YouTube is still the most important social media platform

I am not a fan of YouTube anymore. Censorship, shadow bannings, demonetization, and even account terminations are looking biased and subjective – YouTube seems to go after content creator on a basis of case by case, instead of using objective guidelines everyone could adhere to. And this is not just a problem for controversial content creators.

Creative topics are uncontroversial

Publishing Photoshop tutorials on YouTube is not putting your account in danger. I once used copyrighted music and had to give away the rights to the tutorial because of it; but besides that, there is no real danger for me in using the platform for my content.

But there are still two big issues with the censorship on YouTube:

1. Censorship always moves in one direction

Once started, censorship only expands. At first it is extreme content, then it’s wrong think content, after that it’s not-the-right-think content, and finally it is critical thinking entirely that gets censored.

History is full of cases where artists where getting censored – just look at censorship in China and you’ll see present day examples of artists not being able to express themselves freely.

Creatives currently not being affected by YouTube’s mass censorship should be prepared for times, in which they will be affected. The trend shows, that such times are not far away.

2. Censorship drives the audience away

I don’t care about the political opinion of someone who’s watching my tutorials, why should I?

If you want to learn how to use Adobe programs, how to design logos, learn graphic design and the basics of photography, you’re welcome on my channel.

When YouTube is terminating accounts, they see as “harmful”, “hateful”, or “fake news”, it is forcing the content creator to produce content on other platforms. And they will take their audience with them.

People who support Trump, communism, or other controversial topics, are now gone. And they will not come back to YouTube to watch a Photoshop tutorial. They will instead search for Photoshop tutorials on the new platform they use to watch their controversial content.

YouTube is the present - prepare yourself for the future

YouTube is still growing. I predict, that it will take over Facebook as the biggest social media platform worldwide within the next ten years. YouTube has the audience, even though it is driving people away from its platform with their censorship agenda.

But YouTube isn’t growing because YouTube is great. It is growing because the demand for video content is growing. The moment a competing video platform offers a better service, a free speech guarantee, or a new technological revolution, YouTube will not be able to survive.

And the more YouTube censors content creator, the more YouTube fires up the demand for an alternative platform.
Will the blockchain change the game? Will it be a torrent system? Will video hosting have become so cheap in ten years, that it becomes viable for everyone to host their own videos on a 100-dollar-a-year-website?

Who knows …

But what I know: Preparing for a future without YouTube is the right move.

I will continue to publish my stuff on YouTube, but DTube, BitChute, and others have already become great backup solutions. It only costs me fifteen minutes a day extra to upload to these backup channels – a valid investment into a future every YouTuber should be prepared for.