The New YouTube: Authenticity vs Fast Pace

Alessandro Pozzobon

Jan 15 in Audience Growth📈

The old YouTube: Sensational, MrBeast copies, screaming, fast cuts, super-dense.
The new YouTube (or maybe not): Slower, authentic, human, Sam Sulek.

SO... Is there a way to get the best of both worlds?

I thought about it, and then came the insight. Let me try to put it down like an equation:

Fast pace & editing

Cons: Less connection, videos feel empty and almost fake.
Pros: More entertaining, maintain more attention -> YouTube will favor them

Slow Pace & Authentic

Cons: Higher risk of being boring, algorithm may not push your video
Pros: Real human connection, stronger community

So... which one do you pick? The second. And the answer is easy: we're humans. For this reason the pro of human connection will win in the long run. I believe this is true from the creator's personal experience too. In the end, you're doing YouTube to live the good life, a happy life, a fulfilling one. And a job that creates real impact and connection will be more fulfilling and sustainable for the creator too.

But... how do you deal with the videos being boring? How do you deal with the harsh reality of attention and of the algorithm's metrics?

Something has got to die: Enter the EXTINCTION OF FILLER VIDEOS.

I call "filler" videos that don't really have a valid reason to exist. They're there just because they get views. A story where nothing happens, a lesson where the concepts are obvious, etc.

A filler video is not necessarily easy to make, and a great video is not necessarily hard to make.

A video that takes 10 minutes to record where I talk about the top 3 principles in a book may be more valuable than a vlog that takes 3 days.

I'm saying this because you've got to be careful about the metric that you use to classify an idea as filler or as great.

So, the EXTINCTION OF FILLER VIDEOS.

Filler videos can only survive thanks to editing and pace. If you take that away, then the video is boring.

BUT IF YOU HAVE A GREAT IDEA, AND KNOW THE BASICS OF ATTENTION AND STORYTELLING, YOU MAY FIND SURPRISING SUCCESS IN BEING MORE HUMAN, SLOWER AND MORE AUTHENTIC.

I'm writing this in caps because this is my answer to get the best of both worlds, and if you've skipped the rest of the post, I want you to at least read that.

REAL VALUE IS NOT A LUXURY if you want human connection. This is my hypothesis. And as I said, you want human connection.

In practice, this can be achieved in very extravagant ways. It's a spectrum, it doesn't mean everybody needs to become Sam Sulek. Different ideas, different personalities, different styles will need different ways to be actualized.

This may mean a different kind of editing and storytelling, rather than just winging everything without a script.

Humans are too nuanced to provide 1,2,3 easy steps for greatness. Try to find patterns, use them as guidelines and keep observing how you feel watching other's contents, how others react to yours, and how you feel even outside YouTube when relating to others, because when you remove all the layers, we're still drawn by human connection.

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