I love being a small content creator.
Creating my own YouTube channel has quite possibly been one of the most fun and entertaining hobbies that I've ever had.
However, as a small content creator-which, yes, there is actually a technical term for those of us who have YouTube channels that are under a couple thousand- I've noticed that there seems to be a growing discontentment that is dividing those who are in the "smaller" YouTube creator community, and the larger YouTube creator community.
But first, some history.
In 2014, it was estimated that around 800 million new users join YouTube every day. That is a number that continues to grow yearly, as more and more people discover shareable videos and content.
Originally having started in 2005, YouTube is one of the fastest growing social media platforms that encourages video sharing globally and allows users to upload, comment, share, view, and rate other video clips and files.
With so many people joining a platform that seems to be ever growing and changing, the one thing that seems to be staying the same among content creators of all sizes and channel categories, is the underlying pressure to grow. To become part of the bigger creators exclusive club.
Now, while this is not a mentality that all smaller content creators share, it is one that I've noticed emerges at large events where creators of all types gather. Namely, VidCon.
This was my first year attending VidCon, and one of the panels that I was really interested in attending was one called "Less Than Famous", where all creators who had smaller channels were able to gather together and talk about the smaller side of YouTube.
What I found was, instead of promoting strategies or talking about possible ways to get in touch with other smaller YouTubers, the panel seemed to focus on only the negative aspects of being a content creator that had a smaller subscriber base.
I will agree to a lot of the points that were brought up during the panel. Mainly, that there is a limited amount of support for smaller content creators, at least through YouTube itself, when it comes to networking opportunities and listening to the opinions of creators that aren't highlighted as being "YouTube famous". And even the support provided tends to be limited based on the amount of subscribers each channel has.
But mainly, one of the largest complaints heard from smaller content creators is that until you reach a certain amount of subscribers, you will always be considered a "fan" of other, larger creators rather than someone who is a creator themselves.
This may be a concept that is hard to explain to others who don't really publish anything on the YouTube platform. A similar comparison would be to take the owner of a small business and hold them up to the owner of a large chain corporation, and saying that because the small business, even if it is doing well for itself, is not as large as the corporation then it is lesser in value.
This is a complaint that I agree with, and even have struggled to come to terms with when it comes to my own channel.
Everyone loves to gain more subscribers. It shows that people are seeing and reacting to the content that you are posting. It's a good feeling to watch the subscriber count go up.
However, I believe that many small creators become overwhelmed when they see how quickly other channels grow in comparison to their own. This can lead to feelings of frustration, and obsession begins over the subscriber and view count.
As a creator myself, I completely understand this frustration. However, it is important to remember that there are so many different factors when it comes to the growth of a YouTube channel or the amount of views per video uploaded.
It's important to remember that this is something that is supposed to be fun. If something great comes of it, a job or a sponsorship deal, then that's great! If not, then there's nothing wrong with that.
At the end of the day, all it takes to be a YouTuber is the ability to talk to a camera, and the desire to share your creativity with the world.
