[BlargMcLarg]

>I generally avoid Google products, but I do not understand the animosity towards YouTube

It's still a Google product that does Google things. If you hate Google things, making an exception for YouTube is saying your standards have a price tag attached.

[sowbug]

Polarization plays better than nuance.

[BlargMcLarg]

What nuance would you want? YouTube is the most similar to Google Search of all Google products in regards to 'doing things people hate about Google', beyond maybe Android. The product has been trend-chasing for years trying to do what Twitch, Instagram and Tiktok did all to sell more ads and data to in turn become more profitable, because we all know a few clear tech guides without ads are not turning YouTube anywhere as profitable as another 30 second short or 10-minute pog-face clickbait for kids who somehow have access to their parents' credit card or primed to become the perfect future consumers.

It's been a very, very long time since YouTube has been very profitable for individuals who aren't playing Google's game or started before that time. Practically any new channel is clout-chasing, appealing to kids or unsatisfied adults in some form, with few able to replicate a momentary success if not following these tactics. Enshittification of the platform has been going on for at least a decade now and Google isn't showing any signs of stopping. A few people making themselves believe "oh well it isn't so bad because tech guides" may as well say "Google Search isn't so bad because I can specify the website and aggressively avoid ads".

But YouTube is the good guy because it.. centralizes content creators and soft-locks them into Google's desired format, be it now or in the future? What, do people think if WEI succeeds, YouTube won't be a future candidate for whatever funny business Google decides on next?