Click or Miss: Is Youtube Social Media’s Final Frontier?

The success of social media platforms is directly rooted in the opinions of those with the platform’s most followers.

This sentence means nothing in terms of love, war or world peace, but is relevant in the conversation as to how Youtube allocates traffic (and subsequently, resources) to specific videos. While Instagram is a slightly more predictable algorithm, Youtube videos can sink or swim depending entirely on the way they are laid out upon uploading. The below video of Alasdair Evan’s is a prime example of that, as well as the Stab Youtube channel where we have learned the that a simple thumbnail can go a long, long way.

While I can promise you Stab will never tell you to like or subscribe (although we may ask nicely), this is something for viewers to keep in mind the next time your favorite surf vlogger posts a video with a title that may or may not make you want to throw up your lunch.

Click (or miss) below.

Click – Raw Files From The Tour’s Heaviest Right
Channel Subs: 655
Video Views: 104,739 (10,473.9 views/day)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 871/19 or 45.8 likes per 1 dislike

Everyone loves a Cinderella story. In the context of social media, Youtube’s platform is perfectly constructed to allow people with ‘small’ channels the ability to extend their reach/engagement with a single video. Alasdair Evan’s simple approach and straightforward titling has seen this video surpass 100k views despite him having less than 1k subscribers. Now the real question: did he turn on monetization?

Click – How Long Do You Think This Board Lasts?
Channel Subs: 52.5k
Video Views: 31,082 (15,541 views/day)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 895/3 or 298.3 likes per 1 dislike

…Lost’s latest update* on their Round Nose Fish looks really cool. You can trust me on this seeing as I’ve been staring longingly at Ashton Goggans’ still unwaxed, way-too-big-for-me, bright red custom iteration with glass-on fins, imagining a world where I was either much larger or Ashton lost a leg in a non-life threatening accident and started riding boards my size. Anyways, here Mason validates my mind-surfing with real surfing. His version is way better.

Miss – Layweek Content With The Cola Bros
Channel Subs: 15k
Video Views: 17,592 (8,796 views/day)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 573/4 or 153.4 likes per 1 dislike

The above suggestion to miss this video is no indictment of the brothers Cola. The unfortunate reality of being a full time vlogger while on tour is this: if you want to achieve competitive success, your daily routine is likely going to be quite boring. Being as Griffin is halfway through what has been a quite successful Australian leg, so we wont knock him for the lack of juice on the above. Although I’m sure no one would mind seeing some more of Crosby’s dance moves in a country with 18+ drinking laws.

Click – *Insert Sound Of Knife Sharpening*
Channel Subs: 9.49k
Video Views: 6,514 (3,257 views/day)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 253/3 or 84.3 likes per 1 dislike

Rumor has it that Zeke Lau will receive three wildcards into CT competition as a result of his winning ABC’s Ultimate Surfer series. While I don’t know the details of how or when he will enter these events (something that the program itself will surely reveal in its premiere on 8/23), it’s clear that Zeke is staying ready in waves of all shape and size. Watch as he enjoys Pipe, Haleiwa, and Rockies during what was likely the North Shore’s last swell of the season.

Click- For An Out Of Body Experience
Channel Subs: 2
Video Views: 3,168 (since 2008)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 2/1 or 84.3 likes per 1 dislike

Our American team has been on location in Costa Rica shooting what will be the next iteration of Stab High. While exciting on its own, this trip has also marked my formal introduction to Stab Premium Head Honcho Mr. Brendan Buckley, a man who makes our weekly email blasts an undeniably enjoyable experience. Now that I have a face to the name, it seems only right to honor him in this week’s C/M with a video that looks like it was filmed on an early Nokia flip phone. My question is, who the fuck disliked this?