You Tubers- and to a lesser extent,D-tubes - please don't brand us like a group of cattle.
I watch little you tube videos now but there was a time I consumed hours of the individual videos with a wide range of creators and personalities. Many of these creators shared valuable advice and/or provided constant entertainment in their own ways.
A part of creating a successful You Tube channel is in its branding. I do not want to get into the how to's and strategies but there is one particular thing that will almost always cause me to stop watching or to unsubscribe.
I can deal with the often overused and annoying opening tags of "What's up You Tube?" or the constant reminder to "Like and Subscribe" or even the occasional "remember to hit that bell" reminder. That's all white noise.
What I can not forgive (unless the creator is REALLY providing some A+ material) is when they brand the people watching them. Let me explain.
Have you ever been a part of the KISS army or one or lady gaga's little monsters or a deadhead? How about a Hulkamaniac or a (sigh) Swifties? Then you have been a part of branding known as fandom nicknames. There's little in life I despise as much being clustered into a fandom nickname.
Before I go any further let me first say I realize why these creators do this. It's all part of the personal brand. These creators are emulating what they've been a part of and on some level I suspect it make them feel as if they're more of a celebrity with a devoted fan base. Obviously this concept works on some level. Fans may feel a greater sense of kinship to the creator and to the other fans. They share similar interests and desires and that is a powerful thing. - And an annoying one
I turned to You Tube and away from "real" celebrities for just this reason. (well it's one reason) I didn't enjoy being a part of their brand. Or being grouped together like puppets dancing because they told us too. It felt like a pseudo-form of ownership. And that is not ok by me. i didn't like it then and I don't like it now.
Like I said earlier, the creator has to really deliver the goods for me to overlook being clustered into their own person brand/fandom. I have unsubscribed too many of the creators I followed and will continue to do so. I suspect, eventually these brand-happy creators will soon reduce my You Tube experience to interviews and speeches and that's ok. I need not watch anymore when I should read and write instead.
Personally when I am group into a "fandom-group" I feel less like a human supporting a creator (cause they need our support be it a writer, creator, artist whoever) and more like a cog in the creators brand or a cow awaiting a glowing hot irom stamp on my side.
If you want to know more about this or just want to get a laugh just Google "Fandom nicknames" you may already be a part of a brand without even knowing it. And giving the nickname of some of these brands... ask yourself, do I want to be known as a Streeper (Meryl Streep)