Smashing
Very Very Sr. Cove Sleuther
All you need is love...and high speed internet.
Posts: 454
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Post by Smashing on Nov 27, 2006 1:22:05 GMT -5
wantlieswiththat, a youtube account promoting the theatrical release of the movie Fast Food Nation has jumped into 17th on the all-time subscribed list with 13732. I will grant that since it's dealing with political issues, they might have leveraged existing followers of these issues elsewhere on the internet and told them all to go sign up for youtube and subscribe, so it's not impossible. But considering they have relatively few video views for that many subscribers, it's highly suspicious.
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Post by hyemew on Nov 27, 2006 1:29:36 GMT -5
That'd be pretty hypocrtical, to be called "wantlieswiththat" and yet be based on lying to the youtube public themselves. I love the thought!
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Post by noasinger on Nov 27, 2006 8:24:17 GMT -5
It isn't hypocrisy, it's irony -- one of the finest and most effective strategies in the toolbox of the activist and social commentator.
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Smashing
Very Very Sr. Cove Sleuther
All you need is love...and high speed internet.
Posts: 454
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Post by Smashing on Nov 27, 2006 9:53:34 GMT -5
I disagree, noa. It is ironic, but if they cheated I think irony is a by-product and not their motivation. If they had a video about YouTube cheaters, and weren't trying to sell something, it would be different. As it is, they just want more views, and thus are hypocrites (allegedly).
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Post by hyemew on Nov 27, 2006 12:19:43 GMT -5
OK, they are definitely cheating.
I scrolled through their subscribers and noticed that there is page after page of users with 0 videos, 0 friends, 0 anything. I then took a closer look and on pages 13 and 14 of subscribers, every single one of those people not only have no normal signs of a semi-active account, they all have 0 VIDEO VIEWS as well. So they became fans, and yet have NEVER viewed a video? Also all of these accounts had been made 2 weeks ago. They are definitely cheating and it's easy to see by doing that.
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Smashing
Very Very Sr. Cove Sleuther
All you need is love...and high speed internet.
Posts: 454
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Post by Smashing on Nov 27, 2006 14:09:11 GMT -5
Yeah, I noticed that some of the new users had names like 98457321 and 64352. Usually humans throw a letter in there somewhere.
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Post by hyemew on Nov 27, 2006 14:48:15 GMT -5
*beep beep boop bop*
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Post by noasinger on Nov 27, 2006 15:06:10 GMT -5
If the game is getting one's message out there, then I'm not wholly certain I find a lot to criticize if they use whatever methods are at their disposal on a site like YouTube. They are neither taking money out of anyone's pockets, nor pirating broadcast airwaves, as far as I am aware.
How badly does it impact YouTube for these tiny little dummy accounts to sit in their database? This is a genuine question -- I'm not as savvy about bandwidth or database loads as I would like to be.
I'd have to suggest that if YouTube thinks this is a problem, then it's YouTube's responsibility to police this. I don't really think that the whole "cheating YouTube" business is carrying nearly as much emotional weight with me as it is with some others here.
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Post by milowent on Nov 27, 2006 16:36:06 GMT -5
I don't really think that the whole "cheating YouTube" business is carrying nearly as much emotional weight with me as it is with some others here. i'm in the same boat. the conflict interests me, but i'm not angry about it. as long as there are ways to cheat in this world, some people will. The chiptole vids (look at this one, its just mean, notwithstanding its 8million hits), are amusing for cheating so blatantly, without apparent repurcussions. this all reminds me on mp3.com, where people used to game their "listens", which for awhile actually made them money because top artists were compensated based on listens to their songs. i want to know who is gaming revver and making some cash, not just false youtube popularity. |
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Smashing
Very Very Sr. Cove Sleuther
All you need is love...and high speed internet.
Posts: 454
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Post by Smashing on Nov 27, 2006 23:21:30 GMT -5
I'm not so upset with the cheaters as I am with YouTube.
The cheating is only blatant to those of us who follow this closely. The average internet user has no reason not to take the "most" lists at face value.
While YouTube might not be able to stop cheaters, they do have the power to type a one-sentence disclaimer saying that "most viewed" and "most subscribed" aren't necessarily the most viewed or most subscribed. While they aren't obligated to run a perfect site, they are obligated not to mislead the public. But why?
As I said in a previous post that not many people read, YouTube's most subscribed/most viewed lists are like American Idol. People are getting jobs in the entertainment business based on their exposure on these lists. Despite conventional wisdom, all but a couple on the top 40 subscribed channels and the top 40 viewed videos lists are there because they aspire to a career in entertainment. And there are thousands more on the site like them. It's more than a hobby for these people. They are putting in a lot of time, if not money behind their videos. By posting misleading lists, YouTube is harming these users. Again, all they have to do is type one sentence, and they're totally off the hook.
I understand not caring. I have no emotional connection to the issue of steroids in pro baseball. It doesn't affect me because I don't follow it, and I don't play sports. But I can look objectively and say it's not fair.
(modified for typos)
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