Struggling & Frustrated Recently
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- Опубликовано: 1 ноя 2023
- Lets talk about why my mind hasn't been the clearest recently and why youtube has been bugging me. Thanks to all of my supporters that keep this channel afloat.
Discord here:
/ discord
My Twitter where I shitpost:
/ alanthefisher
Wanna send something for me to include in a video?
PO Box 38619 Philadelphia, PA 19104A
The Armchair Urbanist Series:
• The Armchair Urbanist
Hey man I feel you. It's been the same for me since the August update to the YT rankings. From my end, I think YT is hurting channels who are not focused on one specific topic and cover a wide range of things. Channels that are laser-focused on one thing are getting more recommendations, and even though I never watch anything political on YT, half of my recommendations are political channels. I'm also getting random off-topic, off-interest recommendations in my feed. Personally, my views have dropped over 50% in just three months, and recommendations are down over 60% despite above-average per-video stats. I'm just hoping that YT is trying something for a fiscal quarter, it fails, and they go back to the pre-August rankings.
You and alan are some of the best channels on YT, and I rewatch your guys' videos daily. Please keep up the great work :)
Can’t wait for your St. Louis meet up 😊
Yeah, YT really has something against our multifunctioning channels.
You have a great channel.
Sorry To hear Alan Hope Things Get Better Soon
I said this to my friend in our DMs after sharing your latest video with her (she lives in the Cincy area so it directly affects her):
“Alan is probably one of my favorite content creators. Because not only does he inform people in a way that’s easy to understand and agreeable, he also uses his platform to create meaningful positive change in infrastructure. He’s also just a cool dude in general.”
Thought these words would help lift you out of this funk. I’ll be here as long as you are, my dude.
Sorry to hear that. I'll be honest, I haven't been watching as much of the urbanist videos lately. (Not just your channel) It comes and goes in phases for me where some days I'll watch every urbanist video on my feed, and other days I'm just not interested. It has nothing to do with how high quality your videos are. (At least not for me)
My for you has been absolute shit lately. I’ve mostly only been finding videos from subscriptions/other social media.
Hang in there. I shared the Cincy video with people I know who live there, only for one of them to say that that video had already randomly popped up in their feed, and they were planning to watch it.
I watched your Cincinnati video and smashed that like button so hard, because it was the regular reminder that whenever public property is being privatised, someone, somewhere is getting a kickback.
RUclips has always been a horrible revenue system. Capricious, unfair. Even if you disagree with everything else he says, Eli The Computer Guy was talking about this a decade ago. Basically - diversify. If your primary revenue stream is RUclips, you will end up bankrupt at some point for some reason. Algorithm changes, copyright strikes, take you best guess. If your primary revenue stream is Patreon (or better yet direct donation even if it has to involve crypto), and maybe some classes or books you can sell independently online to teach people what you know... That's a plan.
I agree, in the past 6 months or so I feel RUclips’s algo has recommended me videos similar to my interests but from tiny channels which can be nice like when I got a vlog recommended with 9 views of a girl from Japan documenting her ride on a Shinkansen and going to different interesting shops in the city or, when I got a video of a guy rail fanning by Washington union where I had stayed in a hotel. Nevertheless, I feel like I’m not getting medium sized creators like you explained promoted in my feed anymore for some reason and I feel your frustration.
I do love watching your newest video every time it comes out Alan! 😃
Don't let it get to you, keep making great content and eventually the algorithm will promote your videos more.
Thank you anyway for the effort you put into each video.
To constantly have to rely financially on a constantly morphing algorithm that you don't understand and can't control has got to be frustrating for all RUclips creators. I remember seeing other videos by other RUclips creators about this exact issue a few years ago.
Hey Alan. Just wanted to say that you're not alone with feelings of burnout and dissatisfaction over low performing videos. I've also made several videos that took weeks to produce only to perform below average. You also raise a good point about the algorithm showcasing random videos with barely any views, as it does seem to take up at least a third of my algorithm at least. But no matter what, just know that I and a bunch of other channels are still here for you, as we've always appreciated your hard work and well made videos. Even though we may not agree on everything, it's still vital to share our opinions about these various matters in railroading, as it's great to learn from others, as your videos over the past few years and discussions on your discord server have definitely helped me stay informed of these various topics. Stay strong, and know that your fans are always here for you no matter what.
I loved them. I’m surprised they didn’t do well.
I say don’t change. I think it’s RUclips. There’s been more suggestions with 10 views and 10M ?! Neither of which usually interest me.
Recently, new videos from many of my favorite YT channels have not popped up in my algorithm like they usually do. I've caught many videos days or a week after they've been released. I didn't even see your Cincinnati video until you posted here about it (I just watched it). Good luck with this YT algorithm chaos, Alan.
The Cincinnati one was great. I’ve been meaning to go rewatch that
I can only agree with the new recommendations, for some reason many of the people I am subscribed to around your size are not appearing in my recommended anymore. This hurts as I rely a lot on the recommended page to even see the uploads because of how bloated my subscriptions page is. Until your most recent video I had completely missed your last 4 uploads. Hope they change it back
It’s true, I never see your vids come up in my feed. I have to actively search for you. Your videos are top notch and informative. Keep pushing!
1:45 “thumbnail game” should be word of the year.
I watched the Cincinnati video and shared it with a friend. My interest is that I worked for NS going in and out of Geist street yard. The voters truly did not understand what they gave away to N&S.
The Cincinnati video was awesome.
I wonder if the urbanist RUclips was more closely linked to politics recently?
If so the speaker fight and Israel conflict may have messed with your recommendations.
If I’m right right you could test it by pump out a stinker about the transit of Gaza or the speaker of the house’s transportation record.
You're videos are awesome! I try to watch and like every single one. Cheers from Poland!
I’ve been subscribed forever and not only have I not gotten the last 3 video notifications, I legit had to go “check” to see even this video. Appreciate the content though and don’t let the bastards get you down.
There's definitely something weird going on with the algorithm, I'm subscribed to both of your channels and have watched almost all of your videos but your latest one didn't appear in my recommended feed like the rest of your videos.
I very much relate, coming from someone with 300k on a metalworking/engineering channel. Really sorry to you and all creators that are struggling because of RUclips’s lack of transparency and user-control. It takes a bigger toll on our mental health than people realize, especially when low views = financial instability.
I’m glad you did the Cincinnati video and I think it turned out great. I really hope this issue with the view counts turns out to be a temporary thing.
I will say that even though I binge your channel often, it seems the algorithm hasn't been pushing your videos in my subscriptions lately so I thought you were taking a break then found out yesterday that you hadnt taken a break butnI missed some uploads. I caught up but it's weird that your videos weren't pushed in my subscriptions like they used to be.
I've been noticing the phenomenon of super "fresh" videos appearing in my feed and at first I was happy about it, but over time I've realized that I kinda expect my recommended content to be of a certain baseline quality. Which is selfish, but true.
As for the Cincinnati video -- I can see why they might have underperformed since it's a niche issue in a midsize city about a single specific electrical issue. Europeand, Canadians, and anybody who isn't familiar with Ohio probably didn't care for it, because it's not related to city planning in general. I doubt people *disliked* it, but getting people to actually act for their cities seems to be a hard sell across the online urbanism space. A lot of people don't care for advocacy, they want to see "content". Personally however, I was excited to see you focus on an issue local to me! (Don't worry, I early voted "no", though I don't think the issue is nearly as bad as the Chicago parking sale debacle it gets compared to repeatedly)
I don't envy you. I never got as in depth with it as some, but I had a lot of similar frustrations on Instagram. These platforms keep their algorithms as elusive as possible for....reasons....and it is generally to the detriment of creators, which is maddening.
I'm really surprised to hear that those videos aren't doing as well. I've noticed no drop in quality and thought the topics were interesting and important. I hope this is just a momentary blip in the algorithm, this is one of my favorite channels.
Somebody at RUclips probably has a grudge against Vulfpeck and you're just caught in the crossfire. In all seriousness though, I always look forward to your content, and your video on Cincinnati was particularly helped me inform my vote on the issue. I know kind comments don't pay the bills, but I hope you're able to figure out how to pray to the algorithm gods so I can continue to get you in the newsfeed.
my last video did pretty poorly also, hope you pull through! I always enjoy your content
Hang in there, Alan! We love your content and since myself, living in Philadelphia,Pa. love seeing info on other North American cities and how their mass transit infrastructure works and you provide that with an HONEST opinion!
sad that this is a problem for you atm. Been following you since the american canals video and mostly enjoyed the content and im always hyped when a new vid drops. As I am a viewer from europe some topics arent that interesting for me (but sometimes are a great oddly specific example *not looking at you cincinnati*). But over all I would say the topics of the videos the last few times are for a smaller group of people and for most folk not as available as other videos. Another factor may be that there are less memes in your new videos (i hope you get what im trying to say), for example my favourite video of yours which i watched like 10 times is the Why Strip Malls are trash for walkability video.
i personaly haven't watched it but I've been busy recently and I'll certainly be watching later.
I think the thumbnails for the lag two videos thumbnails could have been more clickbait-ey.
People read the thumbnail before the title often. Especially on mobile.
Content is still great. Keep going man. Eventually the content will speak for itself.
Hank Green did a vlog brothers video about sarapocial relationships. Your audience is listening and ever changing, so just keep making the content you want to make and don't lose a part of yourself trying to be that person who you think we want you to be. ❤
Ironically i haven't been watching as much of the informational side of RUclips, which includes your channel, but i watched the Cincinnati video within about 5 hours of its release.
I've noticed that the algorithm has been pushing a toooon of video essayists to me lately, and its kinda burned me out on... honestly most of RUclips. Im pretty much watching Dropout shows (Make some noise, anyone?) and random essays when I can bring myself to. I wonder if other people are feeling a little informational overload from their algorithmic suggestions.
If it's any consolation, I enjoy your channel and look forward to your new videos. Keep up the good work. Bless up!
This sucks man, I really love your channel. Hoping for the best for you
The Cincinnati video was great, I thought. It sucks that the algorithm sometimes doesn't reward more hard hitting pieces of journalism like that. Huge fan of your content dude, and fellow PA native hoping for the glorious return of even more rail services in that state.
I really enjoyed the Cincinnati video! I lived there for a few years and definitely didn’t know it was a thing, but I made sure to share with a few of my friends from there and they all said they enjoyed the video even though none of them are all that into urbanism. Maybe just because it hit home for me in that video, but I love the advocacy/highlighting real issues facing cities right now because it gives the reminder that the fight is never over
Just some ideas as a casual fan but still a big enough fan to sub to both channels, I haven't watched the last two yet because the concepts aren't as outright "oh, I want to watch this right away" as the last bunch of AU ones. And also the U2 videos recently which I think are intentionally more niche(?), might have taken you out of the algo after hitting a high point with the video from 2 months ago that's almost at 500k views. The last four videos you posted on the main channel just aren't as easy to sell like "oh yeah, I'm gonna click on this" for a casual viewer. I'm only saying this with love and as an outside observer who maybe has a different perspective from you.
It's a good thing that I'm not the only one who thinks it was in my head. For the Cincinnati video, I noticed it never popped in my algo until many hours after it was published, that to me was very strange. I only noticed it because I'm subscribed to your channels and had to look for the video. The notifications were also delayed, so immediately I knew something wasn't right.
Hang in there Alan don't give in. You're definitely doing important work here and it deserves the sunlight. Keep persevering. 😉👍💯
There was a Cincinnati video? S*** that's where I'm trying to become a bus rider! Looking it up right now.
Alan, I love your fact-based presentations. Stay strong.
Have you considered posting your urbanist update videos on a different channel? The algorithm could be penalizing your entire channel for poor clicks on those. My understanding of the algorithm comes from the recent FD signifier video on it, and that seems to suggest the algorithm will reward quality and not care so much about consistent uploads. Love the videos keep fighting the good fight!
I ignore my feed. I just go straight to my subscriptions to see what’s up. Keep going Alan!
It might also not just be RUclips itself. I just went to share the Cincinnati video with my Lexington commuter rail group and I got multiple warnings from Facebook about fact checking it, and it kept popping up links to Russian-language websites to reference.
Don't sweat it, Alan. Well, easy for me to say, I know!
I have noticed what I consider random videos from channels I do not subscribe to in my feed. I too have experienced similar difficulty not getting notified when creators I subscribe to release new videos. You have great content and I will make sure to look at your channel site to make sure I see your latest work.
I know that personally I'm still waiting to get around to your most recent videos because I'm quite busy these days but I don't usually miss them permanently. I still love your stuff. Hope the algorithm doesn't demoralise you too much
Alan: Lee from Philly here. Hang tough, stay strong. Your stuff is great, worth watching and even worth the Patreon payment.
Keep it up man, quality and consistency prevail despite what the algorithm's flavor of the week might be ❤
As long as you do what makes you happy, you can always go back to that. But the dent in the wallet hurts. Psychologically, our minds weigh losses twice as more as wins, so just keep that in mind.
It obviously hurts to see your baby suffer but at the same time you're incredibly talented and I think that you will have tremendous success in the future and this is just a hiccup on the road for you your nationalization video and some of your other stick out to me as absolutely incredible pieces of content they hold incredible retention and they're truly enjoyable to watch your latest videos have been a little niche but at the same time their topics that need to get talked about and I understand how hard that is to not know whether to make money makers or to make what you're truly passionate about however I will say that again you are incredibly talented and I hope that we will get a lot of good stuff from you in the future😊
The algorithm isn't always on our side, that's for sure. If you can, keep doing what you're doing and don't give up. We appreciate the coverage and content.
I'm sure the algo has a huge impact, but it also kinda feels like urbanism and transit related content has reached its saturation point from a pure entertainment perspective. A couple years ago a lot of this stuff was very new to most people. But a lot of the newer content is either increasingly niche, or just repeats what has been said before. It's unfortunate, because this more niche content is what actually matters in terms of getting local governments to do the right thing, building grassroots movements. Even the more derivative content is important, since people also need continuous reminders about the issues with auto-dependency. However, this is all at odds with the modern algorithm-based content ecosystem.
I think the challenge for urbanist youtubers going forward is to make fundamentally niche content broadly appealing. I think that's what your video on freeway median stations does well, since really it's a video about the L in particular, but its framed in a way that can be appealing to non-Chicagoan foamers. Similarly, even though citynerds "city visit" series are sort of niche, they also double as a Rick Steven's-esque travel vlog that has broad appeal.
Anyway, you probably have a much better sense of what's going on here than me (a random urbanist youtube reply guy) but these are my observations about urbanist youtube as a consumer. I don't wanna tell you how to do your job, but maybe these comments can help you pick up on certain vibes that are hard to pick up on as a creator.
I thought the Cincinatti one was one of the more interesting and important ones! Highlighting corruption and really giving a chance for something we could do (well, if you live in Cincinatti) Not just a feel good ragging on a bad transit system (which would definitely get views), but highlighting a political issue, and something that can really make a difference
I am so sorry. I really love your channel. You will get through this. Keep up the great work. I LOVED and was hoping for a Cincinnati video.
Hope you feel better soon, Alan❤. I really enjoy your videos, so keep making them your best, and don’t let the algorithm get you down. This isn’t just a you problem, but common among numerous small RUclipsrs
I feel for you Alan, I really hope things change for the better soon. Love your vids From NZ!
I've been having a similar issue (as a much smaller channel) but I assumed it was because I took a several-month break from uploading to finish up my semester in the spring. But now, after a few months of uploading again, I'm not too sure. Guess we'll see how it goes over the next year or so...
I love your work man! i am sharing it with fellow urban planners in Paris ! I am sorry that things have been frustrating lately,
Personally I've been enjoying your recent videos just as much as I ever did. I don't think it's that you've somehow "lost your game" or anything. Maybe it's just a subject matter or title thing, or as you say, an algorithm thing. Keep up the good work man!
I love your videos!! I know not seeing the performance you're hoping for is disheartening, but I feel like RUclips does tend to retroactively blow up older videos on occasion, so perhaps not all is lost. It certainly isn't a quality issue, you're doing great in that department! Much love, keep doing you!
You are my favorite youtube urbanist. I personally loved the last two videos as they were very informative. My only suggestion is to make more shorter videos that come out more often on top of the longer essays. Maybe a handful of 2-3 minute videos every now and then can help with getting more traction.
I got recommended a live from probably India that wasn't even in English, algorithm is so fucked up right now
RUclips is acting like Cincinnati right now
I have empathy I will have sympathy once I reach 1k myself . In the meamtime I'm doing as much as I can to push your videos brother.
I push my "subscriptions" feed, and then do "home."
Keep it up, you'll always have a viewer in me! I'd say the algorithm definitely changed mid-July, or at least that's when my minuscule channel gained a lot of momentum all at once, and the rapid growth slowed at the end of August.
It’s the RUclips kids split
I'm only just now seeing this, and I feel like RUclips has been pulling videos from my subscription feed sometimes. I've missed whole videos from creators twice your size and I'm not sure if I'm just inattentive or if they were hidden on purpose.
We're all in this together bro...
I always go right to my sun feed. Your videos are part of my steady diet of urbanism!
There's too many dooshy "urbanists" preaching about how they think society should be planned. Meanwhile it seems leftists have left YT for TikTok probably. Years ago I used to see intense comment arguments and debates on content such as Reason Magazine videos, even when there were character limits. The commies and SJWs would show up consistently. And they had more current videos easy to find in searches. But they are very scarce now. Non left stuff still seems to have healthy interest but not much opposition any more. I'm sure Google hates that this is becoming the core. So who is the target audience of Alan Fisher type crap? Crickets? This one came up on the main page and I knew it was going to be a whine fest.
Love your content, Alan. I appreciate you and will keep spreading the word. Hang in there.
Sending bro ❤ up the northeast corridor to you.
Love your content and commentary all the way from sunny Phoenix, AZ. I hope you get through this weird algorithm phase and don't let them grind you down.
welcome to the club
agreed
Hang in there, man! You make quality stuff that feels unique, and you definitely have your own flavor within the urbanist space. This isn't a suggestion or criticism, but I think the most interesting part of the Cincinnati video was actually the seemingly blatant mayoral corruption, which felt almost like a footnote at the end of the video.
I appreciate your efforts. You are a great creator. I personally find your videos to be informative and entertaining. I hope things turn around for you because I believe that you are a positive force for good. This country needs to change its structures and you in my opinion are a leading voice on that front. I will never stop watching your videos. Thank you for the awareness you have raised and the attention you have brought to important issues especially in Philadelphia.
We love your videos, I hope whatever has happened gets fixed soon
Keep your head up, man, you're talented and make videos that are funny and informative, so the tide will turn eventually!
I enjoyed the last couple of videos myself. I appreciate the footage you captured as well!
Just watched your last two videos and thoroughly enjoyed them. We’re here for you 🙌
RUclips has problems. Take the relentless bombardment of ads. Ads before the video, ads randomly during the video and even after the goddamn video! And at beyond max volume, of course! It's constant and really off putting. I would love to pay for the service to avoid the ads, but I can't stand the fact that this algorithm is so f-ing secretive and messes around with creators for who knows what reason.
You’re one of my favorite RUclips urbanists ! Do you think uploading to nebula would be a good move ?
I'm not the biggest fan of nebula for various reasons, but maybe I'll talk about that in the future
Your videos are great. But, and this is purely based on my single person thoughts, maybe the public transportation and proper urban planning are just too depressing subjects in the US since things usually either don't get done properly or move at a snails pace in comparison to some other parts of the world. And since people can handle only so much depression, they take a break from these kinds of videos and channels. I know I take breaks and find something more uplifting for my overall mental health.
Appreciate the transparency, Alan. Try not to beat yourself up too hard over this, especially when a good portion of it is outside of your control. Fight the good fight and slowly but surely you'll make progress, algorithm or not. All the best!
No matter what Ill be supporting you throughout!
Always love your videos dude, hope you can break through the ice.
Personally, I loved the previous videos, even if the Cincinnati video was niche. I wasn’t even aware it was underperforming until this video, but I feel for you, youtube should not just leave thousands of creators in the dust just so a couple more youtubers can be successful. I can’t wait to watch future videos!
Stay strong and safe Alan. We your fans love all your work efforts.
I personally love your content man keep up the good work!
Keep up the good work man, wish we had Alan Fisher in the UK.
Be well :)
sucks that the past few videos have been underperforming. but your content has been really good regardless, and you’ve come a long way from those first videos
I really enjoy your channel. I do hope that you can and will continue. 😊😊❤❤❤😊😊
Love your videos and sad that YT is punishing you. Also I guess is a bummer there's not many platform alternatives for medium YT channels unless you're in the Nebula universe. Time to launch the Alan Fisher network of channels!
I'll be here for every single video!
I'm always watching big man
Thanks!