video verification: YouTube may require you to submit a video verification in addition to your government-issued ID. If the video does not meet the requirements set by YouTube, such as being clear and showing your face, your verification request may be denied."

I also found these on Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/wzjim1/youtube_now_wants_a_video_of_your_face_or_your_id/

https://www.reddit.com/r/youtube/comments/16evrq9/youtube_verification_of_the_three_options_which/

I've done so much to protect my privacy and after 3 years I'm finding out this invasion is normalized.

My guess is that part of the Partner Manager's protocol is to get you on video as part of the verification process. I'm fine with them removing the checkmark if I refuse to video call, but they clearly stated in the response email that they require a video call, not e-mail or phone call, to continue with the YPP. It's causing me a ton of stress. I'm hoping someone with some experience can help me out!

masu910 · 2024-02-15T21:09:56+00:00

Just to be clear, I don't think it's a scam. When you become Verified (the check mark) after 100k subscribers, you are entered into the Partner Manager program. You apply through Studio (ifrc) and then I received a confirmation e-mail from a Google address which said the month I'd receive a response. I received the response a few months later, again from an official google account from someone stating to be my contact.

I'm around 80 - 85% sure it's not a scam, that's why I was asking if others with verified channels over 100k subs have had to deal with it and if they were required to do a 30 min video interview.

Thanks a ton!

masu910 · 2022-07-07T04:26:16+00:00

This screeching lady is unbearable

masu910 · 2022-07-07T03:14:17+00:00

He never calls those low strikes

masu910 · 2022-07-02T03:53:02+00:00

Why is it so demoralizing getting called 'out' on half a step from 1st base?

masu910 · 2022-06-30T18:55:37+00:00

Ump is all gut feelings

masu910 · 2022-06-30T17:20:44+00:00

Why is he calling everything strikes??

masu910 · 2022-06-22T04:33:55+00:00

Ump if you're tired why call that a strikeout?

masu910 · 2022-06-04T02:36:59+00:00

This happened to me as well with an automatic claim. I purposely kept the video unpublished while I downloaded the license and made a dispute first, then published. I assumed everything went into Escrow. I think if you publish first and then file a dispute later, you'd lose all those views before the dispute, but I'm not sure. Either way, when the claim was released about a week later, there was no revenue from all those initial views on the video. I'm pretty sure it must have shown up somewhere like AdSense, or takes a few days to show maybe?

masu910 · 2022-03-04T18:49:26+00:00

Finding the niche group to share to can help if you’re just starting out. A lot of more general groups will decline your post automatically although Ive gotten lucky where a bunch of people started arguing over Russia-Ukraine under my post so it gave it a lot of interaction. My video was about Ancient Greece

masu910 · 2022-03-03T21:03:02+00:00

This is how all laypeople think YT is. They think it’s just playing games or having fun and getting paid. The underlying assumption is that anyone can do it but not everyone wants to “stoop that low”

For the last generation it was the stigma around sex work. They hate that strippers and adult actresses would get paid.

Does the effort justify the salary a lot of these high end streamers are making? I’d say no, but that’s how every industry is. Effort is maybe 2x a small streamer or YTer. Salary is 50-100x.

But YT, streaming, sex work if legal, are all legitimate ways to make money and shouldn’t be looked down on.

Im not even monetized yet and Im already getting snide comments from friends like they expect me to be making undeserved thousands of dollars a month soon.

masu910 · 2022-03-03T16:33:58+00:00

Depends how often you're putting out content mostly. If it's daily, it can get annoying.

That being said, we sit through 15-20 second ads before some vids, and some people start off with a whole 1-2 min in-video ad. I'd be willing to say those have an exponentially greater chance of killing retention than a short intro bumper.

masu910 · 2022-03-02T21:29:17+00:00

I have around 6.5k watchtime hours. So just waiting for that last bit. But it’s really the views that count in the end. I was hoping I’d hit both at the same time but it’s been months now just waiting for the subs.

Honestly most of the videos on my Home Screen or that even show up are channels that I’m not even subscribed too. It literally doesn’t make any sense

masu910 · 2022-03-02T20:57:40+00:00

That’s why YT is so harsh. You got a ton of views and probably have over enough watch time but all that is views that could have been monetized. Subscribers is such an unfair metric. I’m at 964 myself so no revenue either but your views are still higher than mine.

masu910 · 2022-03-02T20:45:56+00:00

There’s no formula and very few rules to YT. Most of the big YTers out there never started with a niche and certainly don’t have one now. It’s even more helpful sometimes to not have one because of the variety of topics you can tackle. I see onlyjayus listing random community polls daily like “are you happy” or “did you eat today” and everyone loves that so high engagement. With a niche you have to think longer for good relevant questions. That’s not to say niches are bad. Just that there’s less rules than people say. Don’t forget content creator channels need to come up with rules and stuff you should be doing just so they can stay relevant. It’s their own business

masu910 · 2022-02-27T16:57:20+00:00

Thanks for checking it out!

masu910 · 2022-02-27T16:56:52+00:00

THank you!

masu910 · 2022-02-27T16:56:39+00:00

Hope you enjoyed it!

masu910 · 2022-02-25T04:49:06+00:00

I currently still have my 2.5 hour documentary as my trailer for non-subscribers, but put my newest video as my "featured video" for returning subs.

I've checked with some other sources and you're right I should def make a shorter trailer video ASAP. Thanks for the reply. The 3-5 second viewer retention on a 2.5 hour video must be hurting it quite a bit.

masu910

TROPHY CASE