Next: Do a video about the audience retention of this video. Then: Do a video about audience retention on that one. Then: Do a video about audience retention on that one. Then: Do a video about audience retention on that one. Then: Do a video about audience retention on that one. Then: Do a video about audience retention on that one. Then: Do a video about audience retention on that one. ... .. .
I always appreciate that you get me to stop and think. Even a video like this encourages me to contemplate the way something works. Babbling can be annoying unless the one doing the babbling is an interesting person.
I think you're right, there are two kinds of people watching CZcams. Those that are interested in projects and learning how to do things, and there are those that are just looking for mindless entertainment (bubblegum for the brain). Unfortunately I think the entertainment group is larger than the group interested in learning.
Casey did make a grapple hook to rescue a drone once. Through the build was simple, the video was so engaging it made magnificent content. Easy to make, good edit and high impact.
Don't fall into the same ways that Heisz has fallen into. Making videos about how hard it is to make videos, how viewership has gone down, etc. Your last video didn't do well because it wasn't very interesting. It's not that people all want mindless entertainment, least of all your subscribers, its that they want to see things that are interesting to them. CZcams stats may be interesting to you, but not to most of your subscribers. Heisz's video content is sporadic, he makes little to no progress on his projects, you never know what channel has what. Then he moans and complains about viewership going down. This cannot all be attributed to CZcams conspiring against you. You guys aren't making very interesting videos, so people stop watching.
Yeah, I wonder if he just put all his content on one channel and abandoned the others what would happen. Tested has one channel where they put everything, and they label everything so you don't get confused. John will casually mention his "red channel" and I know what that means, but I guarantee anyone watching his videos randomly has no clue what he is talking about and isn't interested in finding out.
It's interesting to see the struggle. Subscribers are apparently just a small fraction of the viewership so channels are bound to focus on _the youtube algorythms_ No surprise there is burn out as subscribers nor content does matter. Even a channel slowdown/collapse does not matter much because most of the income continues from some older random hit videos.
@@briancarter1597 I think multiple channels can be good, if you've got enough content to support it. Pocket83's second channel is cool, it's kinda like the "black channel," and he still puts out stuff on his main channel almost as regularly as he used to. I think Heisz had a hard time deciding what goes where for a while, and it threw me off. But if he had two channels one for normal stuff and one for rambling it would be a lot easier to know what he was talking about. I don't want to shuffle between different channels to know whats going on with one project (the still unfinished, I think, planer).
This is good advice. Keep up the good work. I can appreciate you teaching on methods for evaluating your youtube performance. Plus, I'd take your word over any one else.
The reason (IMO) it did so poorly is because you're explaining something that the vast majority of us are not interested, which is CZcams monetization or statistics. Most of us are amateur builders or wanna be builders (In my case) and I personally find it extremely educational the way you approach things that I can relate to. Not really graphics and things I will never get to see, but wood projects and the scientific approach to said projects, and how you can transform what appeared to be a piece of garbage and turned it into an useful piece of furniture (ugly as hell, but functional). If you take a loyal follower's opinion. I know you can't build no more because of the injury, but why not take a young apprentice (I'm sure that out of the 1.4M followers you can find somebody) under your wing and teach him as you teach us how to build things approaching them from a purely scientific and mathematical point of view. The Samurai Carpenter and Mr. Chickadee are teaching lessons, perhaps that's something that you'd be interested in. And of course videoing said lessons would be beneficial for everybody. Cheers man!
@@AppalachianLife I agree, he doesn't have the teacher personality but he does like making money. He's worked so hard for over 8 years to build and maintain his CZcams channel, (and we're all grateful for it). The next logical step is to 'franchise' if you will, his knowledge and approach towards mundane problems from a scientific point of view. While his personality may not be that of an ideal teacher (think Bill Nye the sciene guy) his understanding of math, physics, geometry, arithmetic and such is so great that the way he explains it makes much more sense than any teacher I had in school. I didn't mean to find a Robin to Batman or something like that, just a pair of healthy and capable hands to do the things he currently can't. And clearly John Heisz is not the right man for it, he talks WAY too much.
If it’s worth anything, I have been an avid fan of yours since I discovered your content. You have influenced the way I work in a project and how I problem solve any issues. Have a great day!!!!
I'm entertained by learning something interesting or just watching someone solve a problem in a novel way or ply their trade skillfully. When I see a channel devolve into mindless gawking or overwhelming ADHD rattling noise, I run far away and don't usually give them another chance. It's sad that I, and most of your viewers, seem to be in the minority. I get that CZcams has to cater to the majority but I just wish they could find a way to boost content that has actual substance. They are in a position to at least try a little bit to reverse this trend towards mindless crap. Instead, they're reinforcing it.
This channel has ALWAYS been about that. So it hasn't devolved. The question is more, why do you come on this channel in the first place, and then are you disappointed when the video is about what it says it's about in the title?
@@HeiszWandelproject I was speaking of CZcams/entertainment in general and not about this channel. I come to this channel, and your's and John's, specifically because you and he have the kind of content I enjoy. I didn't mean for my comment to come across in any other way. I think what passes as entertainment for a lot of people nowadays is what is devolving, and CZcams seems to be contributing to this unfortunate trend by promoting the crap over the good stuff with substance, like your videos. Sorry if my writing style is a little rambling and my intentions or points can sometimes get lost in the jumble.
Interesting to me, anyway, is that I saw this video recommended to me two days later, but, while subscribed, I didn't see this initially, nor the video you're talking about (which I'll go watch now).
There's a tv show called The Good Place, (spoiler alert) within which there's an algorithm that determines who gets into heaven based on the sum of all your actions. The algorithm is perfectly designed. But we just learned in the last episode that no one has gotten into heaven in over 500 years. Sometimes I wonder if the CZcams algorithm has been tuned to a point where it doesn't actually work anymore but it seems like it does just because there are enough channels with enough critical mass to keep it all going.
Well, there ARE videos that people watch. It just so happens that they are other people's videos. But you do have a point. It might be less than 0.1% of youtubers that satisfy the algorithm, but that's still enough videos for most to watch.
It certainly seems to work for them. And if you are testing things along the way and a change results in 0.002% more watch time then how could the change possibly be bad? Yet it seems to me like the algorithm is like the algorithm on the show. It's very good at finding reasons to NOT recommend a video but can it really find anything to do in positively promoting something that didn't happen on its own through social media first? Once it's decided generally to not recommend a channel can that channel ever do anything to change that? My last video, in the studio beta where it tells you about how the video is performing, it started out as #3 out of the last 10 videos and it said everything was good. Comments and likes were higher than normal. Then it dropped to #6 and it said watch time was lower compared to videos of mine that were of similar length. Then it dropped to #9 after the algorithm dropped it into a black hole. Looking at the analytics, the average percentage viewed is above average for the last 10 videos. Not the best, but better than most. So it's either lying about why it stopped recommending the video or it's looking at different data than I am. It doesn't matter because the video used copyrighted music so I wasn't going to get a penny regardless, but I would like to understand why the algorithm does what it does.
When I view videos, then there often happens a thing that could cause a spike like that. The "new" design instantly starts the video althoug the site isn´t loaded completely (takes from say five second to over one minute sometimes), in this span the video is bucking. So I try to stop the video but it persistendly starts again several times. I either keep hitting the stop button or if this does not work so well I just wait until the site is complete and then restart the video. I miss the old design where id didn´t took so long to load the site.
Mattias, I've been following your web site (and these days your youtube channel) for what seems like forever (wooden bandsaw build #1 maybe?). You are an inspirational engineering creator and I hate that you are suffering from tendinitis and can't do what you love in the fashion you always have. Have you considered continuing to design things, but on a smaller scale and letting a 3D printer fill the building portion of the void while you are mending?
I like your videos that are useful and informative and about stuff. Especially build videos. Even if it's something I'm not going to build oh, I like the way you solve problems and I like the way that you present solutions to problems. Even if I would do it completely differently, it helps me think through problems and find better Solutions. Not better than yours, I mean better than the crappy solution I had before.
I love watching this kind of content. I understand it's not profitable, but it also doesn't turn my brain to mush. I hope you can keep making useful content going forward!
I struggle with this issue as well. I do a video on the history of Sears and I got 70k views. I do a full resto on a box from WWII and I get 1.6k. Best tools from Harbor Freight? 300K. How to build a knock-down stand for a mobile bandsaw? 3K. I put a ton of work into a video, making something amazing and the video bombs. I slap something snarky together and it gets 50k views.
I guess it’s important for you understand CZcams and your responses and I did hit the “Like” button but I much prefer the project video’s that better reflects your highly innovative self.
Hello Matthias, I've been a subscriber to your channel for quite a while now, (to clarify, not this one) and a big part of the appeal to me is that it is not the run of the mill "For Entertainment Value" kind of channel. I find it entertaining to watch how you do things and the very clear way in which you show/explain what and why you're doing it that way. Your gift sir, is that you are very good at teaching things to complete strangers, in such a way that the educational process is itself the entertainment. You are a talented wood-worker/craftsman that is also good at making videos to share your knowledge and skill with other like minded people. I'm concerned that the process has (Curse you CZcams Adpocslypse Algorithm and damn you to hell.) Please don't become so concerned about how CZcams rates your work that you loose focus on the content that I believe most of your subscribers have signed up for. I don't know how much information about your subscribers that CZcams shares with you, but I would suggest that the majority of you subscribers are not subscribers to what CZcams rates as their "Highly Rated" contributors. To paraphrase one of the commenters below, the majority of your subscribers are most likely the minority of CZcams subscriber. (I consider that to be a good thing.) We are not interested in how well your last video stacks up against PewkyPie's last video, we are interested in being entertained and educated by your content.
I guess I'm in the niche audience? I watch you because I respect the things you say and DO. They are, for the most part, entertaining or interesting (hard to quantify which without computers I reckon). I find that I am always trying to learn something from each video. Entertainment (like that from "This Old Tony" or "MrPete" - I like their dry wit) is sometimes an included benefit to learning. I am hoping you get a shop and some gumption to make more build videos of course. The mice will be able to get off Zanax too.
I think the Essential Craftsman Channel is a great balance of entertainment and informative/instructive. Their editing style and videos often include life lessons and other morality type of things in a more subtle way.
I enjoy your build videos. That’s why I subscribe to you in the first place. But I enjoy you testing videos instead of just stating something is better you test if it is. I think you world needs more of that.
When I watch youtube, I typically open a bunch of videos that I'm interested in, each in a new tab. Then, as I watch each video, I close its tab and move on to the next one. Leaving aside for a moment that my computer use habits might be a bit weird, how does that impact the retention stats? Does youtube know that I'm still watching more videos, or does it consider the closing of the tab to be "leaving the site," even though I'm not, really?
CZcams certainly knows everything you do on CZcams. Whether they take unusual viewing habits into account is anyone's guess, but I'd say, unless what you do is very unusual, they probably take it into account.
"Videos that are useful and about something often do poorly." This is an ongoing tragedy for those of us who actually want such videos. With everyone playing to maximize views with analytics, nobody seems to want to produce such niche content for very long...because the addiction to increasing view count is too great. As for the video in question, I found it somewhat enlightening about this process in that from my perspective you seemed to be overanalyzing every little bump and dip and I certainly wouldn't have interpreted things in the same ways. But, I enjoyed seeing that perspective. Honestly, I admire you as one of the very few people on youtube who made it moderately big without seeming to sell out and completely remove substance in favor of short, flashy, empty clickbait. When I get tricked into watching a video that has nothing to say, I avoid that channel in the future. The vast majority of people don't seem to have that reaction, so I am clearly a niche audience. Yours is among the very few 'larger' channels I enjoy.
I agree totally. I make videos about things and am often disappointed with the reception. But occasionally one will take me from for some mysterious reason. Crazy algorithm!
The reason I love your videos and john Hinze's is you guys make stuff out of nothing or you show a better way of doing something, I can't believe I'm different than the majority of people...
I watch videos on channels I am subscribed to. I seem to get notifications for every vid you or John post. And I always watch it at some point. Usually the same day. John hasn't posted here in a long time.
When I want to leave after watching a particularly good video I often start a video I probably won't like too much and let it run by itself. Hopefully the creator of the good video is rewarded for seemingly keeping their viewer interacting with YT.
really? I wouldn't put that effort in. It's the agregate of thousands of views that makes up the stats. One user's behaviour makes so little difference that it's not worth your time.
@@HeiszWandelproject It's not much effort and while it certainly doesn't help large channels much, it might help small channels and it's part of my attempt to train the algorithm(s) to give me useful personal recommendations. It seems to work to some extent. It's a bit like conditioning an animal. YT isn't made to serve worthwhile content and keep the viewers happy, it's made to show as many ads as possible. This means just giving a thumbs up and leaving satisfied is probably not very useful when trying to encourage YT to recommend more of a particular kind of content. (Seemingly) staying on the site and watching more videos is. This is one of multiple approaches I use to shape the recommendations YT gives me. If I don't pay attention they quickly deteriorate to a useless list of junk and clickbait.
I look forward to seeing information on your channels your engineering background is insightful to problems and the mousetrap videos are different entertainment.
So here is what I see happening between your awesome build vids, is you get a table saw out in your back yard and learn what will happen when you drop an egg straight down on the running blade. keep the vids coming, thanks
I understand that life happens, with moving, setting up new quarters, getting sick and all. It leaves you making videos of what you can instead of what subscribers are used to seeing out of such a talented craftsman. I don't mind the mice, I watched one or two, but that's all. I don't care about every little iterations and it's effects. I create things from wood and I like to see others create things from wood. That's why I initially subscribed and continue to watch. I didn't watch the video about fixing the homemade pipe organ. Even though I'm sure it's entertaining and informative, I don't really care much about pipe organs. When you (Matthias) start woodworking again you'll probably find more people will watch, or at least that's my hypothesis.
The spike is interesting, I wonder if its related to the warning they keep giving us in creator studio, about our numbers might be dropping as they cull out spam subscribers.....
I agree; exactly what I was going to say. I don't post videos, so why would I want to watch a video on how I can get more people to watch the videos that I'm not posting? It would be like watching a video on coding when you're not a coder. . .I wonder why he didn't think of that...
It has occurred to me that it wouldn't matter if I spent the next 10 years periodically making 'useful' videos (unlikely), I would never make a penny from them as being useful is not rewarded by CZcams. I'm not trying to make money, that's not why I've made the few videos that I have, just being useful is quite rewarding. I could have hundreds of thousands of view and never meet the Subscriber threshold as the videos would be about what ever I fixed or played around with, therefore not following any particular theme. It doesn't particularly bother me, it was just a thought.
I wouldn't count that spike as mischief. For instance I have my work laptop in a dock with separate keyboard, so stuff often gets piled up on the laptop's keyboard and sometimes a key gets pressed. Once Escape or something got stuck and it took me probably 15 minutes to even notice and then couple of minutes to find out what on Earth was wrong with computer. So don't count as mischief anything that can be explain by stupidity.
Wait a second, so you mentioned that CZcams takes closing the browser after a video as a bad thing? If this is true then we got an issue, The way i watch CZcams is I open all the videos from my subscription box i want to watch in separate tabs and close them when i have finished watching them. My reasoning for this is because for one i am subscribed to some channels for specific content they make and not others and it makes it easier to watch and not miss the things i want to watch.
Yes, it's true. We're punished if a viewer leaves CZcams directly from our watch page. Called an 'end session penalty'. The longer CZcams can keep a viewer on CZcams, the better for CZcams. If a creator causes a viewer to leave CZcams from their watch page, they don't like it and won't recommend the video near as much as they normally would. So if you close a browser after watching a video, then you're inadvertently doing more harm for that creator than good, unfortunately. If you navigate to your sub feed or the home page or another CZcams page (not a watch page or channel page) before leaving CZcams or closing your browser, then no one is affected. But makers/builders like us are in a damned if you do/damned if you don't situation because we want to offer plans for our projects on external sites too. CZcams's taken a step in the right direction recently with channel memberships and Tee Spring merch, but we still can't provide digital content on this platform other than video. It would be extremely convenient and beneficial for both CZcams and makers to be able to provide downloadable digital plans for members via the community page. No need to advertise external links in videos. No end session penalties. Everyone is happy.
i have absolutely no idea why people watch casey neistad but i do know why i keep watching your videos! thank you for staying true to yourself and keep publishing "videos that are about something"!
I think John mentioned this before...Doesnt a video also do poorly if it gets a low percentage of subscribers watching it? If thats the case, is it more helpful for viewers to unsubscribe from channels they dont watch anymore?
I know two CZcamsrs that have similar 'weird' statistics on their videos. It came to light because they had EXACTLY the same poor performances on the same days. You need to look closely at what CZcams is doing with the viewing numbers.
I'd go more with your second thought, the video was very helpful and relevant for a small percentage of the people it was promoted to, but many couldn't care less or even knew what the video means ("Audience retention? What's that?"). I bet it had a low CTR too, no?
CZcams analytics can make you crazy, there are so many varieties of things that affect the algorithm that it's impossible to find an answer. I have similar issues the last month.
Look for patterns. If it takes you 2 min to get to the point in a build video, people will click away. If you have bad audio, people will click away. If you show some type of explosion in the video, you'll see a spike where people will rewatch that specific part. Easier said than done, though, still.
"I like making videos about stuff, but just entertaining is often more fun. Anyway, here's 30 seconds of a mouse trying to escape a lego dungeon with ragtime piano music over the top" *spike in audience retention*
So, is it your proclamation, sir, that CZcams content creators would do well to subscribe to the "Seinfeld" ideology when considering content creation?
I'm a subscriber to your videos because I think they're really cool, but, the stuff you build is way out of my league. Usually, like you mentioned, I'm looking for something very specific in regards to woodworking or I'm looking for entertainment elsewhere. For me, the value in your videos comes in little tips and if I don't see it happening in a particular video then I move on. Your videos are done nicely. Very nicely! I'm a homedeot-ish carpenter usually looking to improve my taping skills or compare Milwaukees latest to DeWalts. I wonder if you're out-thinking the room on this one. Thanks for the cool videos though!
It must be tempting to try to optimize views, but there's a big risk of alienating the original audience. Tbh I think when CZcamsrs quit their day job it adds a lot of pressure
so this was supposed to be a debate channel and the hardcore fans like the contrasting opinions with facts to back it up. Now its become a secondary channel for Wandel rant, albeit constructively, it's still ranting. This is not why I subscribed to this channel :(.
@@HeiszWandelproject but...but... I'm hoping!!! Don't get me wrong, I love your main channel. I also appreciate what you do here. It's just different from what I and probably many others subscribed for initially.
@@HeiszWandelproject why is it we don't see John on this channel? This is something I haven't been able to understand. I mean, it's not that difficult to send a USB drive in the mail containing his videos. 🤔
Is it really that important, what videos does youtube promote? I only either search for something, or go in the subscriptions page. But maybe many people just linger in the Home page and passively wait for something to be proposed to them? 🤔
yes, it's quite important. I don't so much mean actively promote, but youtube doesn't by default show you every video of every channel that you are subscribed to. So if youtube things poorly of the video, not even subscribers will see it.
Heisz Wandel project - wow that’s amazing. I thought that, when I go in the subscriptions page and I click on HWP, I could choose between all your recent videos (down to the one with a red bar, which is where I left off). Should I go to the channel’s Videos page then? I hate that someone (something) should decide what I want to see and what not!
Maybe the thumbnail wasn't engaging enough to get enough clicks/impression to please the CZcams algorithm gods? That or your hypothesis that too many people stopped watching CZcams after watching the video seem like the most likely reasons since your retention was very good. One other thought... I wonder if the algorithm punished you for the person who gamed the retention? I would imagine they look for that kind of thing. I enjoy these analysis videos. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I wondered about that too. But if it were possible for a third party to maliciously drive down views, I would imagine this would be a more widespread problem
@@HeiszWandelproject True. What are your thoughts regarding the thumbnail having that much influence? I'm sure you have a pretty good feel for that so it may be unlikely too. I really enjoy the analysis videos. Thanks again.
The thumbnail does have a significant influence. I have seen changes in views on changing in how many views a video gets per hour just by changing the thumbnail.
It would be helpful to mention the title of your last video, rather than just refering to it as such. Maybe viewing it could give us soms insight in the causes.
Yes, these videos are genuine and that's what I like. There are too many copycats and parrots to "make" same video again and again. It is terrible to watch when same miss information is repeated for known fact.
Matthias, you are a brilliant and fascinating guy. There are interesting things you can do while healing tendinitis. I’ve been through it. I don’t consider analysis of CZcams stats an interesting thing, nor mice, so much. While you haven’t descended into the narcissistic whining and anger of Heisz, who seems to fail to realize that uninteresting content spiced with resentment is not attractive, this trajectory is neither interesting nor entertaining. I cannot believe there is nothing left in your considerable intellect to fuel future content. I can believe that family responsibilities are taxing you to a critical point; been there too. I’d challenge you to get off of this current course and excel again.
a came upon your channel for useful woodworking information. I gave up woodworking but I stayed for the entertainment. other channels that did provide usefulness like Steve Ramsey, Jay Bates and even John Heisz i have abandoned and replaced them with channels like Hydraulic press channel joergSprave. I still think tools are cool, i just don't use them much anymore.
I imagine this is like a song writer trying to find the perfect recipe for a hit song so they can make every song they write a hit. That is, of course, silly. Most writers would write hundreds of songs hoping for a couple of them to be hits. Some songs are just going to be situational. "Im feeling a little sad and that song speaks to me right now". Not a hit by any means but its meaningful to some people and has value. COuld take a long time for that B side to really develop into something. The writer doesnt give some backhanded comment about how his audience just like his mindless dance groove. LOL
it would do a bit better, because more people are subscribed. But I don't like hitting people with stuff they aren't interested in. This channel is about that sort of thing, yet people still complain that this channel is about what it is about!
Next video: "So I made this wooden stepped gear contraption that mimics youtube's algorithm and predicts the success of a video"
oh, if only. Then I could predict what does well. But even if I did know exactly what went into it, it would no doubt be thousands of gears!
And a lot of them would not be round. Or keep to three dimensions. ;-)
But that's not interested at all, it should read: without any of my (large number here) bandsaws.
and it has to be painted green
I never come to CZcams for entertainment.
I watch videos for their usefulness.
CZcams has become a way for me to learn new things.
Skippy Lippy perhaps learning new things is your form of entertainment? It certainly is mine!
@@guitarfreak12396 Thank you for that refreshing way to look at it! ^5
I would recommend looking around at the entertainment on youtube. There is higher quality content than you might expect out there.
I originally came for entertainment, but as Ihave matured I have transitioned more to using it as a learning tool.
Next:
Do a video about the audience retention of this video.
Then:
Do a video about audience retention on that one.
Then:
Do a video about audience retention on that one.
Then:
Do a video about audience retention on that one.
Then:
Do a video about audience retention on that one.
Then:
Do a video about audience retention on that one.
Then:
Do a video about audience retention on that one.
...
..
.
Johnnie Walker you could make an entire channel dedicated to reviewing your previous video and it’s stats
I always appreciate that you get me to stop and think. Even a video like this encourages me to contemplate the way something works. Babbling can be annoying unless the one doing the babbling is an interesting person.
I think you're right, there are two kinds of people watching CZcams. Those that are interested in projects and learning how to do things, and there are those that are just looking for mindless entertainment (bubblegum for the brain). Unfortunately I think the entertainment group is larger than the group interested in learning.
The second group is what this particular video falls into - its a 3 and a half minute mindless waffle.
Casey did make a grapple hook to rescue a drone once. Through the build was simple, the video was so engaging it made magnificent content. Easy to make, good edit and high impact.
You could end each video in a gladiator costume yelling "Are you not entertained?"
Don't fall into the same ways that Heisz has fallen into. Making videos about how hard it is to make videos, how viewership has gone down, etc. Your last video didn't do well because it wasn't very interesting. It's not that people all want mindless entertainment, least of all your subscribers, its that they want to see things that are interesting to them. CZcams stats may be interesting to you, but not to most of your subscribers. Heisz's video content is sporadic, he makes little to no progress on his projects, you never know what channel has what. Then he moans and complains about viewership going down. This cannot all be attributed to CZcams conspiring against you. You guys aren't making very interesting videos, so people stop watching.
Yeah, I wonder if he just put all his content on one channel and abandoned the others what would happen. Tested has one channel where they put everything, and they label everything so you don't get confused. John will casually mention his "red channel" and I know what that means, but I guarantee anyone watching his videos randomly has no clue what he is talking about and isn't interested in finding out.
Seriously when was the last time we saw anything with gears, or even wood? No one cares to watch ghetto fixes around the house.
@@beno0055 People who live in the ghetto do...they just don't have computers...
It's interesting to see the struggle. Subscribers are apparently just a small fraction of the viewership so channels are bound to focus on _the youtube algorythms_ No surprise there is burn out as subscribers nor content does matter. Even a channel slowdown/collapse does not matter much because most of the income continues from some older random hit videos.
@@briancarter1597 I think multiple channels can be good, if you've got enough content to support it. Pocket83's second channel is cool, it's kinda like the "black channel," and he still puts out stuff on his main channel almost as regularly as he used to. I think Heisz had a hard time deciding what goes where for a while, and it threw me off. But if he had two channels one for normal stuff and one for rambling it would be a lot easier to know what he was talking about. I don't want to shuffle between different channels to know whats going on with one project (the still unfinished, I think, planer).
This is good advice. Keep up the good work. I can appreciate you teaching on methods for evaluating your youtube performance. Plus, I'd take your word over any one else.
The reason (IMO) it did so poorly is because you're explaining something that the vast majority of us are not interested, which is CZcams monetization or statistics. Most of us are amateur builders or wanna be builders (In my case) and I personally find it extremely educational the way you approach things that I can relate to. Not really graphics and things I will never get to see, but wood projects and the scientific approach to said projects, and how you can transform what appeared to be a piece of garbage and turned it into an useful piece of furniture (ugly as hell, but functional).
If you take a loyal follower's opinion. I know you can't build no more because of the injury, but why not take a young apprentice (I'm sure that out of the 1.4M followers you can find somebody) under your wing and teach him as you teach us how to build things approaching them from a purely scientific and mathematical point of view. The Samurai Carpenter and Mr. Chickadee are teaching lessons, perhaps that's something that you'd be interested in. And of course videoing said lessons would be beneficial for everybody. Cheers man!
That sounds like a really great idea. I volunteer as sidekick
I'd watch this! ☺
Agree with the "not interested" in CZcams stats" reason. Neither entertaining nor useful to me, skip right over it.
Matthias would never do this. He does not have the personalty to take on a buddy/sidekick/apprentice.
@@AppalachianLife I agree, he doesn't have the teacher personality but he does like making money. He's worked so hard for over 8 years to build and maintain his CZcams channel, (and we're all grateful for it). The next logical step is to 'franchise' if you will, his knowledge and approach towards mundane problems from a scientific point of view. While his personality may not be that of an ideal teacher (think Bill Nye the sciene guy) his understanding of math, physics, geometry, arithmetic and such is so great that the way he explains it makes much more sense than any teacher I had in school. I didn't mean to find a Robin to Batman or something like that, just a pair of healthy and capable hands to do the things he currently can't. And clearly John Heisz is not the right man for it, he talks WAY too much.
If it’s worth anything, I have been an avid fan of yours since I discovered your content. You have influenced the way I work in a project and how I problem solve any issues. Have a great day!!!!
I'm entertained by learning something interesting or just watching someone solve a problem in a novel way or ply their trade skillfully. When I see a channel devolve into mindless gawking or overwhelming ADHD rattling noise, I run far away and don't usually give them another chance. It's sad that I, and most of your viewers, seem to be in the minority. I get that CZcams has to cater to the majority but I just wish they could find a way to boost content that has actual substance. They are in a position to at least try a little bit to reverse this trend towards mindless crap. Instead, they're reinforcing it.
This channel has ALWAYS been about that. So it hasn't devolved. The question is more, why do you come on this channel in the first place, and then are you disappointed when the video is about what it says it's about in the title?
@@HeiszWandelproject I was speaking of CZcams/entertainment in general and not about this channel. I come to this channel, and your's and John's, specifically because you and he have the kind of content I enjoy. I didn't mean for my comment to come across in any other way. I think what passes as entertainment for a lot of people nowadays is what is devolving, and CZcams seems to be contributing to this unfortunate trend by promoting the crap over the good stuff with substance, like your videos. Sorry if my writing style is a little rambling and my intentions or points can sometimes get lost in the jumble.
Interesting to me, anyway, is that I saw this video recommended to me two days later, but, while subscribed, I didn't see this initially, nor the video you're talking about (which I'll go watch now).
There's a tv show called The Good Place, (spoiler alert) within which there's an algorithm that determines who gets into heaven based on the sum of all your actions. The algorithm is perfectly designed. But we just learned in the last episode that no one has gotten into heaven in over 500 years. Sometimes I wonder if the CZcams algorithm has been tuned to a point where it doesn't actually work anymore but it seems like it does just because there are enough channels with enough critical mass to keep it all going.
Well, there ARE videos that people watch. It just so happens that they are other people's videos. But you do have a point. It might be less than 0.1% of youtubers that satisfy the algorithm, but that's still enough videos for most to watch.
It certainly seems to work for them. And if you are testing things along the way and a change results in 0.002% more watch time then how could the change possibly be bad? Yet it seems to me like the algorithm is like the algorithm on the show. It's very good at finding reasons to NOT recommend a video but can it really find anything to do in positively promoting something that didn't happen on its own through social media first? Once it's decided generally to not recommend a channel can that channel ever do anything to change that? My last video, in the studio beta where it tells you about how the video is performing, it started out as #3 out of the last 10 videos and it said everything was good. Comments and likes were higher than normal. Then it dropped to #6 and it said watch time was lower compared to videos of mine that were of similar length. Then it dropped to #9 after the algorithm dropped it into a black hole. Looking at the analytics, the average percentage viewed is above average for the last 10 videos. Not the best, but better than most. So it's either lying about why it stopped recommending the video or it's looking at different data than I am. It doesn't matter because the video used copyrighted music so I wasn't going to get a penny regardless, but I would like to understand why the algorithm does what it does.
When I view videos, then there often happens a thing that could cause a spike like that. The "new" design instantly starts the video althoug the site isn´t loaded completely (takes from say five second to over one minute sometimes), in this span the video is bucking. So I try to stop the video but it persistendly starts again several times. I either keep hitting the stop button or if this does not work so well I just wait until the site is complete and then restart the video.
I miss the old design where id didn´t took so long to load the site.
Mattias, I've been following your web site (and these days your youtube channel) for what seems like forever (wooden bandsaw build #1 maybe?). You are an inspirational engineering creator and I hate that you are suffering from tendinitis and can't do what you love in the fashion you always have. Have you considered continuing to design things, but on a smaller scale and letting a 3D printer fill the building portion of the void while you are mending?
I like your videos that are useful and informative and about stuff. Especially build videos. Even if it's something I'm not going to build oh, I like the way you solve problems and I like the way that you present solutions to problems. Even if I would do it completely differently, it helps me think through problems and find better Solutions. Not better than yours, I mean better than the crappy solution I had before.
My first of a low to your videos! Well anyway :) I wish You and you family a Peaceful Christmas and a happy new year :)
I love watching this kind of content. I understand it's not profitable, but it also doesn't turn my brain to mush. I hope you can keep making useful content going forward!
I like videos that get to the point about useful topics. That's why I'm subscribed.
I struggle with this issue as well. I do a video on the history of Sears and I got 70k views. I do a full resto on a box from WWII and I get 1.6k. Best tools from Harbor Freight? 300K. How to build a knock-down stand for a mobile bandsaw? 3K. I put a ton of work into a video, making something amazing and the video bombs. I slap something snarky together and it gets 50k views.
Maybe that spike was from the newest CZcams feature for playing the beginning of videos?
I guess it’s important for you understand CZcams and your responses and I did hit the “Like” button but I much prefer the project video’s that better reflects your highly innovative self.
Hello Matthias, I've been a subscriber to your channel for quite a while now, (to clarify, not this one) and a big part of the appeal to me is that it is not the run of the mill "For Entertainment Value" kind of channel. I find it entertaining to watch how you do things and the very clear way in which you show/explain what and why you're doing it that way. Your gift sir, is that you are very good at teaching things to complete strangers, in such a way that the educational process is itself the entertainment. You are a talented wood-worker/craftsman that is also good at making videos to share your knowledge and skill with other like minded people. I'm concerned that the process has (Curse you CZcams Adpocslypse Algorithm and damn you to hell.) Please don't become so concerned about how CZcams rates your work that you loose focus on the content that I believe most of your subscribers have signed up for. I don't know how much information about your subscribers that CZcams shares with you, but I would suggest that the majority of you subscribers are not subscribers to what CZcams rates as their "Highly Rated" contributors. To paraphrase one of the commenters below, the majority of your subscribers are most likely the minority of CZcams subscriber. (I consider that to be a good thing.) We are not interested in how well your last video stacks up against PewkyPie's last video, we are interested in being entertained and educated by your content.
I guess I'm in the niche audience? I watch you because I respect the things you say and DO. They are, for the most part, entertaining or interesting (hard to quantify which without computers I reckon). I find that I am always trying to learn something from each video. Entertainment (like that from "This Old Tony" or "MrPete" - I like their dry wit) is sometimes an included benefit to learning. I am hoping you get a shop and some gumption to make more build videos of course. The mice will be able to get off Zanax too.
I think the Essential Craftsman Channel is a great balance of entertainment and informative/instructive. Their editing style and videos often include life lessons and other morality type of things in a more subtle way.
I enjoy your build videos. That’s why I subscribe to you in the first place. But I enjoy you testing videos instead of just stating something is better you test if it is. I think you world needs more of that.
I like this channel 👍I haven't seen John on here for a while though. Cheers
Thanks for the info. It's a big help for us smaller channels.
When I watch youtube, I typically open a bunch of videos that I'm interested in, each in a new tab. Then, as I watch each video, I close its tab and move on to the next one. Leaving aside for a moment that my computer use habits might be a bit weird, how does that impact the retention stats? Does youtube know that I'm still watching more videos, or does it consider the closing of the tab to be "leaving the site," even though I'm not, really?
CZcams certainly knows everything you do on CZcams. Whether they take unusual viewing habits into account is anyone's guess, but I'd say, unless what you do is very unusual, they probably take it into account.
That's what I do too. I think that counts as the end of a session but I have no inside info here.
Videos can be about something and entertaining. Keep up the great content.
Even if I get bored I leave the video playing till the end and go get a coffee
"Videos that are useful and about something often do poorly." This is an ongoing tragedy for those of us who actually want such videos. With everyone playing to maximize views with analytics, nobody seems to want to produce such niche content for very long...because the addiction to increasing view count is too great.
As for the video in question, I found it somewhat enlightening about this process in that from my perspective you seemed to be overanalyzing every little bump and dip and I certainly wouldn't have interpreted things in the same ways. But, I enjoyed seeing that perspective.
Honestly, I admire you as one of the very few people on youtube who made it moderately big without seeming to sell out and completely remove substance in favor of short, flashy, empty clickbait. When I get tricked into watching a video that has nothing to say, I avoid that channel in the future. The vast majority of people don't seem to have that reaction, so I am clearly a niche audience. Yours is among the very few 'larger' channels I enjoy.
Well said, Jessica. My feeling and opinion about these things is very much the same. The exception is the "over-analysing" part. That's me to a "T" 😊.
I agree with everything you said.
I agree totally. I make videos about things and am often disappointed with the reception. But occasionally one will take me from for some mysterious reason. Crazy algorithm!
The reason I love your videos and john Hinze's is you guys make stuff out of nothing or you show a better way of doing something, I can't believe I'm different than the majority of people...
I watch videos on channels I am subscribed to. I seem to get notifications for every vid you or John post. And I always watch it at some point. Usually the same day.
John hasn't posted here in a long time.
When I want to leave after watching a particularly good video I often start a video I probably won't like too much and let it run by itself. Hopefully the creator of the good video is rewarded for seemingly keeping their viewer interacting with YT.
really? I wouldn't put that effort in. It's the agregate of thousands of views that makes up the stats. One user's behaviour makes so little difference that it's not worth your time.
@@HeiszWandelproject It's not much effort and while it certainly doesn't help large channels much, it might help small channels and it's part of my attempt to train the algorithm(s) to give me useful personal recommendations. It seems to work to some extent. It's a bit like conditioning an animal. YT isn't made to serve worthwhile content and keep the viewers happy, it's made to show as many ads as possible. This means just giving a thumbs up and leaving satisfied is probably not very useful when trying to encourage YT to recommend more of a particular kind of content. (Seemingly) staying on the site and watching more videos is. This is one of multiple approaches I use to shape the recommendations YT gives me. If I don't pay attention they quickly deteriorate to a useless list of junk and clickbait.
keep doing what your doing, that's why I always come back and watch every video.
I look forward to seeing information on your channels your engineering background is insightful to problems and the mousetrap videos are different entertainment.
Go the old Tony way... His stuff is basically diy videos turned comedy show
So here is what I see happening between your awesome build vids, is you get a table saw out in your back yard and learn what will happen when you drop an egg straight down on the running blade. keep the vids coming, thanks
What about buying hydraulic press and just crush everything, starting whit that running table saw.
I understand that life happens, with moving, setting up new quarters, getting sick and all. It leaves you making videos of what you can instead of what subscribers are used to seeing out of such a talented craftsman. I don't mind the mice, I watched one or two, but that's all. I don't care about every little iterations and it's effects. I create things from wood and I like to see others create things from wood. That's why I initially subscribed and continue to watch. I didn't watch the video about fixing the homemade pipe organ. Even though I'm sure it's entertaining and informative, I don't really care much about pipe organs. When you (Matthias) start woodworking again you'll probably find more people will watch, or at least that's my hypothesis.
Caseys videos were never about anything. There, I said it, Now all the Casey fans will hunt me down.😨
The spike is interesting, I wonder if its related to the warning they keep giving us in creator studio, about our numbers might be dropping as they cull out spam subscribers.....
I wouldn’t think a video about CZcams stats would be useful to anyone not posting videos to CZcams, save for purely academic reasons.
Ah .. but has it encouraged you to think of and suggest ways in which videos might be better produced, when Mathias returns?
I agree; exactly what I was going to say. I don't post videos, so why would I want to watch a video on how I can get more people to watch the videos that I'm not posting? It would be like watching a video on coding when you're not a coder. . .I wonder why he didn't think of that...
I always find you entertaining but then again I'm your number 1 fan.
No, I am his number 1 fan!
I thought I was
NO I’m definitely his number one fan 😃
Improving your CPM with this message...
It has occurred to me that it wouldn't matter if I spent the next 10 years periodically making 'useful' videos (unlikely), I would never make a penny from them as being useful is not rewarded by CZcams. I'm not trying to make money, that's not why I've made the few videos that I have, just being useful is quite rewarding.
I could have hundreds of thousands of view and never meet the Subscriber threshold as the videos would be about what ever I fixed or played around with, therefore not following any particular theme.
It doesn't particularly bother me, it was just a thought.
I wouldn't count that spike as mischief. For instance I have my work laptop in a dock with separate keyboard, so stuff often gets piled up on the laptop's keyboard and sometimes a key gets pressed. Once Escape or something got stuck and it took me probably 15 minutes to even notice and then couple of minutes to find out what on Earth was wrong with computer. So don't count as mischief anything that can be explain by stupidity.
Good point. But that was the first time I saw a funny spike like that
3rd option, people clicked away and ran to look at their own analytics and audience retention.
The problem might be videos about videos. It's like water circling around the drain.
Wait a second, so you mentioned that CZcams takes closing the browser after a video as a bad thing? If this is true then we got an issue, The way i watch CZcams is I open all the videos from my subscription box i want to watch in separate tabs and close them when i have finished watching them. My reasoning for this is because for one i am subscribed to some channels for specific content they make and not others and it makes it easier to watch and not miss the things i want to watch.
Yes, it's true. We're punished if a viewer leaves CZcams directly from our watch page. Called an 'end session penalty'. The longer CZcams can keep a viewer on CZcams, the better for CZcams. If a creator causes a viewer to leave CZcams from their watch page, they don't like it and won't recommend the video near as much as they normally would. So if you close a browser after watching a video, then you're inadvertently doing more harm for that creator than good, unfortunately. If you navigate to your sub feed or the home page or another CZcams page (not a watch page or channel page) before leaving CZcams or closing your browser, then no one is affected. But makers/builders like us are in a damned if you do/damned if you don't situation because we want to offer plans for our projects on external sites too. CZcams's taken a step in the right direction recently with channel memberships and Tee Spring merch, but we still can't provide digital content on this platform other than video. It would be extremely convenient and beneficial for both CZcams and makers to be able to provide downloadable digital plans for members via the community page. No need to advertise external links in videos. No end session penalties. Everyone is happy.
i have absolutely no idea why people watch casey neistad but i do know why i keep watching your videos! thank you for staying true to yourself and keep publishing "videos that are about something"!
That was very entertaining, but I've been told that I'm easily amused.
I think John mentioned this before...Doesnt a video also do poorly if it gets a low percentage of subscribers watching it? If thats the case, is it more helpful for viewers to unsubscribe from channels they dont watch anymore?
I'm not sure about that theory.
I know two CZcamsrs that have similar 'weird' statistics on their videos. It came to light because they had EXACTLY the same poor performances on the same days. You need to look closely at what CZcams is doing with the viewing numbers.
I'd go more with your second thought, the video was very helpful and relevant for a small percentage of the people it was promoted to, but many couldn't care less or even knew what the video means ("Audience retention? What's that?").
I bet it had a low CTR too, no?
CZcams analytics can make you crazy, there are so many varieties of things that affect the algorithm that it's impossible to find an answer. I have similar issues the last month.
Look for patterns.
If it takes you 2 min to get to the point in a build video, people will click away. If you have bad audio, people will click away.
If you show some type of explosion in the video, you'll see a spike where people will rewatch that specific part.
Easier said than done, though, still.
I think I turned off CZcams at or around 2:13 for this video. Low retention.
*Nailed It!*
you said it yourself. retention goes down when you explain. if a video is promoted as one about explaining, why would people watch it?
This is so Meta I love it.
"I like making videos about stuff, but just entertaining is often more fun. Anyway, here's 30 seconds of a mouse trying to escape a lego dungeon with ragtime piano music over the top"
*spike in audience retention*
Mathias Mathias Mathias... You just don't get it.
So, is it your proclamation, sir, that CZcams content creators would do well to subscribe to the "Seinfeld" ideology when considering content creation?
yes, I'm afraid that can work
What's that? A TV show or something?
One of these days I should try watching a Casey Neistat video.
Or not.
Yeah, probably not.
Keep your head down and do what you do best.
(Russell Crowe's voice) "Are you not entertained?"
I like videos about something. I like videos where I can learn something. For me that's entertaining.
I'm a subscriber to your videos because I think they're really cool, but, the stuff you build is way out of my league. Usually, like you mentioned, I'm looking for something very specific in regards to woodworking or I'm looking for entertainment elsewhere. For me, the value in your videos comes in little tips and if I don't see it happening in a particular video then I move on. Your videos are done nicely. Very nicely! I'm a homedeot-ish carpenter usually looking to improve my taping skills or compare Milwaukees latest to DeWalts. I wonder if you're out-thinking the room on this one.
Thanks for the cool videos though!
I wasn't "miffed" I laughed.
It must be tempting to try to optimize views, but there's a big risk of alienating the original audience. Tbh I think when CZcamsrs quit their day job it adds a lot of pressure
so this was supposed to be a debate channel and the hardcore fans like the contrasting opinions with facts to back it up. Now its become a secondary channel for Wandel rant, albeit constructively, it's still ranting. This is not why I subscribed to this channel :(.
well, then unsubscribe.
@@HeiszWandelproject but...but... I'm hoping!!! Don't get me wrong, I love your main channel. I also appreciate what you do here. It's just different from what I and probably many others subscribed for initially.
@@HeiszWandelproject why is it we don't see John on this channel? This is something I haven't been able to understand. I mean, it's not that difficult to send a USB drive in the mail containing his videos. 🤔
@@HeiszWandelproject ok, you convinced me. once you get better get back to your original channel.
I watched this video to the end. JUST TO SHOW 'EM!
Shade thrown at Casey Neistat XD
Just stand on your head, spin and get injured, that's the real road to success :)))
indeed. But very costly on a personal level!
Perhaps you have a base of viewers that are accustomed to the "Pre- Tendonitis " Era and now your selling Ice cream at a Pizza joint....JMO
CZcams just started "autoplay" in their app. maybe that was it?
Go to studio beta and look at your impression rate to see how many times YoutTube displayed your video and what percentage of those people clicked.
People dont know what they want. But i bet you have buch of loyal fans all over the world. Like me, subbed to 3 of your channels :D
Is it really that important, what videos does youtube promote? I only either search for something, or go in the subscriptions page. But maybe many people just linger in the Home page and passively wait for something to be proposed to them? 🤔
yes, it's quite important. I don't so much mean actively promote, but youtube doesn't by default show you every video of every channel that you are subscribed to. So if youtube things poorly of the video, not even subscribers will see it.
Heisz Wandel project - wow that’s amazing. I thought that, when I go in the subscriptions page and I click on HWP, I could choose between all your recent videos (down to the one with a red bar, which is where I left off). Should I go to the channel’s Videos page then? I hate that someone (something) should decide what I want to see and what not!
Maybe the thumbnail wasn't engaging enough to get enough clicks/impression to please the CZcams algorithm gods?
That or your hypothesis that too many people stopped watching CZcams after watching the video seem like the most likely reasons since your retention was very good.
One other thought... I wonder if the algorithm punished you for the person who gamed the retention? I would imagine they look for that kind of thing.
I enjoy these analysis videos. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I wondered about that too. But if it were possible for a third party to maliciously drive down views, I would imagine this would be a more widespread problem
@@HeiszWandelproject True. What are your thoughts regarding the thumbnail having that much influence? I'm sure you have a pretty good feel for that so it may be unlikely too.
I really enjoy the analysis videos. Thanks again.
The thumbnail does have a significant influence. I have seen changes in views on changing in how many views a video gets per hour just by changing the thumbnail.
It would be helpful to mention the title of your last video, rather than just refering to it as such. Maybe viewing it could give us soms insight in the causes.
Useful or not, I always enjoy watching one of your videos, but that's just me................ :)
Same, he makes soooo good videos :D
Yes, these videos are genuine and that's what I like. There are too many copycats and parrots to "make" same video again and again. It is terrible to watch when same miss information is repeated for known fact.
How's the tendonitis?
I went to play a Casey Neistat video in full after this. That should throw things off.
(I know, I'm only one person :-D)
On the other hand Matthias Wandel main channel's last video got 2.5 mil views and has the most view since is last mouse video 10 months ago.
Matthias, you are a brilliant and fascinating guy. There are interesting things you can do while healing tendinitis. I’ve been through it. I don’t consider analysis of CZcams stats an interesting thing, nor mice, so much. While you haven’t descended into the narcissistic whining and anger of Heisz, who seems to fail to realize that uninteresting content spiced with resentment is not attractive, this trajectory is neither interesting nor entertaining. I cannot believe there is nothing left in your considerable intellect to fuel future content. I can believe that family responsibilities are taxing you to a critical point; been there too. I’d challenge you to get off of this current course and excel again.
Because there wasn't a mouse in it?
a came upon your channel for useful woodworking information. I gave up woodworking but I stayed for the entertainment. other channels that did provide usefulness like Steve Ramsey, Jay Bates and even John Heisz i have abandoned and replaced them with channels like Hydraulic press channel joergSprave. I still think tools are cool, i just don't use them much anymore.
I imagine this is like a song writer trying to find the perfect recipe for a hit song so they can make every song they write a hit. That is, of course, silly. Most writers would write hundreds of songs hoping for a couple of them to be hits. Some songs are just going to be situational. "Im feeling a little sad and that song speaks to me right now". Not a hit by any means but its meaningful to some people and has value. COuld take a long time for that B side to really develop into something. The writer doesnt give some backhanded comment about how his audience just like his mindless dance groove. LOL
I almost choked at the Casey comment!!!!
Comment new rules from CZcams. Seems that now all subscribers will have to be active, as you wish
For what it is worth I unsubscribed from Casey, but I’m still subscribed to you.
I unsubbed from Casey a long time ago, but I still skim thru a video or two of his from time to time.
I quit this video after 3:29 . I was bored.
because we all had to watch youtube rewind 2018 and now are feeling weird 😁
But what they were thinking? It's like new diablo game, new EA game, jedi movie or doctor who, but still worse :S
I don’t watch that rubbish.
Check the viewer retention thing at 0:06 on your analytics now :D
the audience retention stats don't show up until a few days later.
I don't think that statistic is correct. That doesn't make any sense. Probably it's a mistake from YT.
I believe I remember someone mentioning something about writing a comment about writing script to mess with his analytics.
It would be interesting to see how this same video would fare on your other channels, compared to HWp.
it would do a bit better, because more people are subscribed. But I don't like hitting people with stuff they aren't interested in. This channel is about that sort of thing, yet people still complain that this channel is about what it is about!
You had a video out?