This was the surprising, yet not so surprising, news that I received when I logged onto my Vidme account a few days ago. Vidme was never really competition to YouTube but it was an alternative and its absence from the marketplace will be missed.
From my perspective the corporate culture of YouTube is an enigma. Internally, and maybe to other outsiders more 'in the know’, it may all seem perfectly fine, consistent and sane but there is such broadness in the terms of use that it really comes down to corporate mood. The apparent arbitrariness of their content management methodology gives me apprehension.
Sure there is the like of Steemit and Dailymotion, but nothing is quite the fit that YouTube is, and Vidme was, for an episodic series.
There is only YouTube now and, without an alternative to go to, my concern has fully manifested. What if I offend the de-platforming algorithm/committee?
The 7 episode series which I am putting together is definitely less ‘edgy’ than “Family Guy” or even “Big Mouth”, but I’m not a network and that is a critical difference. YouTube has made it clear that, relative to networks/large studios, a stricter set of rules apply to small/independent creators.
With YouTube I’m at risk of some committee member (the “algorithm”) being constipated or having had a tiff with their life partner the day they review my content because some random individual felt unsafe watching a cartoon.
All the time, money and effort I’m putting into the project could potentially be for naught. Ugh.