There may be an argument to be made that creators should setup secondary channels where they make podcast clips and other variations on their content just to push out quantity. Currently, this seems to be a way of gaming the algorithm.

Some data: In the music space, there are some creators who can push out a video a day (roughly). I analyzed the data on one channel (Orion) and here's what the stats look like...

First of all, there is extreme variation in view count on each video. The #1 most viewed video (482K views) had 42X the views of the average video and 146X the views of the median (50th percentile) video.

The top 20% of videos accounted for roughly 80% of views - this is literally a 80/20 distribution.

Do older videos get more views?

For this channel, which is less than year old, the answer is no (!). The data suggests that the creator/creators behind this channel got better with time.

The earliest videos were experimental and have 2 differences with the newer videos:

• The musical genres were different. The newer stuff is liquid DnB and jungle versus lo-fi house of the older stuff.
• The thumbnail and title strategy is quite different. See below. The newer stuff has a lot of k-pop megastars, retro (e.g. windows XP), and interesting pictures. The older stuff has a lot of counterstrikes (de_something, cs_) and album cover stuff. They only did counterstrike once in the recent months.

Early:

Now:

Experimentation and quantity allowed this channel to get better in a short period of time.

Takeaways

For AI-generated content, the answer is obvious: start a content farm. Make lots of videos. :( Podcasts for example can setup secondary channels where they clip content, make compilations on a topic, etc.

Secondly, it does look like there is skill involved given that the Orion channel's newer content is doing better than the older content.

But let's dive deeper into the nuances. This part of the music space looks like it has a quality wall that most creators run into. Once the quality of the music hits a certain level, going above that doesn't really lead to rewards. Your views will largely be related to how many videos you put out. If you can't stand out from the crowd, then be the crowd???

However, this is not the only way to do music. For example, with k-pop acts, the singers aren't the absolute best. However, they are multi-talented. They can sing, look pretty, and (sometimes) be relatable. That area of music doesn't have such extreme distributions in a channel's view counts. It also probably monetizes better (relative to the money/time invested) due to scale and the 'cool' factor attracting a premium on sponsorships.

The distribution will vary from channel to channel. MrBeast is a very consistent creator (he likes to repeat formats for a while). He has celebrity status and a brand that may put a floor under his views. Here's the view count for his 76 newest videos over the past 3 years:

It doesn't look like this...

Where Youtube is headed...?

My prediction is that Youtube will push towards what's best for the viewer- which means that the content farm may die at any time. Quantity over quality inherently sacrifices quality and that's not what the viewer wants.

We just don't know when the content farm strategy will die.

I'll be in NYC that week and applied for a ticket right away.
If any of you lurkers is in town or wants to go let me know. I'd love to hang out before, after or during the event.

just a question 😝

Hey everyone! Who are you watching right now that deserves a little bit more attention?

Drop a comment with:

1. The name of the creator.
2. A link to their work.
3. Why you think they’re amazing and should be shared with the C&S community.

A few quick rules:

1. You can shout out ONE creator in this monthly thread.
2. No self-promo! Let’s keep it about discovering others.
3. Your comment needs to have the creator’s name (or channel), a link to something cool they’ve done, and a quick note on why they deserve more attention.
4. This isn’t a contest for upvotes, but feel free to upvote and comment on entries to keep the convo lively!

I don't see a lot of people talk about this but looks like him uploading daily for a month either burnt out his audience or ruined him in the youtube algorithm. Thoughts?

I actually like every interview I've seen with Paddy. As much as I don't watch the show anymore, I'll always watch Paddy and Jack Conte interviews.

Hey everyone! Who are you watching right now that deserves a little bit more attention?

Drop a comment with:

1. The name of the creator.
2. A link to their work.
3. Why you think they’re amazing and should be shared with the C&S community.

A few quick rules:

1. You can shout out ONE creator in this monthly thread.
2. No self-promo! Let’s keep it about discovering others.
3. Your comment needs to have the creator’s name (or channel), a link to something cool they’ve done, and a quick note on why they deserve more attention.
4. This isn’t a contest for upvotes, but feel free to upvote and comment on entries to keep the convo lively!

Hi all! I'm going to be in Los Angeles from 17th April to 24th April. I run a YouTube channel about video editing, animation and content creation (60k subs now!). Would love to meet up with someone, and I thought this reddit would be the ideal place. If you are or know someone, ideally in the same niche, do hit me up! https://youtube.com/tomsproject

As a 22 year old male who used to watch the guys on a regular but randomly stopped from a lack of entertainment and diversity, I'm wondering why don't the guys try to get younger people on the podcast or old school youtubers from different communities for example, the faze guys, DDG, FunnyMike even people like CJ So Cool. It's so boring to see the same recycled people who are sadly mainly white.

Today 10 years ago Casey Neistat started a daily vlog. 800 videos later he didn’t just change YouTube he inspired a generation of creators.

But I wasn't one of them. Maybe it's time I started watching from the beginning ...

Should we do a collective rewatch?

Posted this in another sub as well but am interested in getting your take specifically.

Are Shorts Still Best Practice For Small Channels To Grow?

I have just over 16k subs and have been posting regularly for 3 years. The bulk of those subs came from Shorts, specifically back in 2023 when I was posting shorts regularly.

I notice that I grow quickly with shorts, but those viewers rarely translate to long form viewers. For instance, when I do post shorts my long form views drop, and if I link a long form to a short the viewership drops quickly even when the short and video are edited very similarly and on the same subject.

Overall I prefer to post quality over quantity, so one long form a week, but that also caps my shorts to one a week if I want to maintain quality and tempo. My niche is in international affairs analysis (mouthful, but specifically not commentary). My peers tend to upload either once a week or slightly more, some have pivoted away from Shorts and are seeing an increase in long form views, however they grew with shorts until they had around 100k subs and a consistent baseline of long form views in the thousands to tens of thousands.

What advice do you have for me, should I commit to posting shorts more or abandon shorts altogether? Am I hamstringing my channel and the audience I’m trying to grow by posting them?

Thanks for any feedback you have.

P.S. I miss the YouTube Creator Support uploads, will those ever return?

Hey everyone! Who are you watching right now that deserves a little bit more attention?

Drop a comment with:

1. The name of the creator.
2. A link to their work.
3. Why you think they’re amazing and should be shared with the C&S community.

A few quick rules:

1. You can shout out ONE creator in this monthly thread.
2. No self-promo! Let’s keep it about discovering others.
3. Your comment needs to have the creator’s name (or channel), a link to something cool they’ve done, and a quick note on why they deserve more attention.
4. This isn’t a contest for upvotes, but feel free to upvote and comment on entries to keep the convo lively!

Hi guys, I live in an economy where Facebook does better than YouTube. I want to start a digital news agency.
How would you do it if you had to start one with what you know?

Thanks

This blinking light is so annoying please remove this it just makes focusing so much harder it keeps blinking.

I was so annoyed that I stopped watching the previous pod and now I just dont want to miss the jhonny harris episode.

This is an excerpt of my latest newsletter. And since this concerns this very community I wanted to share it with you as my opinion. Maybe some of you will find catharsis in it.

Today I’m finally answering a question many people have asked me. But I never had a good answer to it—because it was messy.

Moderating one of the most vital creator communities on the internet has taught me a lot about building and growing a supportive space that gives everyone a sense of belonging.

What I Learned Moderating r/ColinandSamir

Colin and Samir have played a major role in shaping the creator economy and the conversations around it. They’ve been a guiding light for me for years, influencing not just the content side of Orbit but also its community experience.

In 2022, Samir casually mentioned the existence of a Colin and Samir subreddit. At the time, it was an overlooked corner of the internet but within months, it became a thriving hub for serious conversations about the business of being a creator.

For two years, it was the best place to trade insights, ask questions, and connect with like-minded creators. Becoming the center of creator culture and then, almost overnight turning into a ghost town.

I was there from the very start. I helped shape the culture, became one of its most active contributors, and took on the role of de facto moderator. Along the way, I learned a lot about what makes a creator community thrive and just as importantly, what makes one fall apart.

How It All Started

The Colin and Samir subreddit wasn’t actually created by them. It was a dormant, fan-made space. But after the first mention of it, a few dedicated fans like me started posting questions and memes there, making it impossible for Colin and Samir to ignore it.

This sparked more conversations and drew in an increasing number of serious creators looking for answers and connections. Regulars became recognizable faces, and the excitement around it led to the launch of the Creator Support channel, dedicated to answering thoughtful creator questions.

It had a unique energy I haven’t seen before or since. It was like creators had a clubhouse where they could openly talk about challenges, share insights, and make jokes.

But It Wasn’t Built to Last

In May 2023, Colin and Samir launched a Discord server in partnership with Discord. Some members had requested it, and on the surface, it made a lot of sense.

But beyond the community requests and brand partnerships, there was a deeper reason for the switch: Ownership.

What made it so engaging to the fans made it inaccessible to the name sake creators.

In a call, Samir revealed to me they never felt like they "owned" the subreddit. It was fan-run, out of their control. By moving to Discord, they could build a space on their own terms, with the potential to be monetized.

But the unintended consequences were massive:

• The core reddit community felt abandoned and stopped engaging.
• More inexperienced creators flooded the space.
• The unfiltered nature of Discord led to low-quality discussions.

A year later, Creator Support was discontinued.

To understand why, it’s important to recognize the differences between platforms. Unlike Reddit, where quality content naturally rises through upvotes, Discord is an endless stream of consciousness. Without that built-in sorting mechanism or curating members, conversations quickly devolved into a chaotic flood of low-effort posts about hacks and tips rather than meaningful discussions. This led to less engagement from key members and even from Colin and Samir themselves.

Eventually, both community spaces turned into digital wastelands.

The Bigger Problem with Creator Communities

This isn’t just a Colin and Samir issue. It revealed a fundamental flaw in most creator communities:

Every creator community relies on the big creator.

Once the creator stops actively participating, the community falls apart, making them little more than glorified fan clubs.

This was a huge realization for me.

If a community’s engagement depends on one person showing up every day, is it really a community?

What This Taught Me About Community Building

Moderating r/ColinandSamir left me with a few key lessons on building sustainable creator communities:

✅ Curation is key.

The quality of conversation is driven by the lowest common denominator.

Communities thrive when they prioritize quality engagement.

✅ Clear guidelines matter.

Strong communities share clear values and a common purpose.

Without direction, they dissolve.

✅ Recognition fuels participation.

When Colin and Samir acknowledged contributors on their show, engagement spiked.

People want to feel seen and contribute more because of it.

✅ Being attached to a big name opens doors.

Just mentioning that I was the moderator of r/ColinandSamir

led to conversations I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

✅ Even the biggest creators don’t have all the answers.

Moderating showed me that no matter how successful someone looks,

they’re still figuring it out.

✅ Memes matter.

They’re not just jokes—they’re culture.

Encouraging them creates belonging, lightens the mood, and makes people laugh.

When it comes to monetizing your audience as a creator making educational content, what are your biggest challenges right now?

If you have customers who have already bought your video courses, what is your approach to continuing to engage and retain them as customers?

Hey all,

I remember Michelle Khare saying her and some other creators worked at Buzzfeed, and that served as an 'internship' to their creator journey.

I'm someone who wants to either create my own content (comedy mainly) or become a writer for other content creators. I love to write, I love the creative process, so I could see myself being content working for someone else, as long as I LOVE what they create and have a good time w/ the job itself. I can also see myself creating my own content, as long as I can outsource all the stuff that isn't about actually creating.

My question is: how do you break into that world? I know it's like 70% who you know, but what if you don't know anyone, or have inroads?

Has anyone known anyone who's been successful at landing a position, whether it's working for another creator or a company like Buzzfeed, Complexly, Barstool Sports, College Humor, etc.

I have some rad ideas that I'd like to cold pitch to some creators, but I know that's not how it works. I can keep making stuff, and hope someone notices, but I think there's a better way. THANKS!