Is Originality Dead on Youtube?

[GamingRack]

Lol I find it silly when people say this as if because people who choose to do a specific genre like let's plays are completely unoriginal. If only one person was allowed to do one thing, YouTube would be a dead and boring place. The difference between 2 let's players say nerd3 and jacksepticeye are massive but obviously the core remains them playing a game so they are unoriginal? I don't get it.

In comparison, people who try to create short films or sketches without relying on piggybacking have a much harder time staying relevant.

So ashens a man that literally reviews tat on a sofa and has a massive following basically disproves this point haha same as rocket jump, Tomska loads of people who do short films and sketches getting millions of views up to this day and more relevant than ever. If you are good at what you do and can appeal to a wide audience then you will have no problem. Not everyone likes everything so people who do niche topics just because they don't have 8 million subs doesn't mean they aren't staying relevant to the subs they currently have.

I think it may even be much harder to keep your original content at a good level of quality to maintain interest.
What do you guys think?

If that's the case then the idea in the first place was a bad one or it may have just been an idea that would never last anyway but it was still on YouTube, gained a following and was still original even if it had to be canned at some point, nothing lasts forever.

But I suppose my main point is there is no such thing as unoriginal unless you are basically copying someone else, like if I just started reviewing tat on an old sofa.

 

[darkstarmedia]

Nah, it's not. I don't think it ever will be - buuuuut, with things like the YouTube algorithm being a right pain in the backside, it's pretty handy these days to utilise the success of something popular to your advantage. Then, as has been stated before, once you have the attention of more people as a result, you can showcase your own talents.

It sucks, because good original content from new creators should not be as big a pain in the butt to find as it is - but it is. So, we have to do what we can.

 

[xingcat]

I have been sorely tempted to drop some of the stuff I do and try doing a lot of the stuff that seems to be trending, but I just don't find it interesting or fun. I'll watch other folks do fun things like tags and reviews and such, but I've always wanted to just make characters and have them run around in their own world.

There are a lot of copycats and people following trends in any media, and YouTube is absolutely no different.

 

[ProfKranc]

All these responses have been awesome!
Something I did in the original post was generalise the idea of "original content". Original content means different things to different people, but I believe the general understanding is content that isn't based on a saturated format. Because anything could be a new take on an already existing format, yet still be called original.
With the mindset that every, for example, Let's Play is the same and not "original", we might as well have the same mindset behind the initial interpretation of REACTWORLD.

A trend of answers that I've come across with people I have asked this question seems to be that a lot believe that in order for you to get more views and attract new audiences, you have to create content that is "piggybacking" off other already famous content as gateway videos to your channel. But when you switch over to content that isn't tailored like that, you can't always guarantee the viewership.
Like remember FunnyOrDie? They still have 1.7m subs and barely break 2,000 views per vid.

I think something I would like to see more of though are new formats or new ideas rather than interpretations of already existing formats.
The thing about channels like "Tomska" is their ability to stay fresh and still attract views without using clickbait thumbnails and such.

Honestly, if anyone knows of any interesting or funny content that isn't just let's plays or commentaries, I would really appreciate any suggestions

 

[GrgakGames]

Yeah pretty much

There are probably different things that have not been done yet but i'd assume that they are way out of left field.

I think the best thing to do with all of the ideas that have already been done is to work on them and make them your own with your own spin.

That's about it.

 

[TheDutchTexan]

Yup, everything has been done before. Everything. But people put their own spin on things because their personalities are unique. That brings something new to the table that no one has. Unless people copy someone else's personality and expect it to work. It rarely does, because is something doesn't come natural to people it shows.

 

[Missilebomb]

Another thing to think about. With me, I'm doing something a thousand others have already done, but I'm doing it because I'm having fun with it, not to hop on a trend. I'd rather enjoy myself and not be original, as opposed to hate the one of a kind content I create

 

[SZXDuncan]

I wouldn't say that originality is dead on Youtube.

There are still tons of content out there that differentiates one from the other. Maybe it's the constant videos that you watch has a similar theme to it for example, let's plays have commentary and what makes these let's plays original depends on the youtuber's personality driving the content. But if we could somehow expand our horizons, maybe try a website like stumbleupon, you will be fed videos where it is new to you as a viewer and that somehow could constitute as original but to a loyal viewer of that youtuber, you might find it unoriginal.

However, originality could be scarce these days as everyone is inspired by something that is already out there and somehow our subconscious mind would unknowingly produce a similar result when materialising what you might think it's original. Take remixes and interpretation for example, there are tons of them out there but there is a move from following the trend of putting out a sick remix which pleases the crowd to a trend where creative distinctness in an remixer's work.

In the end, the problem with defining originality is that it is so subjective and it is so abstract that most of the time, it's comes down to how view what originality is. Is it the time and effort youtubers put in their work, is it the creative aspect that brings the audience on a journey that they haven't experienced or is it original in the sense that the work is something that has not be thought of before? The debate is subjective to the person itself.

 

[and_the-teddy_bach]

I love gaming and reviews, but I still decided to start a vlog, because it gives me more artistic freedom to do cool things. And many of you are probably tired hearing this, but Casey Nastat changed vlogging forever and put the bar high up. More people start to vlog and expectations are high. I guess at one point we will see more interesting and original content.

 

[PositivelyBrainwashed]

On one hand, I think being the first to do something is hard. You take all the risks. On the other hand, being the 1000th person to do something doesn't make you original. I decided to go into a niche like affirmations,motivation, self-development which is well established, but I branch out cuz I use whiteboard animation. There's very few people doing this, and in some categories I'm the first. I say doing a lot of market research before starting your channel or least what direction you want to head is important. It took me 2 years of planning to get started, but you don't have to wait that long.