YouTube has recently unveiled its latest feature, Hype, which aims to give smaller creators a platform to grow. Presented at the “Made on YouTube” event, Hype is designed to allow fans to support their favourite creators by boosting the visibility of their videos. The feature adds a “Hype” button next to the existing “Like” button, enabling users to help elevate content on a leaderboard. Each week, the most-hyped videos gain increased visibility within their region, potentially opening the door to wider audiences.
While the feature initially limits users to three hypes per week, YouTube has indicated plans to allow users to purchase extra hypes, creating a new revenue stream for both the platform and its creators. With a monetization model akin to Super Thanks, where YouTube retains 30% of the revenue, Hype could soon become a significant part of the creator economy.
Concerns of Potential Abuse
Despite YouTube’s intent to support smaller creators, the announcement has sparked concerns within the creator community. Critics fear that larger channels could exploit the system by creating new channels and using their massive existing fanbases to artificially inflate the visibility of these new ventures. Some worry that this strategy could effectively bypass the original purpose of Hype, which is to give smaller, underrepresented creators a fair chance at success.
The current system attempts to mitigate this issue by giving extra points to creators with fewer subscribers, making it harder for established channels to dominate the leaderboard. However, this safeguard may not be sufficient to prevent the exploitation of the system. Larger creators, with the support of thousands of fans, could still push new content far faster than a smaller creator would naturally grow, potentially overshadowing genuine new talent.
A Promising Start or a Flawed System?
During beta tests in Turkey, Taiwan, and Brazil, the Hype feature was used over five million times across 50,000 channels. It was especially popular among younger audiences aged 18 to 24. While the data from these trials suggest strong interest in the feature, the broader rollout may reveal how well YouTube’s safeguards actually work to support small creators.
For now, YouTube remains optimistic, with Bangaly Kaba, YouTube’s Director of Product Management, stating that Hype is meant to give fans a more direct way to influence the success of their favorite channels. Whether this goal will hold in the face of potential abuse from larger creators remains to be seen.
Conclusion
YouTube’s Hype feature offers exciting possibilities for smaller creators to gain traction, but the community remains divided on whether it will fulfill its intended purpose or become another tool for larger channels to dominate. As the platform continues to refine the system, how it addresses these concerns will likely determine the feature’s long-term success.
