Linus Gabriel Sebastian & Linus Media Group / Linus Tech Tips - Narcissistic corporate shill YouTuber driving his media empire into the ground. KILL COUNT: 2

[Harvey Danger]

Others have said what I would have said better; LTT is the epitome of why I don't follow larger YouTube content creators anymore. It's becoming a statistic while otherwise successful. A kind of meaningless, cushy, and safe existence that the Hollywood whores used to shape their personality.

This is still the Adpocalypse reverberating. It used to be that you could grow slowly with whatever content, and your revenue would grow slowly too. Now you follow the ad-friendly guidelines, and you surf the edge of the recommendation algorithm, or else your revenue craters.

I subscribe to a wide array of channels, from tech to gaming to history to politics to gun channels. All of them started homogenizing along the same, algorithm-friendly lines. It happens in waves, usually once someone figures out a new way to game the algorithm; suddenly every channel is putting out shorts, or asking to hit the notification bell twice, or cutting their videos to a specific length.

Large creators like LTT have entire operations around optimizing for the algorithm. Editors, thumbnail generators, constantly changing the title of new videos, monitoring recommendations, etc. You also see it in smaller creators who are the biggest in their "space", like video game channels, where the top creators for each game all hire editors and thumbnail people, who usually work part time for multiple creators.

The worst part about LTT is that they optimized the style. Watch the video in Shiawase's post above for a few minutes: minimal editing, just captions and cuts, until the end cards. Now compare it to every video he does now--glamor shots of products, terrible 5-second gag skits, fast zooms on faces, all the quick-cut terrible editing tricks that every other major channel adopted. It's because the more dynamic, different shots are proven to boost recommendations and play time. It doesn't matter if it makes for worse videos the older fans dislike; it's all for the algorithm.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

Large creators like LTT have entire operations around optimizing for the algorithm. Editors,

See, I never got this. Even before the adpocalypse there were a few youtubers that had other people do the editing for them (e.g. Raz0rfist)

What's the point of making videos if you can't even be fucked to do the actual "work" part yourself? Editing is what puts that personal spin on the videos in the first place, and you're basically just telling everyone "hey, I'm a lazy fuck that can't be othered to add any sort of creativity to my shit".

The algorithm, especially on YouTube, is constantly changing. It sounds like a fucking nightmare to always constantly change your editing styles and video content just to chase something that will be irrelevent within a few months to a year or two from now. People like to watch genuine works rather than something that looked like it was shot out of the same factory that the millions of other people crapped out their shit from.

 

[Harvey Danger]

See, I never got this. Even before the adpocalypse there were a few youtubers that had other people do the editing for them (e.g. Raz0rfist)

What's the point of making videos if you can't even be fucked to do the actual "work" part yourself? Editing is what puts that personal spin on the videos in the first place, and you're basically just telling everyone "hey, I'm a lazy fuck that can't be othered to add any sort of creativity to my shit".

I don't mind it as a matter of principle. If you enjoy being in front of camera, or doing an activity which is your passion, that doesn't translate into being good at or enjoying editing. Think of it as the difference between an actor in a movie, and the guy who edits the movie. Linus clearly enjoys being on camera, opening boxes, and putting stuff together; I don't expect him to sit in front of Sony Vega for 5 hours trying to line up audio tracks and scene transitions.

The real problem is like you said, editing has a huge impact on how the video feels. Editors have their own styles and techniques; if multiple creators use the same editor, the sameness can spread across multiple channels you wouldn't expect. Whether Linus requested it or not, his editing staff has clearly shifted how they present his recorded footage in a different, specific way.

 

[BowsersRectum]

I watch some of their content not expecting to get anything substantial out of it. There are some good moments in the intel 5k upgrade series and some other places, but I have a hard time finishing many videos from them. It's hard for me to watch Linus screaming his head off about tech that I don't care about and won't buy myself.

Linus + Anthony have some fucking awful takes. I thought Anthony was smart until I looked at his twitter and saw the tweets saying the farms killed byuu.

The WAN show is a mess. I've only tried to watch one recent episode and didn't get through it. There is almost nothing of substance because Linus and Luke are constantly trying to dodge being controversial or having an opinion at all.

One thing I do like about them is that they tend to somewhat vet their sponsors with fans. They have ended relationships with other companies if they are alerted to something bad. Most of this communication happens on the website's boards. IMO this is a better practice than people like Ethan Klein shilling BetterHelp into oblivion.

Overall I feel that they are shills but not full on lolcows yet. Linus and Yvonne's new house is decked out with a ridiculous amount of sponsored tech.

There's a few times where Linus's manic personality pisses off Yvonne a lot and it hurts to watch. Yvonne isn't a "pro gamer youtuber" so the contrast between the two on screen is (maybe) unintentionally funny.

 

[quaawaa]

This is still the Adpocalypse reverberating. It used to be that you could grow slowly with whatever content, and your revenue would grow slowly too. Now you follow the ad-friendly guidelines, and you surf the edge of the recommendation algorithm, or else your revenue craters.

I subscribe to a wide array of channels, from tech to gaming to history to politics to gun channels. All of them started homogenizing along the same, algorithm-friendly lines. It happens in waves, usually once someone figures out a new way to game the algorithm; suddenly every channel is putting out shorts, or asking to hit the notification bell twice, or cutting their videos to a specific length.

Large creators like LTT have entire operations around optimizing for the algorithm. Editors, thumbnail generators, constantly changing the title of new videos, monitoring recommendations, etc. You also see it in smaller creators who are the biggest in their "space", like video game channels, where the top creators for each game all hire editors and thumbnail people, who usually work part time for multiple creators.

The worst part about LTT is that they optimized the style. Watch the video in Shiawase's post above for a few minutes: minimal editing, just captions and cuts, until the end cards. Now compare it to every video he does now--glamor shots of products, terrible 5-second gag skits, fast zooms on faces, all the quick-cut terrible editing tricks that every other major channel adopted. It's because the more dynamic, different shots are proven to boost recommendations and play time. It doesn't matter if it makes for worse videos the older fans dislike; it's all for the algorithm.

Half the stuff YouTubers claim they do is because of "the algorithm" is just mindless trend following or catering to a young crowd that legitimately likes that style of editing.
As an example consider Doug DeMuro. He is the top independent automotive YouTuber and does none of the YouTube algorithm optimization tricks besides uploading on a regular schedule and putting out more videos in December due to higher ad rates. His views correlate almost perfectly with the "coolness" factor of each video's subject. Yes, he is small compared to the mega guys (mainly due to his niche), but hyper-optimization is not necessary to make it big on YouTube. The major factors the algorithm cares about are stuff like watch time, viewers choosing to watch multiple of your videos, consistency of uploads, advertising category, click rate when recommended, etc. Not stuff like how many cuts or camera angles are in the video beyond their effects on keeping viewers watching.

 

[Foghorns at a Funeral]

Small hats are not going to be happy with Linus right now. Granted the optics on them beating people at a funeral does not paint them in the best light.

 

[Latvophile]

TL;DR incompetent sperg who is slightly nerdier than the average populace hits it big on social media and sells out. Not much to really see here other than one of his company people being a fat furry fuck.

Personally I think there's more laughs to be drawn out of the ex-VidLii side of the tech YouTuber community, which was full of childish drama, jerking off to Windows XP/Vista, and internal perversion/backhanders (many of such people who were there have since reached several thousand Twitter followers and have trooned out.)

With the amount of people suddenly showing an interest in nerd culture since 2016, even some normies that wouldn't have normally got into it, I'm rather concerned about the impact they may have on vulnerable people who question themselves and/or could easily fall into a rabbit hole of culture.

 

[Judge Dredd]

The worst part about LTT is that they optimized the style. Watch the video in Shiawase's post above for a few minutes: minimal editing, just captions and cuts, until the end cards. Now compare it to every video he does now--glamor shots of products, terrible 5-second gag skits, fast zooms on faces, all the quick-cut terrible editing tricks that every other major channel adopted. It's because the more dynamic, different shots are proven to boost recommendations and play time. It doesn't matter if it makes for worse videos the older fans dislike; it's all for the algorithm.

People like to watch genuine works rather than something that looked like it was shot out of the same factory that the millions of other people crapped out their shit from.

Linus said in an episode of the Wan Show that he likes videos that have a narrative, and that one of his favourites was when they projected a game on the side of a building, but that video was a massive failure.

I can see how people would become jaded after putting lots of work over weeks for a video you care about only for it to bomb, and I can only imagine what that must be like when you've got people's jobs (including your own) on the line.

The algorithm, especially on YouTube, is constantly changing. It sounds like a fucking nightmare to always constantly change your editing styles and video content just to chase something that will be irrelevent within a few months to a year or two from now.

It reminds me of "Search Engine Optimisation" back in the early 2000s. It seemed every other person believed that had cracked the code to getting a clients website at the top of the search results. I doubt such tactics worked, and if they did I don't think the site would stay there long term.

 

[Aidan]

Linus was good about 10 years ago and that was more due to being one of the few channels covering hardware. It's kind of impressive that a guy can devote basically his entire adult life to shilling presenting tech stuff and remain as ignorant as he has.
Though I'll admit the dough LMG rakes in is impressive as well and they do a great job getting redditors to spend ridiculous sums of money on merch.

I think Linus is ultimately a good dude who cares about his employees but he's also proven to be a retard on the internet. The piracy fiasco being a great modern example, though nearly all of his takes are just as bad.

 

[Ahriman]

Small hats are not going to be happy with Linus right now. Granted the optics on them beating people at a funeral does not paint them in the best light.

The thread on /g/ is hilarious.

https://boards.4channel.org/g/thread/86940099

 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I've been following Linus and and off from about ~2017-2020, at the time I started he seemed like a pretty decent e-celeb as he wasn't fully committed to the current "soy face in thumbnail" shtick. I stopped watching consistently when I got generally burned out on tech videos after starting to study engineering. Coming home from doing tech related shit all day and then watching tech videos is just not something I can do anymore. Tech news, reviews and builds are just not something to watch when I'm not actively looking to buy something.

Anyways, it's genuinely weird to see LTT develop the way it did. Linus sharing his dogshit opinions about making family, vaccines and piracy is just cringe. I seriously doubt anyone wants to take opinions from a fucking leaf e-celeb who builds computers on camera for a living.
Anthony is a fucking disappointment though. I respected him despite his ogre appearance since he was the main Linux guy on the channel and referenced shit like the GNU+Linux copypasta. It's weird seeing him whine about supporting trannies on Twitter and being a closeted furfag.
Taran is a sad case though, when I used to watch LTT Taran was my favorite. I watched his personal shit about multiple keyboards and waifu2x and it's fascinating to see him sperg out about it, since it's something that he's obviously super passionate about. It's sad to see Taran leave and I hope he finds luck in his future adventures.

The main feeling I get when I stumble upon an LTT video nowadays is "wow, i'm a bit too old for this, aren't it?". It's about the same feeling you get when you see a kid watching a modern cartoon and suddenly you can't stand to listen to it. Most people go through this, and the ones that don't end up like Mr Enter. This can also be blamed on Linus catering more to the teen / general audience the past few years, you can definitely see a shift after he stopped basically all swearing in his vids.

 

[Dude Snakes]

Fun fact: he also had a vasectomy.

Good hopefully the soycuck won't spawn anymore offspring. EDIT. I figured he was a Branch Covidian, fuck this faggot poisoned at least one of his kids! I can't wait for him to die from his shots, he is a champagne socialist and happy with all the covid tyranny. People like him are killing this country.

 

[⠠⠠⠅⠑⠋⠋⠁⠇⠎ ⠠⠠⠊⠎ ⠠⠠⠁ ⠠⠠⠋⠁⠛]

Half the stuff YouTubers claim they do is because of "the algorithm" is just mindless trend following or catering to a young crowd that legitimately likes that style of editing.
As an example consider Doug DeMuro. He is the top independent automotive YouTuber and does none of the YouTube algorithm optimization tricks besides uploading on a regular schedule and putting out more videos in December due to higher ad rates. His views correlate almost perfectly with the "coolness" factor of each video's subject. Yes, he is small compared to the mega guys (mainly due to his niche), but hyper-optimization is not necessary to make it big on YouTube. The major factors the algorithm cares about are stuff like watch time, viewers choosing to watch multiple of your videos, consistency of uploads, advertising category, click rate when recommended, etc. Not stuff like how many cuts or camera angles are in the video beyond their effects on keeping viewers watching.

Look, I like Doug's stuff too, but he does plenty of soyfacing and jump cuts when panning shots would show an interior/exterior design feature better. He is very smart about things- cutting his regular car reviews from 20-30 minutes down to something shorter would piss off his regular viewers, so he can't optimize that aspect for YouTube, but when I had a scroll down his video list for the 'Garage Updates' and other 'random' videos, all of them are in the YT sweet spot length wise. Linus is far more shameless.

 

[seri0us]

Taran is a sad case though, when I used to watch LTT Taran was my favorite. I watched his personal shit about multiple keyboards and waifu2x and it's fascinating to see him sperg out about it, since it's something that he's obviously super passionate about. It's sad to see Taran leave and I hope he finds luck in his future adventures.

Why did he leave

 

[Toolbox]

I seen overpriced Ifixit toolkits that are better and cheaper and have tons of bits. I don't why would anyone buy this over that.

I've seen some real autism about screwdrivers. Some engineers/technicians absolutely hate ifixit's stuff. They then go around and expect people to buy 100+ dollar singular screwdrivers. I doubt Linus's is actually worth those of the same value from much older and respected manufacturers. Especially with all of it's moving parts and the fact it is the first time Linus group is trying to manufacture something like this.

 

[Off Brand Soup]

The main feeling I get when I stumble upon an LTT video nowadays is "wow, i'm a bit too old for this, aren't it?".

Similar deal but I usually just forget the channel exists for 9 months, remember, then watch a couple videos thinking they're alright but that I'm really not the audience for them.

Sad to hear about Anthony, as he's like the one guy who actually seems to know what he's talking about. Kinda like what Wendell was for Tek Syndicate, but more normie friendly.

 

[Foghorns at a Funeral]

Similar deal but I usually just forget the channel exists for 9 months, remember, then watch a couple videos thinking they're alright but that I'm really not the audience for them.

Sad to hear about Anthony, as he's like the one guy who actually seems to know what he's talking about. Kinda like what Wendell was for Tek Syndicate, but more normie friendly.

The youtube tech space is out of idea's. They are even copying idea's off each other that have been done at least 3 times in the last 2 years. I commented in the youtuber thread in multimedia about how Jayz2Cents was watercooling an SSD a few days ago. Something Linus's channel has done about 3 times in the last 2 years. It is always the same conclusion. It really does fuck all and an SSD heatsink that you get on fancy motherboards is more than enough cooling for it if you ever needed to hit it hard with writes. If Linus can't shill a new GFX card to you. It is mostly just a dumb idea's with computers channel.
It is why for the last few months it has mostly been Linus and one of the tards in his new house bragging about some new tech he was given to put in it.
I don't deny it him, it is just makes such suck ass video's and about as interesting as a wet fart. They never do anything creative anymore. I enjoyed them trying to make a heatsink for example, using different methods and watching the shitshow.
Scrapyard wars was good. They only stopped because it got too well known on thrift sites and the rules were getting out of hand.
I even liked the Linux challenge video's to a point. Even though their testing was flawed to absurd degree. Like the document signing part. If you are looking for background content Greg Salazar is making better video's than Linus at the moment. Fixing and cleaning viewers PC's, they are simple yes. Then you have the retro computer channels, but that is a whole different animal.
As for Anthony, his twitter shit is cringe as fuck and it would be better if he had kept it private. But when it does come to Linux content. He is good for that.

 

[seri0us]

If you are looking for background content Greg Salazar is making better video's than Linus at the moment. Fixing and cleaning viewers PC's, they are simple yes.

It is really enjoyable seeing him clean somebodys dusty PC too. I'm surprised that he does it inside.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

What was going on with that blue haired asian chick that was the LTT in-house hand model a couple of years ago? I'm not saying she was a dick-technician but all I know is she quit the job because she and her boyfriend was moving to Latvia to live with his mother.

 

[JoseRaulChupacabra]

Ah yes... I remember 2010. I enjoyed that year for a variety of reasons. It was also the year I got into the PC hobby, and Linus was my favorite youtuber on that space. He was a lovable dork in those days when he was just the unboxing guy.

I honestly can't stand watching him now. I would say that early-mid 2010's was the peak in terms of content quality. I probably watch less than 1 video a month of his now, and usually only when there's a big release like a new generation of CPUs or he has an interesting project.