I searched youtube today for a particular hardware product. The video I clicked on was 20 minutes long, and by every indicator I could see, the presenter looked like an expert at what they were talking about. Yet by the end of the video (which, thankfully, I watched at 3.25 speed), I hadn't gained a single new piece of information, and my brain hurt from dealing with so much repetition of facile hearsay.
The key to the success of this video (and others) was that the presenter was nothing more than a salesperson, not for the product they were talking about, but for themselves.
They're trying to sell themselves as experts, and if we're not careful, we end up trusting them and paying (with our time).
I got duped, but it's a continual arms race between viewers looking for useful content, and facile content creators trying to game the system by imitating the hallmarks of great content without any substance to back it up.
The key to the success of this video (and others) was that the presenter was nothing more than a salesperson, not for the product they were talking about, but for themselves.
They're trying to sell themselves as experts, and if we're not careful, we end up trusting them and paying (with our time).
I got duped, but it's a continual arms race between viewers looking for useful content, and facile content creators trying to game the system by imitating the hallmarks of great content without any substance to back it up.