this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2023
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I was surprised at how little I actually cared about the reddit communities I was subscribed to. I switched to Lemmy on 6/12 and just never thought about reddit again. I use a couple RSS feeds to get the same news now (which is a better idea anyway), and Lemmy has enough people in the topics I'm actually interested in so I don't feel like I'm missing any important discussion.
I suspect it will be the same story with Youtube for me. I really don't need to be watching Youtube 95% of the time. I tune in to videos because it's convenient. If Google is going to make it inconvenient, the value proposition changes and I'd rather do something else to fill my time. I wonder if there will be backlash from creators now that many users are inherently disincentivized from visiting Youtube...
Lol funny you mention RSS. I LOVE my RSS feeds - I've been building my subscription list for decades. I used other services before Google Reader, now I use feedly (what do you use?).
I subscribe to hundreds of RSS feeds of all sorts - from technical blogs to news feeds. I always try to explain to people that I get a "firehose" of content sorted by timestamp. I don't have an algorithm choosing which data to prioritize.
Did you know that Aaron Swartz (one of the original reddit developers) was also a leader who developed the RSS standards? God the word lost a great man - imagine what he could have done for humanity if he lived a full life.
Funny thing is that I usually use Youtube for DIY repair videos. Now ChatGPT and simple google searches (to confirm info) have replaced most of my needs. I even use Chat to teach me how to use new software (which I would formally watch videos to learn).
Besides, I really don't watch television/videos in general. I have far more important things to do with my free time like running a small business and micro homestead to live an almost fully self sufficient lifestyle. I find skimming RSS feeds and reading selected articles a far more efficient use of my free time (I only used to visit reddit for the occasional social interaction with fellow enthusiasts of whatever topic, and hope that kbin/fediverse will replace that 'itch')
I use self-hosted FreshRSS, and Readrops on my phone to synchronize with that.
RSS is amazing for sure, especially if you can limit the firehose to specific categories that you're interested in. The modern web does not like RSS because it's too pure and useful, and they need to inject user engagement/algorithmic-despair into you somehow.
I try not to use ChatGPT, just because I don't want to get addicted to relying on someone else's service. AFAIK, ChatGPT is actually quite intensive to run, so I don't believe in a free lunch forever there. I'm betting they're trying to get people hooked before pulling the rug. I will start trying stuff like that if it becomes open source and self-hostable etc.
As for unique and useful Youtube videos, yeah there's still a wrinkle there. As an example, I keep up-to-date with Matrix's "Matrix Live" video blogs on Youtube, and I don't think they host them anywhere else. I will be consciously limiting any interaction I have on Youtube that's not needed though.
I don't have a Google account so I actually just use RSS feeds for every Youtube channel and get their content delivered that way!
@cassetti @stefenauris @yote_zip I could never find a service that matched GReader. I tried Protopage but it was way more Yahoo Portal-y.
I use self-hosted FreshRSS and Readrops on my phone, if you haven't tried those before. I'm not too picky with my RSS feed readers though!