In a blog post from YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki addresses some of YouTube’s current problems. This includes its trending page not showing some of the most popular uploads.
The post doesn’t just cover the trending issue, however. Wojcicki also talks about the controversies YouTube has faced. That namely includes copyright claims removing ads from videos and comments being removed from family YouTubers.
Let’s look at each section in the blog and Wojcicki response to those issues:
Copyright claims on videos
A long on-going issue on YouTube, the platform’s copyright system has done a lot of harm to the YouTube community. YouTubers that receive unwarranted copyright claims lose their ad revenue and have to contact YouTube to get it remonetized. The big problem here is the majority of the revenue for a video comes in at the start of the video’s life. By the time it becomes remonetized, the viewership has dropped. For instance, YouTuber MrBeast has lost a ton of ad revenue on one of his videos because he played a brief clip of copyrighted music.
Also, more often than not, the system is abused. Many times copyright claims are sent out by YouTubers to try and take down a video they personally don’t like, specifically ones that critique a particular viewpoint.
Wojcicki said they are looking into the copyright issue and are taking ideas from creators. “We were already looking into this issue but hearing this directly from creators was vital,” Wojcicki wrote. “We are exploring improvements in striking the right balance between copyright owners and creators.”
Trending tab not representing YouTube’s creators
YouTube’s trending section is an important part of video discovery. However, creators have said for a while that the page doesn’t truly show the most popular videos from the YouTuber community. Instead of promoting creators, it often times shows movie trailers, sports highlights, music videos and late-night clips. Essentially, it promotes content from companies, not creators.
Wojcicki promises in her blog that YouTube’s future trending page will have at least half of their trending videos come from YouTubers. The other half will be dedicated to “music and traditional media.” It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean YouTube is going to promote the most popular videos. Rather, it’s a promise to have videos from YouTube creators. So PewDiePie fans, Trending still might pick up his videos.
Still, it’s good YouTube wants to promote more creators on the trending page. It addresses concerns that YouTube is prioritizing content from companies over their own creators.
Removed comments from videos featuring children
Wojcicki also addressed the company’s decision to block comments on videos featuring minors to protect them from predators on the site. The decision came earlier this year after major companies paused their advertisement spending when it was discovered comment sections on YouTube videos featuring children were being bombarded with sexual comments from predators. Creators have since complained about their comments being removed. However, Wojcicki wrote it is a decision she doesn’t regret.
“I hear from creators every day how meaningful comments are for engaging with fans, getting feedback, and helping guide future videos,” she wrote. She continued “that was a trade-off we made because we feel protecting children on our platform should be the most important guiding principle.”
Wojcicki talks about more issues facing YouTube in her blog. So, if you want to read it you can do so here. It seems like the blog is an attempt by YouTube to remind creators they are still on their side. YouTube makes some promises that should help its creator community. We just have to see what they come up with in the coming months.
Image courtesy Inc.com
