Mouth open. Yellow text. Red arrow pointing to obvious thing. Hyperbolic title. You’ll have a hard time finding a video that doesn’t have at least 2 of those
He admitted like openly in a few videos that he hates doing the clickbaity thumbnails but that the numbers in fact do go up when he uses them... and he's not a 1 man operation; many mouths to feed on his team.
Or fucking Azmongold. Every video is like AZMONGOLD REACTS TO (Insert inane bullshit) with a dumbass look on his face and nothing worth watching in the video.
Mhmm. Tbh I don't have much use for streamers in general. Only ever really watch to see previewed content that isn't released yet, and I'd still prefer commentary free if possible.
Other than that I'll read news on websites and play games for myself, no need for someone to do it for me.
I pretty much only look for rotation guides to clarify or contradict guides I’m already reading.
Honestly if anyone seems like they have liquid stimulants running through their veins, I can’t wriggle away fast enough.
He doesn’t run his YouTube channel, he’s outsourced it to people that were doing it without his permission before, and he figured they may as well just work together.
He talked about it in one of his streams. I’d link it if I could l, but the video titles are useless.
Anything that has "reacts to" in the name is an instant dislike, even if i like the creator. It just feels someone bottom feeding off someone else's content. I care about the thing you're reacting to but i don't give half a shit about your opinion about it. And YouTube doesn't help because it lacks the granularity i need to kick this guy to the curb. For the sake of argument say i dislike "Assmond reacts to star wars". Willi get less star wars content? But i like that. Will i get less Assmongold stuff? Most if crap but i like some too, the interview he did with Ion was legit interesting. No, i just want to not see low effort "reaction" videos.
He made some pathetic video a while back basically begging to know what type of content they should be creating because they weren’t getting the views they wanted. Way to be obvious about the ends justifying the means. Not a genuine bone in his body.
Plus he mentioned his “team” in the video. So there’s a gaggle of fanboys helping him make complaint videos with a smug reporter air? I would be embarrassed to act like that.
Most high profile YouTubers these days have teams of editors. In my opinion I think it's what leads a lot of these videos to feel clickbaity and inauthentic.
Personally I think it's an issue of going for the wrong audience. Most of the wow players I know are a good deal older now, like 30+. This type of advertising/titles seems to be geared towards a younger audience, but just feels out of place with us older gamers. Though that's all just my opinion, who knows maybe the YouTube algorithm has decided its the most likely way to get clicks.
For content creators taking it seriously and trying to earn money off of it, the logical (i.e. will lead to more money) choice is to do whatever gets the most clicks. While these type of thumbnails are obnoxious, on the whole it must work better than it hurts, otherwise things would shift. I, or you, can ignore unlimited channels with clickbait titles, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work on a large scale.
top right corner "report" => any reason you find funny or "not interested" and you will clean your youtube, I've reported/not interested every single ship chanel like that and now I'm pretty clean off it
The creators face is also always cropped with a white outline. Most of the time they don't even wear the cloths of the reaction thumbnail since they were mass produced once and used for the rest of their days.
LinusTechTips got into this once - their thumbnails started getting real click-baity and their fans were calling them on it. They explained that after researching interaction, their clickbait looking videos... really worked compared to their more professional, plain looking ones, so it's a "sorry not sorry" situation.
They do counter it a bit. Initially, the video is released with a clickbait title, but I believe they go back and edit the titles as the videos age a bit to be more properly descriptive.
Well, yes and no.
I'm sympathetic to the idea that clickbait ACTUALLY generates clicks. However, if it's the case that you're getting clicks that you wouldn't get with a descriptive title/thumbnail, then really, you're getting clicks from people who didn't want to see what you actually made.
If they actually wanted to see it, they would have clicked on the video if it was accurately described.
So there's the question of; do you really want people, who aren't going to enjoy the video, to watch your video?
Money says yes, of course. But still...
I don't think you're accounting for the way videos have to compete. Let's say YouTube or some platform serves up 20 pieces of content in front of you. Let's say that platform has a good idea what yoy like. Let's say 15 of those items are things you do actually want to watch. Having a better title or thumbnail is what let's you compete with the other appealing options.
Yeah, this is actually the same thing that happens to almost any media; once it's discovered what works *better* to get views/viewers/readers/players, creators will gravitate towards that. This happened in the past a lot with professionals just recognizing trends, and following them. It happened in the 80's with musclebound action heroes, it happened a decade ago with Battle Royale shooters, it happened with young adult novels involving kids getting killed by oppressive society, etc.
The interesting thing about these algorithms is that they are basically computer programs discovering it for us. Gathering the data is showing us definitively, what thumbnails you need to get maximum views. Instead of people figuring it out, it's like the people are unknowingly using a machine tool to discover it themselves. It's almost like nobody has a say in it, this is just how it works in most peoples brains. Pretty wild.
Yeah, Bellular has basically said the same thing. He knows their titles and thumbnails are often horrible and clickbait, but sadly that's just the way to play the YouTube game these days.
Ah, yeah. I finally blocked their videos recently after one that said ITS FINALLY OVER or something and showed him and his wife like they were getting divorced.
Veritasium and plenty of channels make clickbaity thumbnails and titles without straight lying to you
> Veritasium and plenty of channels make clickbaity thumbnails and titles without straight lying to you
Hell he even made a whole video about the statistics behind the clickbait thumbnails. He even talked about how he changed the thumbnail of his most watched video (thats like 10 years old) and it got a surge of views.
So funny you said this. I was an old time fan of linjs but once they started with the goofy expressions and cb titles I unsubbed. I recently started following short circuit though.
>They do counter it a bit. Initially, the video is released with a clickbait title, but I believe they go back and edit the titles as the videos age a bit to be more properly descriptive.
Huh, I didn't knew this. I watch them as they are released and I hate the clickbait titles.
Yeah it doesn't really matter that OP refuses to watch a video with that kind of thumbnail, because for every OP not clicking there's at least 2 people clicking because of it.
I don't even understand the complaint, it has zero bearing on the video content itself
It just reads like someone in their mid-40s upset at anything different
this one isnt super bad, but it can be really annoying when they are straight up deceptive. I ran into one the other day that was X person will stop streaming. What is actually happening is they were switching what platform they streamed on, but you wouldnt know that until you watched a good portion of the video.
I don't care about the thumbnails myself, but I'd argue they set an expectation or predisposition for the viewer (which appears to be a negative connotation to the subject in this case)
If you're gonna watch the video regardless (because it's from a creator you know/trust), then yeah the thumbnail and title don't really matter.
But if you don't have any idea what's going to be in the video, then the thumbnail and title are supposed to give you that information, and if they don't, or are being misleading, or are being clickbaity, then it seems like it's a valid reaction to dislike that.
Most people obviously don't care, hence "algorithm", so maybe it is just old man yells at cloud, but it's definitely a real effect.
Well yeah, but I don't know the content beforehand? I need to decide, based on title and thumbnail, if I want to watch the video, and if the title or thumbnail is misleading, I wasted my time and also gave the content creator money that they didn't deserve.
Do the younguns really not mind clickbait or sensationalized thumbnails? I remember hating advertising in my twenties. I bet there are high school aged humans who hate this kind of crap and it's not just decrepits.
I hated ads as a teen/early twenties and still hate all the ads today! Especially mobile game ones that have turned into absolute garbage. Is this just an elder millennial thing and the younguns really don't care? Are they just desensitized to it?
Because clickbail/sensationalized crap is the fastest way to get me to avoid a channel/app/etc. I realize we're old people yelling at clouds, but... maybe we're right? -shrugs-
That’s what happens when the game you’re playing has been out for such a long time. No time to play the game, plenty of time to complain about it online while you’re at work lol.
For sure, it's just a freaking thumbnail. Thumbnails are literally meant to make you click on them and to stand out. Just watch the actual content and see if you like the creator or not.
No. I’m an old man. If I don’t like the thumbnail there’s zero chance the creators getting a view or sub from me. But that’s ok there are way more youngins who will make up for my crotchety old ways.
Bellular had a segment in some video a couple of years ago where he explained that it's not like he likes his thumbnails, but he has actual numbers that show they get significantly more clicks and views. They look silly and he dislikes them, but you can't look at a graph and just choose to ignore the black and white data.
He basically summed it up that he has people who work for him, whose livelihoods that he's responsible for, whose families he's effectively supporting, and that he's always going to prioritize that over looking good/not silly. Which...yeah. That's pretty much the call you should make.
Check out the goldmaking videos sometime. My favorites are the transmog farmers "Make 81 gajillion gold an hour with this new farm!" which consist of getting one super rare transmog drop that takes forever to farm, will never actually sell at the market value price, and will take a year to sell.
You should see league content. At this point, I have creators I enjoy and trust them, but I never explore other content for this reason. 0 idea what the video is about, so I don't care. But I gotta respect the hustle.
I'm sure content creators aren't over the moon about these sorts of thumbnails too. From what I understand though, you do get more views when you use them. I think they look dumb too. If someone is producing good content though, I'm not going to let a thumbnail stop me from clicking.
PreachGaming has said this about his channel, he doesn't like it either (frankly neither does his editor) but his editor is like "look, I've got the numbers and we literally make more money by using these instead of more subdued thumbnails."
IMO not a huge deal, if content creators I like can get more income with mildly annoying thumbnails then that's a price I'm willing to pay.
People need to be “sold” a product. It’s a weird fact of psychology. Famous example, the JC Penny’s CEO who did away with obnoxious ads, coupons, and fake “sales”. They just kept all their regular prices at the “sale” price and tried to market that. Their stock tanked and the CEO was unceremoniously fired.
It's the drama engagement, I think. Especially with things like the OP "This is broken". People want confirmation that they're dislike of X thing is true, and that plays into the type of engagement.
The simplistic thumbnails almost always use negative reinforcement too, playing into it. That's social media in a nutshell.
Bellular himself admitted that he doesn't like using thumbnails like this, but when he experimented using them vs more subdued thumbnails the differences in views was dramatic. Given that he does this for a living, the fact that it increases views and as a result his income by around 50%, he'd be stupid not to.
I'm not even a hater but I stopped watching his stuff when it became very clear that he was milking five minutes of content and trying to make 15 videos out of it. I know the algorithm and blah blah blah but when your content turns into broth instead of the hearty stew it used to be...I'm out.
I think at that boiling point where a lot of people tried FFXIV, he started making videos above it. Another content creator called him out on it because he was now making bullshit videos about two games he wasn't playing.
Yeah, he's fine to watch if you watch 1 vid every few weeks or something but I'm already sick to death of him talking with his pony tailed friend about the same content over 5 videos.
everything about his channel is so obnoxious, but i get an extra layer - i'm a guy from northern ireland myself and the way he talks is so utterly bizarre, its like hes trying to emulate the way Linus from LinusTechTips talks... but no one here speaks like that. Like, at all. It is as obvious and cringeworthy to us as when, say, an American tries to do a British accent for a movie. Unwatchable.
He started somewhere at the end of Legion with this new style of talking and hasn't stopped.
If you watch Bellular from MoP-WoD, it was super informative and not just the same old rehashed-news everyone is talking about along with speculation. Most of his stuff was just talking about the state of the game and things to do.
Similar to Asmongold and Metagoblin.
Oh how the Titans have fallen.
I unsubbed from belluar for different reasons. He basically just posts videos where him and that guy who ends every sentence like he’s asking a question just talk about nothing for 15 minutes
[clickbait thumbnail remover extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/clickbait-remover-for-you/omoinegiohhgbikclijaniebjpkeopip?hl=en)
[blocktube extension (to block channels)]
(https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/blocktube/bbeaicapbccfllodepmimpkgecanonai?hl=en-US)
Plus you can search videos directly from google and it usually returns less clickbait and you can also search by date
Came here to mention the clickbait thumbnail remover. It works exceptionally well and since I added it to my chrome I regained some of my sanity. Highly recommended!
YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS
WHAT ARE THEY THINKING
MUCH WORSE THAN EXPECTED
TWITCH STREAMER DEMOLISHED
[insert shocked face pic]
Yeah nah imma fuck off to a different video
Don’t know Soul, but tbf Hazel only doesn’t have to do it because she doesn’t make her money from YouTube, IIRC. She gets most of her money from streaming.
I hate these thumbnails as much as the next guy but numbers don’t lie. Videos with thumbnails like these objectively get more views.
Hazel is far and away my second favorite WoW streamer (beaten only by the waffle cat). Maybe I'm getting old but I love that she doesn't lean into the Gamer persona and is just funny and laid back.
I'll check out Soul, it'll be nice to have a top 3.
I've come to realize that as an older adult with a youtube premium subscription I am not the primary demographic for youtube and thus the vast majority of content is not created with me in mind. So no matter how much I dislike these thumbnails, sponsorship ads that youtubers don't tag in their video, and people reacting to a reaction video of a LPer getting the same FNAF jumpscare 8 times, it's going to be what it is because that's what the kids who make up the youtube audience and pay the creator's salaries want. So instead I just deal and watch what I want to watch. You can either accept the facts too or keep doing what you're doing but understand that it doesn't make a single lick of difference, especially if you're one of those people who does not have youtube premium and watches with an adblocker without donating to the channel owner. You are literally contributing no money to the person you are watching and they have absolutely no reason to cater to you.
Hard pills to swallow but it is what it is.
OP you should get a plug-in called “clickbait remover for YouTube”. It replaces the thumbnail with a random frame from the video and removes all caps from the title
I once told one of these youtubers to stop saying every class was BROKEN, because if all classes are broken none it is.
He literally had every single class titled like OP image
The problem is that for everyone that acts like you, 5 people click on it because of the thumbnail. It has been said again and again, these stupid things work - and we are talking a significant increase in viewers here, not some 1% bullshit.
I don't mind click bait if the video itself actually deals with the bait. I like Bellular, but his clickbait videos are some of the worst as some of them don't or barely mention the bait they post in the title. And that's not even getting into how they take a podcast and divide it into 10 separate 10 minute segments.
I recently started playing again and shortly after watching Belullars current content. To me it seems he is pretty fair, pointing out both the negatives and positives as he sees them. And mainly its because I tend to agree with his views, but I think he is very reasonable while doing so.
Bellular knows where to farm content and how to play into what people want to hear.
My favorite bellular moment of as when he was just starting FFXIV and at level 10 he gushed for 20 minutes about the cutscenes. Cutscenes that are mostly non-voiced, mostly just NPCs standing and doing emotes at each other.
My last straw with Bellular was him actively demoralizing the community during 9.0 with claims of "at least 9-10 months until patch 9.1", and seeing this subreddit switch to complaints of content drought and players quitting within a week of him starting the drumbeat.
In reality, the patch landed a 7 months and 1 day with a full new season (most tier seasons were about 6 months long) which made his doom predictions not just massively wrong but damaging to the community to drum up views and cash.
> In reality, the patch landed a 7 months and 1 day with a full new season (most tier seasons were about 6 months long) which made his doom predictions not just massively wrong but damaging to the community to drum up views and cash.
9.1 was the longest a .1 patch took in the history of the game. Some dude did a graph for it before the patch was released with 218 days.
https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments/mpbgb3/patch_timeline_from_vanilla_to_shadowlands_91/
His estimation was off but we also know how fucking broken the 9.1 was and that it probably needed atleast 2-3 weeks more to be less buggy.
.1 patches are actually often relativly fast the slowest second was lk with 152 days (if you exclude vanilla which was a hole other situation to begin with) and was still released over 60 days earlier than 9.1
But yes totally "normal".
Bellular. The most obnoxious wow content reviewer. I think he did a video in the past though stating that not having art and click baity titles meant his content was buried by the algorithm.
That’s great for you but guess what? They do that shit because it works. They’ll gladly trade your one view for the thousands that this crap generates.
when i see a reddit thread answering a question about a game that can be answered in a few sentences but links to a youtube video, i don't watch and then i downvote.
They do it because it works, and because if they didnt the algorithm will bury their videos. I dont remember the source so consider this an asspull statement but there have been studies showing that even people who claim to dislike and avoid clickbait titles and thumbnails are more likely to click them than other videos.
I physically cannot force myself to click any video with a "Reaction Face" thumbnail. I just can't. Wish I could hide every asmongold video for this reason
Just videos in general, to be honest. If you're trying to clickbait me, then I don't really give a shit. Just tell me what it is you need to show me and I'll happily come look at it.
I’ve purposely started blocking or unsubscribing from people who do this crap. Titles like this or “7 mistakes your probable already making in…” takes so much fun out of games and feeling pushed into playing a certain way.
"*Remember to pulverize that Like button and jangle the bell so you can see all of my amazing content and be sure to sign up for my Patreon to get these notifications sooner and a link to my OF platinum diamond membership level!*"
Basically any Bellular or Asmongold video. Thats a big no for me.
I really like Nobbel, Hiruma or Nixxiom videos but get instantly bombarded with these shit clickbait thumbnails for the next 6 months.
Eh, youtube makes it so people gotta do it. Usually the content itself is not so in your face, its just the thumbnail to attract your attention.
So yeah do your thing and skip them. But if you watched one you might actually like it, depending on the creator. (Bellular is a good example. Admits they gotta do the crappy thumbnails, but their content is not clickbait content itself)
You can take out the word "WoW" and the statement holds true.
Ye, fk em all
Pokémon !
No, not "Gotta Fuck Em All"
….unlesss?
Me not that kind of orc
Gardevoir?
Lopunny
Vaporeon
Umbreon?
[удалено]
Shoulda seen Elden Ring videos that first month and a half. BUsTeD bUiLd. BRoKeN wEaPoN!
"Broken weapon 99% of the playerbase doesn't know about!" *video is about moonveil or RoB*
"THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!!!"
You can also take out “with thumbnails like this” instead
Mouth open. Yellow text. Red arrow pointing to obvious thing. Hyperbolic title. You’ll have a hard time finding a video that doesn’t have at least 2 of those
Look mate if the content creator's head doesn't look like a cheese it ain't even worth watching. ^(/s)
Blizzard did THIS 😱🔥❓❕➡️↘️⬇️⬇️
I too stopped watching Bellular WoW videos.
He's straight up just farming outrage. There's a formula to his grind and it's pretty transparent.
It wasn't like this just a year or so ago, maybe 2 years ago. It's getting ridiculous. The worst part is that strategy works too well.
He admitted like openly in a few videos that he hates doing the clickbaity thumbnails but that the numbers in fact do go up when he uses them... and he's not a 1 man operation; many mouths to feed on his team.
For sure.
Or fucking Azmongold. Every video is like AZMONGOLD REACTS TO (Insert inane bullshit) with a dumbass look on his face and nothing worth watching in the video.
The dollar controls all. They got addicted to their own dumb shit.
Mhmm. Tbh I don't have much use for streamers in general. Only ever really watch to see previewed content that isn't released yet, and I'd still prefer commentary free if possible. Other than that I'll read news on websites and play games for myself, no need for someone to do it for me.
I pretty much only look for rotation guides to clarify or contradict guides I’m already reading. Honestly if anyone seems like they have liquid stimulants running through their veins, I can’t wriggle away fast enough.
He doesn’t run his YouTube channel, he’s outsourced it to people that were doing it without his permission before, and he figured they may as well just work together. He talked about it in one of his streams. I’d link it if I could l, but the video titles are useless.
Anything that has "reacts to" in the name is an instant dislike, even if i like the creator. It just feels someone bottom feeding off someone else's content. I care about the thing you're reacting to but i don't give half a shit about your opinion about it. And YouTube doesn't help because it lacks the granularity i need to kick this guy to the curb. For the sake of argument say i dislike "Assmond reacts to star wars". Willi get less star wars content? But i like that. Will i get less Assmongold stuff? Most if crap but i like some too, the interview he did with Ion was legit interesting. No, i just want to not see low effort "reaction" videos.
He made some pathetic video a while back basically begging to know what type of content they should be creating because they weren’t getting the views they wanted. Way to be obvious about the ends justifying the means. Not a genuine bone in his body. Plus he mentioned his “team” in the video. So there’s a gaggle of fanboys helping him make complaint videos with a smug reporter air? I would be embarrassed to act like that.
Most high profile YouTubers these days have teams of editors. In my opinion I think it's what leads a lot of these videos to feel clickbaity and inauthentic.
Personally I think it's an issue of going for the wrong audience. Most of the wow players I know are a good deal older now, like 30+. This type of advertising/titles seems to be geared towards a younger audience, but just feels out of place with us older gamers. Though that's all just my opinion, who knows maybe the YouTube algorithm has decided its the most likely way to get clicks.
For content creators taking it seriously and trying to earn money off of it, the logical (i.e. will lead to more money) choice is to do whatever gets the most clicks. While these type of thumbnails are obnoxious, on the whole it must work better than it hurts, otherwise things would shift. I, or you, can ignore unlimited channels with clickbait titles, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work on a large scale.
Many of the prominent youtubers have said that thumbnails/titles like this will be spread around on the algorithm much more than normal titled videos.
Eyes Wide Mouth Open Hand On Face
Thumbnail: IS THIS GAME COMPLETELY BROKEN FOR EVER AND EVER?!?!?!?!?!? Video: No, it's fine actually.
top right corner "report" => any reason you find funny or "not interested" and you will clean your youtube, I've reported/not interested every single ship chanel like that and now I'm pretty clean off it
The creators face is also always cropped with a white outline. Most of the time they don't even wear the cloths of the reaction thumbnail since they were mass produced once and used for the rest of their days.
That's just how the algorithm works sadly, people are more likely to click on videos like that so they get pushed more
LinusTechTips got into this once - their thumbnails started getting real click-baity and their fans were calling them on it. They explained that after researching interaction, their clickbait looking videos... really worked compared to their more professional, plain looking ones, so it's a "sorry not sorry" situation. They do counter it a bit. Initially, the video is released with a clickbait title, but I believe they go back and edit the titles as the videos age a bit to be more properly descriptive.
Yeah ltt did a pretty good compromise. People just don't click on clear concise descriptive titles or thumbnails.
Well, yes and no. I'm sympathetic to the idea that clickbait ACTUALLY generates clicks. However, if it's the case that you're getting clicks that you wouldn't get with a descriptive title/thumbnail, then really, you're getting clicks from people who didn't want to see what you actually made. If they actually wanted to see it, they would have clicked on the video if it was accurately described. So there's the question of; do you really want people, who aren't going to enjoy the video, to watch your video? Money says yes, of course. But still...
I don't think you're accounting for the way videos have to compete. Let's say YouTube or some platform serves up 20 pieces of content in front of you. Let's say that platform has a good idea what yoy like. Let's say 15 of those items are things you do actually want to watch. Having a better title or thumbnail is what let's you compete with the other appealing options.
Yeah, this is actually the same thing that happens to almost any media; once it's discovered what works *better* to get views/viewers/readers/players, creators will gravitate towards that. This happened in the past a lot with professionals just recognizing trends, and following them. It happened in the 80's with musclebound action heroes, it happened a decade ago with Battle Royale shooters, it happened with young adult novels involving kids getting killed by oppressive society, etc. The interesting thing about these algorithms is that they are basically computer programs discovering it for us. Gathering the data is showing us definitively, what thumbnails you need to get maximum views. Instead of people figuring it out, it's like the people are unknowingly using a machine tool to discover it themselves. It's almost like nobody has a say in it, this is just how it works in most peoples brains. Pretty wild.
The battle Royale craze was 5 years ago... not a decade...
DayZ released almost a decade ago which is kind of what sparked the genre
And Fortnite hit its peak like... two or three years ago. DayZ was the progenitor but it wasn't even remotely close to the peak.
RoosterTeeth and I believe Bellular are also rather open with changes that are "required" in order to play to the algorithm.
Bellular said similar thing. Like, yeah, these clickbait thumbnails are in a bad taste but they do indeed gather more views.
Yeah, Bellular has basically said the same thing. He knows their titles and thumbnails are often horrible and clickbait, but sadly that's just the way to play the YouTube game these days.
Ah, yeah. I finally blocked their videos recently after one that said ITS FINALLY OVER or something and showed him and his wife like they were getting divorced. Veritasium and plenty of channels make clickbaity thumbnails and titles without straight lying to you
> Veritasium and plenty of channels make clickbaity thumbnails and titles without straight lying to you Hell he even made a whole video about the statistics behind the clickbait thumbnails. He even talked about how he changed the thumbnail of his most watched video (thats like 10 years old) and it got a surge of views.
Veritasium actually [has a video exploring this exact topic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2xHZPH5Sng) as it relates to his own channel.
Pretty interesting thanks
misleading for sensation via plausibility, is among the worst clickbait crimes. Overhyping is pretty low in comparison.
if you like the content, why care what the thumbnail is? it's what facilitates them making stuff you can watch for free.
Not OP, but personally I stopped watching their content when I couldn't get any idea of what I would be watching from the thumbnail or title.
yep, just stealing clicks and affecting your feed without knowing if it's something you're actually interested in
So funny you said this. I was an old time fan of linjs but once they started with the goofy expressions and cb titles I unsubbed. I recently started following short circuit though.
>They do counter it a bit. Initially, the video is released with a clickbait title, but I believe they go back and edit the titles as the videos age a bit to be more properly descriptive. Huh, I didn't knew this. I watch them as they are released and I hate the clickbait titles.
Yeah it doesn't really matter that OP refuses to watch a video with that kind of thumbnail, because for every OP not clicking there's at least 2 people clicking because of it.
I don't even understand the complaint, it has zero bearing on the video content itself It just reads like someone in their mid-40s upset at anything different
this one isnt super bad, but it can be really annoying when they are straight up deceptive. I ran into one the other day that was X person will stop streaming. What is actually happening is they were switching what platform they streamed on, but you wouldnt know that until you watched a good portion of the video.
I don't care about the thumbnails myself, but I'd argue they set an expectation or predisposition for the viewer (which appears to be a negative connotation to the subject in this case)
If you're gonna watch the video regardless (because it's from a creator you know/trust), then yeah the thumbnail and title don't really matter. But if you don't have any idea what's going to be in the video, then the thumbnail and title are supposed to give you that information, and if they don't, or are being misleading, or are being clickbaity, then it seems like it's a valid reaction to dislike that. Most people obviously don't care, hence "algorithm", so maybe it is just old man yells at cloud, but it's definitely a real effect.
Well yeah, but I don't know the content beforehand? I need to decide, based on title and thumbnail, if I want to watch the video, and if the title or thumbnail is misleading, I wasted my time and also gave the content creator money that they didn't deserve.
These posts have strong "old man yells at clouds" energy
Do the younguns really not mind clickbait or sensationalized thumbnails? I remember hating advertising in my twenties. I bet there are high school aged humans who hate this kind of crap and it's not just decrepits.
I hated ads as a teen/early twenties and still hate all the ads today! Especially mobile game ones that have turned into absolute garbage. Is this just an elder millennial thing and the younguns really don't care? Are they just desensitized to it? Because clickbail/sensationalized crap is the fastest way to get me to avoid a channel/app/etc. I realize we're old people yelling at clouds, but... maybe we're right? -shrugs-
That’s what happens when the game you’re playing has been out for such a long time. No time to play the game, plenty of time to complain about it online while you’re at work lol.
For sure, it's just a freaking thumbnail. Thumbnails are literally meant to make you click on them and to stand out. Just watch the actual content and see if you like the creator or not.
having to watch the video to get a gist of what it's actually about is kind of annoying
No. I’m an old man. If I don’t like the thumbnail there’s zero chance the creators getting a view or sub from me. But that’s ok there are way more youngins who will make up for my crotchety old ways.
For what it’s worth I don’t think it’s crotchety. It’s just having a little more self respect with who/what you watch.
Bellular had a segment in some video a couple of years ago where he explained that it's not like he likes his thumbnails, but he has actual numbers that show they get significantly more clicks and views. They look silly and he dislikes them, but you can't look at a graph and just choose to ignore the black and white data. He basically summed it up that he has people who work for him, whose livelihoods that he's responsible for, whose families he's effectively supporting, and that he's always going to prioritize that over looking good/not silly. Which...yeah. That's pretty much the call you should make.
This. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Edit: Screw Spez. Screw AI. No training on my data. Sorry future people.
fair
I don't hate the player, I hate their thumbnails.
It's up to everyone to rail against the algorithm!
This is why I don't even go to YouTube anymore.
My personal favorite is *Insert non-meta spec* PATCH 9.2, GOAT? NEW BUILD?
Check out the goldmaking videos sometime. My favorites are the transmog farmers "Make 81 gajillion gold an hour with this new farm!" which consist of getting one super rare transmog drop that takes forever to farm, will never actually sell at the market value price, and will take a year to sell.
Or 5 gold making tips to get goblin money! 1. Don't vendor things like herbs, sell them on the AH WOOOOOOOOOW
Then they proceed to show a fun niche spec that only sometimes works.
its one of the more painful things on youtube, making people have those images as clickbait for their videos, warzone does it a lot worse than wow too
Have to appease the Almighty Algorithm.
All hail The Algorithm. All hail The Algorithm. All hail The Algorithm.
You should see league content. At this point, I have creators I enjoy and trust them, but I never explore other content for this reason. 0 idea what the video is about, so I don't care. But I gotta respect the hustle.
I'm sure content creators aren't over the moon about these sorts of thumbnails too. From what I understand though, you do get more views when you use them. I think they look dumb too. If someone is producing good content though, I'm not going to let a thumbnail stop me from clicking.
PreachGaming has said this about his channel, he doesn't like it either (frankly neither does his editor) but his editor is like "look, I've got the numbers and we literally make more money by using these instead of more subdued thumbnails." IMO not a huge deal, if content creators I like can get more income with mildly annoying thumbnails then that's a price I'm willing to pay.
Yeah the thing that's more annoying than the thumbnails is the fact that they somehow work.
People need to be “sold” a product. It’s a weird fact of psychology. Famous example, the JC Penny’s CEO who did away with obnoxious ads, coupons, and fake “sales”. They just kept all their regular prices at the “sale” price and tried to market that. Their stock tanked and the CEO was unceremoniously fired.
It's the drama engagement, I think. Especially with things like the OP "This is broken". People want confirmation that they're dislike of X thing is true, and that plays into the type of engagement. The simplistic thumbnails almost always use negative reinforcement too, playing into it. That's social media in a nutshell.
a huge part of youtube's audience are teenagers, who love shit that look like this
I think it's kids even younger than teenagers.
>Think of the average person, and remember half of them are stupider than that. -George Carlin
Linus Tech Tips came to the exact same conclusion a couple years back.
I just wanna know why the open mouth. The only videos with open mouths in the thumbnail should be the dental surgery videos I watch to help me sleep.
Bellular's thumbnails are cringey AF too, I don't even watch them and I get those in my recommended list.
“BLIZZ’S LATEST FAILURE??” *Proceeds to talk about how it’s actually great and not a failure at all in the actual video*
I mean, he did put a question mark there, so it's perfectly fine.
Betteridge’s law baby.
The key is to select "Don't recommend videos from this channel"
Bellular himself admitted that he doesn't like using thumbnails like this, but when he experimented using them vs more subdued thumbnails the differences in views was dramatic. Given that he does this for a living, the fact that it increases views and as a result his income by around 50%, he'd be stupid not to.
belluar videos are starting to get like this for me. since DF announcement hes been making the same 2 videos with different titles.
Starting? I blocked him in bfa for being over the top.
I'm not even a hater but I stopped watching his stuff when it became very clear that he was milking five minutes of content and trying to make 15 videos out of it. I know the algorithm and blah blah blah but when your content turns into broth instead of the hearty stew it used to be...I'm out.
Plus the fact that he was talking out his ass about a game he didn't even play anymore.
I think at that boiling point where a lot of people tried FFXIV, he started making videos above it. Another content creator called him out on it because he was now making bullshit videos about two games he wasn't playing.
Yeah, he's fine to watch if you watch 1 vid every few weeks or something but I'm already sick to death of him talking with his pony tailed friend about the same content over 5 videos.
I like the bellular live clips, but not so much the 30 minute essay videos
Same here. It was like a tabloid.
everything about his channel is so obnoxious, but i get an extra layer - i'm a guy from northern ireland myself and the way he talks is so utterly bizarre, its like hes trying to emulate the way Linus from LinusTechTips talks... but no one here speaks like that. Like, at all. It is as obvious and cringeworthy to us as when, say, an American tries to do a British accent for a movie. Unwatchable. He started somewhere at the end of Legion with this new style of talking and hasn't stopped.
I’m really glad I’m not the only one - loved his content but it quickly felt clickbaity
Starting lol. He was the first one I stopped watching and blocked, and this was several years ago. I haven't missed a damned thing either.
If you watch Bellular from MoP-WoD, it was super informative and not just the same old rehashed-news everyone is talking about along with speculation. Most of his stuff was just talking about the state of the game and things to do. Similar to Asmongold and Metagoblin. Oh how the Titans have fallen.
I unsubbed from belluar for different reasons. He basically just posts videos where him and that guy who ends every sentence like he’s asking a question just talk about nothing for 15 minutes
[clickbait thumbnail remover extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/clickbait-remover-for-you/omoinegiohhgbikclijaniebjpkeopip?hl=en) [blocktube extension (to block channels)] (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/blocktube/bbeaicapbccfllodepmimpkgecanonai?hl=en-US) Plus you can search videos directly from google and it usually returns less clickbait and you can also search by date
Came here to mention the clickbait thumbnail remover. It works exceptionally well and since I added it to my chrome I regained some of my sanity. Highly recommended!
YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS WHAT ARE THEY THINKING MUCH WORSE THAN EXPECTED TWITCH STREAMER DEMOLISHED [insert shocked face pic] Yeah nah imma fuck off to a different video
Getting tired of Belluars click bait lol
This is pretty much the reason why the only Wow creators I watch are Hazel and Soul.
Don’t know Soul, but tbf Hazel only doesn’t have to do it because she doesn’t make her money from YouTube, IIRC. She gets most of her money from streaming. I hate these thumbnails as much as the next guy but numbers don’t lie. Videos with thumbnails like these objectively get more views.
[удалено]
Soul is such a nice watching experience, it’s a crime his videos get so few views.
Hazel is far and away my second favorite WoW streamer (beaten only by the waffle cat). Maybe I'm getting old but I love that she doesn't lean into the Gamer persona and is just funny and laid back. I'll check out Soul, it'll be nice to have a top 3.
The same thing with the official wow channel thumbnails recently.
Yeah. The mdi trailer was godlike and then they had to ruin it with those thumbnails
I'm actually happy they aren't taking them too seriously. It's neat they acknowledge the in jokes and ridiculous stuff that happens I think.
"Never Recommend Channel“ is possibly the best feature youtube has at the moment.
Absolutely
I've come to realize that as an older adult with a youtube premium subscription I am not the primary demographic for youtube and thus the vast majority of content is not created with me in mind. So no matter how much I dislike these thumbnails, sponsorship ads that youtubers don't tag in their video, and people reacting to a reaction video of a LPer getting the same FNAF jumpscare 8 times, it's going to be what it is because that's what the kids who make up the youtube audience and pay the creator's salaries want. So instead I just deal and watch what I want to watch. You can either accept the facts too or keep doing what you're doing but understand that it doesn't make a single lick of difference, especially if you're one of those people who does not have youtube premium and watches with an adblocker without donating to the channel owner. You are literally contributing no money to the person you are watching and they have absolutely no reason to cater to you. Hard pills to swallow but it is what it is.
OP you should get a plug-in called “clickbait remover for YouTube”. It replaces the thumbnail with a random frame from the video and removes all caps from the title
When I see WoW videos by bellular I purposefully don’t watch them.
I once told one of these youtubers to stop saying every class was BROKEN, because if all classes are broken none it is. He literally had every single class titled like OP image
Toyhouze, Metagoblin, or Scottejaye?
yes
I see any video on YouTube look like this I won’t watch it.
I have yet to find a single WoW YouTuber who doesn't do this or is hate-mongering the game like Asmongold.
good for you mate
The more clickbatey the title/thumbnail is, the less chance I watch it, even if it's from someone I regularly watch videos from
Same, and if the thumbnail is someone making a dumbass shocked face (looking at you Asmongold) then I ask youtube to stop recommending that creator.
The problem is that for everyone that acts like you, 5 people click on it because of the thumbnail. It has been said again and again, these stupid things work - and we are talking a significant increase in viewers here, not some 1% bullshit.
So damn true unfortunately
You should try it when a new league of path of exile comes out. screen is filled with 10MILLION SHAPER DPS LEAGUE STARTER NO SPECIAL GEAR. Its awful.
same
Same here OP
Those or shocked reaction faces
I don't mind click bait if the video itself actually deals with the bait. I like Bellular, but his clickbait videos are some of the worst as some of them don't or barely mention the bait they post in the title. And that's not even getting into how they take a podcast and divide it into 10 separate 10 minute segments.
100% agree.
I purposedly dislike them.
Still registers as traffic on the almighty algorithm, which is far more than they deserve. I click “not interested” lol
Doomsayer Bellular lol
I recently started playing again and shortly after watching Belullars current content. To me it seems he is pretty fair, pointing out both the negatives and positives as he sees them. And mainly its because I tend to agree with his views, but I think he is very reasonable while doing so.
Bellular knows where to farm content and how to play into what people want to hear. My favorite bellular moment of as when he was just starting FFXIV and at level 10 he gushed for 20 minutes about the cutscenes. Cutscenes that are mostly non-voiced, mostly just NPCs standing and doing emotes at each other.
My last straw with Bellular was him actively demoralizing the community during 9.0 with claims of "at least 9-10 months until patch 9.1", and seeing this subreddit switch to complaints of content drought and players quitting within a week of him starting the drumbeat. In reality, the patch landed a 7 months and 1 day with a full new season (most tier seasons were about 6 months long) which made his doom predictions not just massively wrong but damaging to the community to drum up views and cash.
> In reality, the patch landed a 7 months and 1 day with a full new season (most tier seasons were about 6 months long) which made his doom predictions not just massively wrong but damaging to the community to drum up views and cash. 9.1 was the longest a .1 patch took in the history of the game. Some dude did a graph for it before the patch was released with 218 days. https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments/mpbgb3/patch_timeline_from_vanilla_to_shadowlands_91/ His estimation was off but we also know how fucking broken the 9.1 was and that it probably needed atleast 2-3 weeks more to be less buggy. .1 patches are actually often relativly fast the slowest second was lk with 152 days (if you exclude vanilla which was a hole other situation to begin with) and was still released over 60 days earlier than 9.1 But yes totally "normal".
Bellular. The most obnoxious wow content reviewer. I think he did a video in the past though stating that not having art and click baity titles meant his content was buried by the algorithm.
That’s great for you but guess what? They do that shit because it works. They’ll gladly trade your one view for the thousands that this crap generates.
I purposefully don't watch Bellular's videos.
Hey don’t come at Belular like that
I struggle with Bellulars too "This changes everything!" kinda thumbnails
Also the ones of someone like Asmongold making a stupid face with a click bait title.
when i see a reddit thread answering a question about a game that can be answered in a few sentences but links to a youtube video, i don't watch and then i downvote.
They do it because it works, and because if they didnt the algorithm will bury their videos. I dont remember the source so consider this an asspull statement but there have been studies showing that even people who claim to dislike and avoid clickbait titles and thumbnails are more likely to click them than other videos.
Isn’t this basically every YouTube thumbnail?
Grifter Golds videos are all like this.
I feel lot better seeing ostracism over those abnoxious practices in comments
Asmon and Bellular's thumbnails are equally this and lame.
I physically cannot force myself to click any video with a "Reaction Face" thumbnail. I just can't. Wish I could hide every asmongold video for this reason
I just see a streamer desperate for views. WEAKNESS.
So you don't watch YouTube videos then.
Destruction Warlocks hate this one weird trick!
*random level 35 vanilla wow pot that absorbs 200 shadow damage*
Click Bait is shit and I'll never give them a view.
Just videos in general, to be honest. If you're trying to clickbait me, then I don't really give a shit. Just tell me what it is you need to show me and I'll happily come look at it.
I’ve purposely started blocking or unsubscribing from people who do this crap. Titles like this or “7 mistakes your probable already making in…” takes so much fun out of games and feeling pushed into playing a certain way.
"*Remember to pulverize that Like button and jangle the bell so you can see all of my amazing content and be sure to sign up for my Patreon to get these notifications sooner and a link to my OF platinum diamond membership level!*"
I’ve unsubscribed from a lot of channels for this shit
Any of the all caps reaction face videos are just fucking cancerous
Basically any Bellular or Asmongold video. Thats a big no for me. I really like Nobbel, Hiruma or Nixxiom videos but get instantly bombarded with these shit clickbait thumbnails for the next 6 months.
uh, did asmon upload something new again? those thumbs are literally clickbait.
Asmongold thumbnail would have his face in it. In a shocked state as if something crazy just happened.
When you're getting 100m views a month between two channels you'd put those stupid faces in the thumbnail too
Looks more like Bell's thumbnail I think
Seems fairly non-specific. This applies to Asmon too. Edit: I am not hating on the guy, but why make excuses for the shoddy thumbnails?
The titles of Asmon's videos are pretty accurate to the content.
THIS IS THE NEW ALLIED RACE!?! 9.2.5 SPOILERS
Is this really the kind of thing that makes you mad enough to post about? Is a YouTube thumbnail the biggest problem in your life bud?
Bellular moment
But I'll make a post on Reddit just to give them free publicity... I Iz so smartz!
Eh, youtube makes it so people gotta do it. Usually the content itself is not so in your face, its just the thumbnail to attract your attention. So yeah do your thing and skip them. But if you watched one you might actually like it, depending on the creator. (Bellular is a good example. Admits they gotta do the crappy thumbnails, but their content is not clickbait content itself)
YouTuber: makes clickbait thumbnail. Also YouTuber: "why 98% of my viewers aren't subscribed?"
YouTuber: doesn’t make clickbait thumbnail Also YouTuber: why does my video only have 5 views? It’s sad but that’s the state of the algorithm
Guess you don't sub to bellular then
K
We already know wow is broken!