2024-04-25 06:00:13
Videographers like to recreate rarity and sometimes disappear from social networks for a while. But their society, accustomed to the encounters they have created, has difficulty accepting this idea.
“Don’t worry! Everything is fine, don’t listen to the rumors and the haters.”. In the Instagram account thread from popular YouTuber Inoxtag, mountain guide Mathis Dumas gives his news. However, the content creator announced on April 6 that it would cut all its activities – and those of its teams – on social networks.
A decision by the young man to devote himself to his greatest challenge: climbing Everest. This absence was to create excitement over the success or otherwise of this project which he has been preparing for a year and which would give rise to the broadcast of a documentary on his YouTube channel in September. The latter is followed by 7 million people.
But it only took a few days before some of Inoxtag’s fans faced this lack of news to express their concern on social networks. Malicious Internet users then exploited this frustration. Videos claiming the YouTuber had died flooded the platforms. However, his ascent of Everest does not begin until May 5.
This fake news pushed the Inoxtag team to regain control over YouTubers’ communications. In addition to the news published by the mountain guide, the young man’s Instagram account is updated once more. “Day 15 as you wait for Inox to return, the days pass and his absence is felt more and more”, subscribers to his Instagram account might read this weekend, with a photo of Inoxtag’s Parisian studio in support. A storytelling that actually breaks the silence that the videographer wanted to submit to when he went to Everest.
Inoxtag’s departure to Everest sparked a wave of fake news (the first two photos) announcing his death on TikTok. This false content pushed his team to resume communication on social networks (last image on the right).
Le Figaro
A ubiquitous society
Fans also express their frustration in less extreme ways. On Tiktok we can see Internet users filming themselves looking sad with, written in comments, “I’m waiting for Inoxtag to come back”. According to web monitoring company Visibrain, society continues to use hashtags on the social network ” once morest”, “legend” or “inspiration” to show their support for their favorite YouTuber.
A phenomenon that doesn’t really surprise Éric Batteux, podcast producer for the company Webedia. The latter directed the documentary series for Belgian public radio RTBF offline, which deals with various issues related to the profession of content creator. The relationship with the fans of these young videographers is much discussed there.
“The connection between YouTubers and what they call their ‘community’ is very special. Overall, they feel indebted to their subscribers, and to make it good, they set up a regular meeting with them.”details Éric Batteux. “Their subscribers feel like they know them, they grew up with your content and are often from the same generation. In fact, there are no real boundaries between them, and community can be demanding.”
This relationship also extends to YouTubers’ personal social networks. “Unlike a singer or an actor whose distribution of content does not primarily depend on the audience, for YouTubers the community is the first relay for their videos. Hence this constant communication on their Instagram or TikTok”insists Bastien Louessard, lecturer in information and communication sciences at the University of Sorbonne Paris Nord. “It is something that is intrinsically linked to this culture industry.”
An impossible absence
And his case is far from isolated. Over the past two months, many Internet users have also complained the break, since January 22, by Squeezie. The most followed YouTuber in France still wants to recreate rarity and reduce the production speed of his long formats.
“In addition to managing their subscribers, YouTubers are encouraged by advertisers to create content that is increasingly reminiscent of television, because it is more reassuring for them to have an idea of what they are posting oncontinues Bastien Louessard. “But for creators, it makes it less easy to produce one video per week to please their community.”
So, not to disappear completely, Squeezie also makes sure to remain present on other platforms. His most loyal subscribers can find him every Wednesday night, live, on his Twitch channel. The videographer plays different games and takes time to chat with fans. Its secondary YouTube channel, where the relevant live broadcasts are rebroadcast, is also uploaded two to three times a week.
“Let the public know your return date”
Producing as much content as possible remains an important element in hoping to break into the platform. Fitness YouTuber Tibo Inshapefor example, became YouTube’s second most popular content creator in France in January, with 17.5 million subscribers. All while mainly focusing on the daily release of Shorts,the short video format launched by YouTube just over a year ago to compete with TikTok.
However, the company intends to preserve the mental health of its stars. She launched one “Prevention Center for Creators”, which advises how a YouTuber can best announce their hiatus to their subscribers. Among the recommendations is to target the period “decline in views and advertising revenue” to schedule said break. Above all, YouTube encourages you to provide a return date to reassure subscribers. Because no matter what happens, “they will be glad to see you return”terminates the platform.
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