Here's a very common tactic for faking success on YouTube and how to spot it:

TechAltar

Open any of the videos like I did with the most recent 2 and you'll find ~40 likes and 0-5 comments on each, some of which are clearly spam, too.

For context, I've also attached how many comments/likes one gets on a normal video.

High views with no engagement means they got views by either using bots, or even more pathetically, by paying to play them as ads. Playing as an ad counts as a view even if everyone skips after 5 secs abd the video gets no engagement.

(2/4)

TechAltar

Either way it means nobody is watching it and the numbers are 99% fake.

Why would they go through the trouble? My guess is that it's deceit.

I see many old tech youtubers whose channels have declined in popularity using this tactic. They juice their numbers to pretend to still be popular. Then they make sponsorship deals with companies who think thye are paying for real views. They only find out after that the spot didn't convert. Oops!

With Jason I guess he just wants to be popular.

(3/4)

TechAltar

Either way, my rule of thumb is that for every 1000 views, a video should have *at least*:
~ 1 comment
~ 10 likes

OR if it has significantly less, it should be something a company clearly uses as an ad.

Anything else immediately makes me suspicious of something shady going on.

(4/4)

matix1000000

@Techaltar do you have some examples of such tech YouTubers? I'm really curious about your opinion. If you don't want to out them in public maybe you could send me a DM?

TechAltar

@matix1000000 I'd rather not accuse anyone in particular of basically fraud, but you can look through some of the older channels and find some patterns yourself

John

@Techaltar I didn't know "pay to play as an ad" was a thing.

Twitter_expat ✅(Fedi Resident)

@Techaltar
This guy motivations are that he wants a higher “impact” position. To be viewed as a “tech expert”. The same thing Musk did years ago and fooled millions. Why? Well it’s obvious why.
All social media nowadays are set for deceit, for scam, for manipulation. Social media is not an anymore a way to connect.

Chirayu :verified: :twit:

@Techaltar I watch TWiST religiously and have watched it for years.

The channel has a great catalogue of content going back years.

You are correct the numbers do feel inflated (and that too by a lot) but the content is insightful and when I tune in live, I can see the engagement. Long-form podcasts can be boring for some.

I know YouTube numbers and metrics are gamified and tbf I have stopped noticing them.

TechAltar

@PonderosaJohn that's how all ads on YouTube work. You upload a video and then you pay to play it as an ad

TechAltar

@mountdiscovery I haven't listened so I can't comment on the quality, but my guess based on the engagement numbers is that you and maybe 3000 people listen on YouTube and they buy the rest of the 98% in fake traffic to make their numbers look good

TechAltar

@Twitter_expat I strongly disagree with social media only being for that. There are thousands of excellent, thoughtful creators making great things.

Chirayu :verified: :twit:

@Techaltar even I was shocked seeing that numbers

It's 2K to 5K max if we are being real considering the topic

They should be ashamed of doing this because they are belittling the true audience.

TechAltar

@mountdiscovery Btw pls dont' tell them I told you, I don't want an angry vengeful VC on my back unless I must have one

alihan_banan

@Techaltar russian speaking segment of internet(which includes Kazakhstan) has seen this many years ago. A blogger wylsacom that "leaked" M4 mbp14 recently is famous for doing this - dude has 10m of subs, but under 600k views and under a few thousands of comments because he has a lot of sponsorships from the retail companies. That's why many people here believe that he has shown fake m4 mbp just to attract attention to his dying media persona

TechAltar

@alihan_banan Ah, I guess that would not be completely surprising, haha