One of the most used metrics by content creators on YouTube is the number of followershowever it is introducing a major change in the way they will be displayed, since it will no longer show the exact numbers of subscribers in real time.
This new measure could prevent websites specialized in generating rankings from continuing to show exact figuresor, what is the same, if youtubers gain or lose followers on their channels.
Exact subscriber numbers will no longer be displayed on YouTube
Currently the creators with more than 1,000 subscribers they see their follower count differently on YouTube desktop and mobile apps. In some cases this figure is abbreviated (for example 133K) while in others Google shows the exact numbers of subscribers (133,067, for example).
The Mountain View giant has stated that wants to be more consistent in the figures shown to the public about the number of followers of its content creators, so it will stop showing the exact numbers of subscribers starting this september.
This will show the abbreviated number of subscribers on each and every public YouTube platform for creators with more than 1,000 followers, and likewise, third parties using the video social network’s API services will also get this abbreviated figure. Of course: the creators themselves will be able to see the exact numbers of subscribers through
The war of youtubers that promoted the change
This may seem like a minor change, but for a culture that relies on counting exact subscriber numbersthis announcement is something crucial: the counter of followers returns a way to show who wins or loses in any of the multiple dramas that are lived day by day among youtubers.
Interestingly, the announcement that YouTube will stop displaying exact follower numbers for its content creators comes at a time when Social Blade screenshots have been used to mock some of the most prolific youtubersincluding, and of course, between Tati Westbrook and James Charles that we told you about a long time ago.
The entire world turned its attention to the number of followers of these makeup celebrities: the fight between James Charles and Tati Westbrook that even got worldwide coverage with a video of a real-time counter of the number of followers of both contenders.
Big congrats to who is now the Biggest Beauty channel on YouTube!
— KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR)
This intense focus on tracking the exact subscriber numbers of YouTube channels has fueled online bullyingbeing used to make fun of those who for any reason lose subscribers.
Social networks want to improve the environment on their platforms
While it is not clear if this was the main reason why the internet giant decided to impose an abbreviated number of total followers on the channels of its most popular creators, everything seems to indicate that this is one more move to create less hostile online communities.
In fact, YouTube is not the only social network that has thought about testing changes in its follower or interaction metric systems: it is considering the option of disable the number of likes displayed on postsan effort that hopes to “reduce pressure” among content creators on the Facebook photography social network.
It is even experimenting with reducing the impact of public features, such as the number of retweets, while on Reddit (something like Menéame, but globally) moderators have the option to hide the number of comments and votesto try to reduce the snowball effect in the initial voting of a publication.
Do you think this measure will stop harassment of content creators on YouTube?
Image:
Stay informed of the most relevant news on our news channel
Facebook Comments
Disqus