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I am actually a little shocked at YouTube's lack of foresight with this. How have they not learned by now how these things go?
Thread on verification, why this isn't a big deal, and why it will be treated like one b/c YouTube are bad communicators.
Thread on verification, why this isn't a big deal, and why it will be treated like one b/c YouTube are bad communicators.
YouTube verification has historically been a fairly trivial flag, about on par with those "verify your email" messages you get when you sign up for a forum or something: it's there to slow down automated account spam.
And for years everyone has been fine with that.
And for years everyone has been fine with that.
But Twitter, who ruin everything, created an ecosystem where Verified User became a coveted status, a symbol of import, relevance, endorsement, &c.
So now YouTube, who increasingly want to cater to mainstream celebrities, want a flag they can put on those celebrities' accounts to show that they're real, but the new language of social media is "verified" and YouTube's "verified" already means something a lot less important.
So YouTube is like "well, we're just going to shake the dust off this old thing that no one really cares about anyway"
Which, fair.
But.
People really, really, reeeeeeeealllllllllly hate it when you take things away from them. Even trivial things.
Which, fair.
But.
People really, really, reeeeeeeealllllllllly hate it when you take things away from them. Even trivial things.
So with absolutely zero warning YouTube fireblasted a few hundred thousand creators with medium-to-large social platforms and told them "sorry, you're not important enough to be verified anymore"
I mean, the double sting is that the whole message is explicitly paired with an elevated status. They're changing the flare in a way that's not just confirmation of authenticity, but clearly intended to draw attention in the sidebar and help drive traffic.
My rational mind is fine, I don't even care. Hell, tons of really popular channels never bothered to get verified.
And yet deep in my lizard brain I feel robbed.
I want it.
Give me back my check mark you cowards!
And yet deep in my lizard brain I feel robbed.
I want it.
Give me back my check mark you cowards!
Verification continues to have zero impact on any other system and won't impact monetization or access to other account features like streaming, superchat, merchandising, or memberships.
It is a purely social signifier.
Which makes it the most valuable of all.
Which makes it the most valuable of all.
