[NYAGDU] FW: [NAGDU] An important note about YouTube

Fri Sep 22 05:10:26 UTC 2023

Hello everyone, I am forwarding the following message for your reading in context. I am also strongly encouraging that people stop watching and sharing the YouTube video in question. Although the YouTube video from the Lyft driver should be taken down, sharing the video itself and encouraging people to watch it, vote it down, and comment on it, will not help bring this video down. Without getting into too much technical babble, the more a YouTube video is accessed, even if it's not watched completely, the more the YouTube algorithm works and gives this person the attention and/or the revenue they want. You can read all about how the YouTube algorithm works from the following link.
https://napoleoncat.com/blog/youtube-algorithm/#:~:text=It's%20been%20used%20for%20over,users%20who%20have%20similar%20content.

Now for even more context, I suggest you read the following message from NAGDU Board member, Albert Elia. His message is also followed by a couple of other prior messages from the NAGDU mailing list.

Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Al Elia via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2023 9:50 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Al Elia <al.elia at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] An important note about YouTube

Hello everyone. I have been out of town for awhile and so am just catching  up on this subject.

The YouTube video under discussion came to the attention of the NFB in late August. We reached out to Lyft, but learned that our Lyft contact is no longer there. We are working to determine who should be our new Lyft contact, and are simultaneously advocating for sanctions against the driver who posted the cvideo.

We also went through the YouTube takedown request process for content that violates the law, as this video interferes with our right to travel with a guide dog under the ADA and several state laws, including California’s (which governs YouTube’s terms of service). Obviously that has not been successful, as the video is still up. We are discussing how best to move forward to ensure that this content is removed.

In the meantime, please do not share or watch the video. The reason we did not mention the video in social media or to any NFB lists is because of the concerns Heather and others on this list raised – that watching the video increases the likelihood that YouTube will recommend it to others, and also increases the revenue to the driver who made and posted it. I was very dismayed to learn that ASAP disseminated the video and encouraged people to watch it, as that is exactly what we do not want people to do. While I believe ASAP’s mission to be a laudable one, its cavalier attitude in this matter and some recent others makes me question its leaders’ understanding of technology and privacy, their judgment, or both. I think at this point if someone wishes to disseminate any information from ASAP on an NFB list, including this one, they may wish to seek NAGDU board input first. That is a suggestion, not  a command or policy statement of the board.

Hopefully we can undo the damage ASAP has done by increasing the prominence of this driver and his video buy convincing YouTube to take it down. However, that may take some time, so again  please do not encourage anyone to watch the video, and please  do not disseminate information about the video from ASAP.

Thank you all.

/Æ

On 19 Sep 2023, at 12:58, Jody ianuzzi wrote:

> I think the best idea is to bring this to the attention of lift. Perhaps they can view the video and suspend the driver
>
> JODY
>
> To Boldly Go  🖖🏻
>
>
> thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
>
> "What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS  Erik Weihenmayer
>
>> On Sep 19, 2023, at 12:50 PM, Jenine Stanley via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> I’ll add to Heather’s excellent advice here by noting that if you do want to share what this supposed driver said for comments, someone can grab and post a transcript of the video.
>>
>> Do not feed the trolls as it were. This guy makes trolls look sweet and cuddly.
>>
>>> On Sep 19, 2023, at 11:42 AM, Heather Bird via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello everyone. So, I just want to put this out there that when you view something on, YouTube, whether it’s something you agree with, or not, that boosts the views of that video, and the views of that content, Creator. That is, any sort of activity on a video makes the YouTube algorithm happy. So, if you come across a video that you don’t like, or don’t agree with, first of all, don’t hit dislike, because even if you’re showing, you dislike the video, that counts as activity, and it makes the YouTube algorithm more likely to recommend it to people. Secondly, probably don’t comment either, when you comment, even if you’re arguing with the premise of the video, or arguing with other people’s comments in the comment section, you are again telling the algorithm that this video is important.
>>>
>>> No, this next part, I’m not 100% sure of, but I’m fairly certain. If someone who is more text, savvy or social media savvy wants to weigh in that would be great. However, I think that watch time is based on how long you view the video as well.  When I look at the statistics for my channel, I see that it logs a lot of things, including total watch time. I’m not sure if it calculates it based on the number of times a video is viewed, times the length of the video? Or, maybe it is sophisticated enough that it looks at how long a video is viewed before it stops, that is, the video ends, or someone clicks away from the video to something else.  If it is in fact, sophisticated enough to track the actual amount of watch time, then, clicking away from a video that is problematic might help lower it in the YouTube algorithm. If you don’t want a negative video to impact the suggested videos you receive in future, viewing a controversial video in incognito mode, can also help. We can certainly wait and see what the leader ship Hass to say about this content, but in the meantime, if you’re inclined to go view this video, or if you encounter other videos in the future, that you really despise, please be aware of how your activity interacting with that video  Communicates to the YouTube algorithm. Trust me, this is infuriating, I am one of those sorts of people who likes to have the last word, who feels like I have to respond to everything, and so, not commenting on the video, not hitting the dislike button, it’s very difficult for me. So I would suggest the following, if you feel frustrated, about a video like this. One, share links to videos that are  in line with your philosophy, so, for instance, the NFB has a YouTube channel, and sharing positive guide dog related content, especially if it’s from an actual organization of Guide Dog users, such as NAGDU or GDUI, a channel run by one of the guide dog training programs, or a responsible guide or service, dog trainer, or content from responsible guide dog handlers, who are YouTube content creators, is also helpful. If you have your own YouTube channel and want to make a post expressing a view, differing from a negative post you encounter, without linking to that video, then you will help get correct information out there, and a message that aligns with your philosophy, without giving more traffic to the video, or the channel, of the negative content creator.
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
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