Why I do not consider myself a Youtuber

2026-08-13

This is a topic that comes up from time to time, including in the latest “Prot Asks” I did with Oliver: https://protesilaos.com/prot-asks/2026-08-11-oliver-minimalism-distractions-independence/. Oliver wanted to say something and first checked with me if it was okay to do so, given that it could demonetise the video. I noted that I do not monetise my videos and that Oliver could speak freely.

I treat YouTube as a video hosting platform: it is always online and does not charge me for the service. I know I am giving up other values in exchange. This is a pragmatic consideration on my part.

I record a video whenever I feel like it. I do it for any topic I like. I am not targeting a specific audience and am not optimising for what people think or expect (same for all my publications, by the way).

I am not motivated by Internet points, in the form of views, likes, comments, subscriptions… There is no analytics software running on my website and I do not have email subscriptions. My RSS feeds are configured to show the full contents of the article, so that readers do not even have to visit my website. I do not run advertisements and am not doing paid promotions. In short, I have no idea who reads what, unless they directly tell me about it.

I have nothing against people who use their website or YouTube channel to sell products, track clicks, show advertisements, and so on. For me, this is not a moral issue (and I do not consider myself “moral” or even “good” in the conventional sense). Rather, it is a question of creative freedom, which I value greatly.

I find that the pursuit of Internet points compromises your expressive potential. You have the powerful incentive to do some or all of the following:

• keep milking topics as much as possible, which diminishes the quality of each publication;
• employ clickbait techniques with misleading titles and thumbnails, among others;
• become a caricature of yourself, by saying things you do not really believe in just because of the expected virality/popularity they have;
• say what people want to hear, so you do not challenge them to apply judgement and to question what they otherwise take for granted.

What motivates me is to speak my mind in earnest. I do not want to dilute my message with distractions. To my mind, the pursuit of Internet points is one such distraction both when they are few and when they are plenty. In the former case, you feel disappointed in the results and become frustrated with your efforts. In the latter case, you inevitably indulge in ego boosting, which is the petty man’s drug.

Do not conflate popularity as such with vanity or shallowness though. I am referring to the pursuit of popularity as the primary objective, which is not the same thing as someone becoming known and respected for what they do. For example, in the free software space, Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds are major figures because of their significant contributions, which will stay with us long-term.

All of the above apply in varying degrees to social media in general. Circa 2011 when I fist started my website, I created a Facebook page for it where I would post links to my articles. It was effectively an announcement board. I was getting a couple of “Like” reactions each time. I initially thought they were innocuous little extras. Until one day I wrote a long, fairly technical article that would require several minutes to read and perhaps a few more to think through. Within seconds of posting the link on the Facebook page, I got likes and positive comments along the lines of “good stuff!” and “keep it up!”. I deleted the Facebook page shortly thereafter because I understood how fake and shallow it was and how distracting it could become. It took me a few more years to completely abandon social media, including Twitter at the time, but the understanding was clear.

I do not count myself as a Youtuber because I recognise that Youtubering has its own logic; a logic that I defy. Even when people give me money, such as donations or for coaching, they understand that they are not buying my consent or, indeed, anything that would compromise my creativity.

If you want to succeed as a YouTuber, you do what is necessary. This is a business approach, which is ultimately governed by the balance sheet. And if you want to be maximally creative, you just do what you enjoy. If there happens to be an audience for your musings, that is a happy albeit irrelevant coincidence—and is a distraction if you let it influence your decisions.