Why LIKE YouTube Videos?

Why you should remember to LIKE YouTube videos - a personal view

I thought I'd add this page on behalf of my fellow YouTubers in an effort to encourage folks to "Like" videos they watch.

Don't worry, I'm not complaining and I'm certainly not insisting anyone likes my videos, especially if they don't. I'm simply asking folks to think a little about the average YouTuber.

Sure, we've all heard the stories of guys making millions of dollars and no doubt a lot of people actually create their channels with that in mind. Some of us, however, are realistic enough to know that what we share is probably highly unlikely to ever become viral. So if we know this, if we know we're not going to make mega bucks, etc, why do we do it?

The answer is simple... we do it because we enjoy it (for why I make videos, click here).

I'm sure most YouTubers, like me, enjoy sharing our ideas, our projects, our adventures etc. I'm sure most, like me, hope to entertain, to engage, to inspire our viewers. And we know, even though we may put hundreds of hours into our videos and websites, that we're not going to get anything out of it... but we do get a little kick out of being thanked...

Comments

For me the holy grail of gratitude is comments. I find it very rewarding when someone goes out of their way to say, "Thanks for that. It helped a lot." And funnily enough I don't even mind negative comments as long as they're intelligently negative. "That was shite," tells me nothing whereas, "I've been a professional XXX for 20 years and I can tell you for a fact that..." gives me a genuine idea of where I've gone wrong.

Likes

Likes are the next big reward. It's a quiet nod of approval, an appreciative gesture and a well received, "Thanks for this," that makes the process of making videos worthwhile.

If you like an authors videos there's a strong chance you'll want to see more. By subscribing YouTube will keep you informed of any new stuff the author produces. As an author myself, it's great to see people subscribe. It reassures me I'm not just talking to myself.

Dislikes

I have to say I'm not a fan of dislikes. I have and do dislike fellow YouTubers videos, but personally I only dislike if I feel the content does not match up to the promise of the description, or if the content is blatantly wrong. And in such cases I always leave a comment saying exactly why I believe this to be the case. By doing this I hope to steer the YouTuber in his or her efforts to make ever better videos.

I actually think that making dislikes is much too easy in truth. YouTubers generally aren't paid for their contributions so to dismissively attack their efforts with a cowardly and anonymous dislike for me seems wrong. I really believe if there's actually going to be any worth to a dislike, then it should be justified by reasons.

I'm not saying I don't get dislikes and I'm not saying people shouldn't dislike my videos. I'm just saying if they do dislike them but don't tell me why, then I have learned nothing and they've missed an opportunity to encourage me to rectify whatever fault it is they see in what I do.

Conclusion

So before this becomes too much of a whinge, something I was actually trying to avoid, I'll just sum up with this:

Encourage the creators of YouTube videos you watch and enjoy with subscriptions, comments or likes. If it's not your sort of thing but it's not necessarily incorrect or 'wrong' then simply seek entertainment elsewhere. And if a video gets your goat, then by all means dislike it, but do the author a favour and tell them why - you both might benefit from it.

After Thought... Why Do I Make Videos And Run This Website?

I can remember my son asking me that question once as he passed behind me as I was celebrating having 18 subscribers. Back then my videos only covered the topic of Veg Oil motoring and I said with all sincerity (and sorry if it sounds a bit corny):

"If my videos can help just one person, then they were worth doing."

It does sound corny doesn't it, but I meant it then and still do. My videos may seem quite random and without common ground and that's because they are. I always maintain I'm no expert, but if there's something I enjoy, something I find interesting, something that I think someone else out there may similarly enjoy or find helpful, then I'll make a video.