Misc Rants

My Thoughts on Shilling

The whole internet is monetized. There’s no turning back on it now. Especially when it comes to YouTube which I think is a dying platform. It has been dying a very slow and painful death ever since Google bought it back in the late 2000s. So now we are at this point where most if not all channels are making content for the sake of monetization. Of course, Google’s ad revenue is strict on certain content and so forth, but there are ways to earn money by means of third party advertising, patron and so forth. One thing that kind of makes them all related is the fact that video making is no longer a form of entertainment but a means of making money (aka advertising).

So let’s say you want to become a serious business full time YouTuber. Maybe you want to make gaymen content such as taking 3 fucking whole hours nitpicking a shitty game talking about why it’s problematic like it’s some college-ass research paper...no...high school essay tier bullshit. Maybe you want to be a guntuber and be another copypaste masked Guntuber with forced 4chan humor, questionable sexual innuendos, and non-stop shilling for Rock Island Armory imports or Springfield Armory imports or God forbid IWI. Perhaps maybe...just maybe, you can be one of those history meme YouTubers that recites Wikipedia articles about meme history events and purposely get some facts totally wrong because your an opinionated pop-historian. Whatever the case (and I just wanted to call out on those stereotypes for this rant), if you want to make some dough, you gotta get on your knees and talk your shit...aka shill some stuff.

You’ve probably know about how most big YouTube channels (especially Tech and Vidya channels are the biggest offenders here) will constantly break away from their flow of content to advertise something from their sponsor. If they are particularly charismatic and skilled, it’ll probably flow naturally and you probably wouldn’t see it coming if you were watching without a sponsor block script. Most of the time, it’s totally out of place and has no relevance to the video. Like it could be a video about the history of Doom and then the YouTuber will suddenly say something stupid like “I like killing demons as much as the next guy but you know what really makes me rip and tear: Goverment agents and advertisers spying on you as you browse the web which why I use Nord VPN.” I mean come on. What kind of gamer would even give a shit about that unless they are a Linux user and even then, the Linux user would probably be smart enough to realize how much of a scam using a VPN really is especially if it’s hosted in a compromised country. Or maybe they are shilling some crappy wireless earbuds that I just so happened to find at a Goodwill once, unopened and sealed in a package for $15 bucks when they are being sold online almost for the same price as Apple Airpods! The point is, as a “content creator”, you got to be absolutely aware of whatever the hell you are shilling. Most people are going to catch on and see you as a sellout which in my opinion is probably the worst thing you can be called on the internet. This doesn’t just apply to YouTube. If you have to advertise something, at least let it be something you actually use on a daily basis.

This also falls in line with reviewing products. There are just too many examples I can mention where somebody gets a review copy or a review sample and they are saying nothing but praise like it’s the second coming of Christ. Even if there’s somewhat of a blatant fault with the product, the reviewer will try to beat around the bush by claiming it’s a minor issue or “It’s not as bad as you think.” I don’t know but to me, it’s painfully obvious that what they are saying is bullshit. If you’re going to do a review, you have to be completely honest about your experience. Also, I do think it’s kind of pointless to review products you know going in you’re not going to like. If I was forced by gunpoint to ever start reviewing cape-shit films, I’ll happily accept the execution because I can review something else that I would actually get enjoyment out of. And sure, reviewing shitty things can be fun sometimes, even if it’s punching down for a couple of jokes. I’ve done this myself on games I haven’t even played when talking about modern games online. But I think the appeal of watching, listening, or reading someone’s opinion about a certain game, firearm, or whatever online is to hear a personal take on what they like and perhaps maybe, develop an interest for that thing the “content creator” is reviewing. If they are just parroting what everyone else is claiming, unless it’s an objective statement, then it’s just plain as day shilling.

But I think probably the more legit ways of shilling in my opinion is when you personally have a side product or side project that you can offer to your audience that isn’t involved with some third party taking a cut. I guess to make an example, let’s say you’re some blacksmithing YouTube channel but you also make knives or swords such as those you’ve shown in your channel. It would be perfectly acceptable to shill your own products because they are not only relevant to your channel or webpage or whatever, but it’s something that’s also very personal and appealing. It makes you less like a Linus Shill Tips and more of a “regular guy who makes cool shit for a living”.

Personally, I don’t want to shill or advertise anything. Not even my own music or anything else I do. I have a couple of vidya and smol arms reviews but those are generally more “My Thoughts on” kind of blogging rather than detailed reviews. I mean if I like a certain video game, I can’t guarantee that somebody else is going to like that same game too. My gaming tastes alone are very specific as it is. I suppose the same could be said about most of my interests. I guess my goal as some kind of “non-profit” content creator is to shit out this mediocre website so that there can be some variety on the internet like it used to be back before everything became incorporated into our cyberpunk dystopian nightmare.