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Comment by sys_64738 | Hacker News Reader

What utility does the individual gain from his video going ‘viral’?

A monetized viral video can earn thousands of dollars in advertising revenue. It could even be tens of thousands of dollars if the video receives millions of views.

Quickly googled for some data, and this is from 2018:

"YouTube shares 55% of its ad revenue with video creators and books an average of $7.60 per 1,000 ad views. That means you get about $4.18 for every 1,000 views of ads shown on your videos."

So you really need a lot to make it worth the extra work

https://myworkfromhomemoney.com/make-money-youtube/

Getting noticed. Maybe being briefly remembered.

Most people don't use social media (or further back, blogs) to get paid or gain utility, they want to be noticed for something.

So 15 minutes of fame.

That is the utility value. It’s the primary utility value desired in human experience, even though most don’t grasp it directly, and instead think they want money, or to be a pop star, or to be a footballer, or to own x, y, z - but these are all manifestations of the fear of being forgotten. In fact, many, many people are miserable because they’ve chosen a means that they didn’t actually want, and the ends of fame are never quite what they expected.

Most of what humans do is to be noticed, to be remembered, for posterity.

I find the notion of being forgotten far more liberating.

It’s the primary utility value desired in human experience

It is not. Also, most do not want to be a pop star or a footballer etc.

So what is? Why do you do what you do?

Edit: this was meant as an honest query, so thanks for the downvote. I love how just shooting my point down with no thought or counterpoint gets upvoted, but asking a question in earnest gets downvoted.

As I’ve had nothing but “no you’re wrong”, I can only assume you don’t have a counter argument, and are just being contrary.

I didn't downvote you. FYI you are not even able to downvote a post that that is a response to one that yourself wrote.

You didn't put forward any compelling arguments for your point of view so I didn't bother to refute them.

It is a big question, but being remembered doesn't even register. Could not care the slightest. Now there are things that I do care about and they sort of implies that I will be remembered (by friends and family) if I get my way (wouldn't be a good friend if that wasn't the case).

But that is not why I do anything, and most certainly is not what motivates me.

I have no interest in being remembered.

I have no interest in being famous.

Sometimes I create things; If people enjoy what I make I'm glad to have slightly improved their life. If not then I hope my existing didn't make it much worse.

I imagine that soon after I am dead, no one will remember my name. This brings me peace.

Defensively upvoted you, with the caveat that I would maybe redirect the concept of being "remembered" to a simpler one of just wanting a connection with other humans.

That “connection” is more the sexual fitness aspect, which I’ll grant is a pretty primal drive - but what are children if not a legacy, someone to remember you?

There is certainly that (basically sexual selection) but there's also the more generalized natural selection where, for example, foraging and hunting solo are both much more difficult to do successfully, so you inherit a social drive along the lines of "I feel anxious or depressed when I'm totally alone," and/or "I care how these other people around me feel and what they think of me."

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