The guy was specifically talking about the video's headline, which was written to be clickbait like everything else on YouTube because that's how MKBHD pays his bills.
I find it silly that people are pointing at MKBHD for the downfall of a company, instead of the people who ran the company and decided to launch when the experience wasn’t good and the value proposition was poor. Releasing early to ride the AI hype train was a risk, and this time it didn’t pay off.
People are also still free to try it for themselves if they were excited for the product and think MKBHD is wrong. While Marques doesn’t call the iPhone a bad product, he is very clear that he prefers Android, yet the iPhone is still outselling Android in the US, his prime market. That’s at least some proof that the market doesn’t blindly follow him and appreciates the perspective, without taking it as gospel.
He has said countless times that his main phone, and primary number, is on whatever Android phone he is currently carrying.
I’m an iPhone user, so I’m not projecting, trying say he prefers my preferred platform.
Here he is talking about using 2 phones, with his main number and 75% of usage being on the Android. That seems like a preference to me. That doesn’t mean he thinks the iPhone is bad, but it’s his special purpose phone, not the ‘default for everything else’ phone.
To that end, if the Android operating system is better suited for the business needs he has as a video creator, he would be incentivized to choose that platform even if it isn't what he "prefers" all else being equal.
Not that I particularly care about this topic... good day.
I don’t care enough about Shortcuts to get good at it, but would probably use it more if the learning curve wasn’t so steep. It seems odd to me that I need to put more effort into learning Shortcuts than a programming language.
It has to be some boneheaded attempt at "Privacy", to that end they also force you to accept a notification saying that there are N shortcuts running on the phone Every. Single. Time. you restart your phone.
They destroy everyone's UX (and force a non-0 number of folks to unnecessarily use their phone when driving) in order to kinda-sorta-maybe prevent some corner case where a stalker had access to your phone and wants to notify themselves whenever you're around a specific location? Except they could just enable the always-on location sharing feature to get precise location data at every moment?
It boggles the mind.
The actual video is way more balanced. Why not call it "Humane AI Pin: Pretty Bad" or something? But the worst...? There are waaay shittier products he's reviewed.
MKBHD is a millionaire... why clickbait?
People are like "Honest reviews are important"... yeah, exactly and we're saying the same thing. the concern is about dishonesty for clicks.
All sides in this argument have a kernel of truth that is being exaggerated somewhat.
That being said I trust him, just think he was off on the clickbait-iness.
Genuine question: Are there?
That's your candidate for "worst ever"?
A product isn't bad just because it's old and has obsolete specs. That webcam review is 14 years old and has to be interpreted in the context from that time, just like the Humane Pin will inevitably be compared to current smartphones and obviously looks inferior in almost every way.
(The actual review is good though.)
I don't even care that it is clickbait. that's the game every YouTuber is playing. but, it is unashamed, by the book, clickbait.
Heck if anything not putting the company and product name in the title actually helps them in this case.
Clickbait does not mean bad. It does not mean I don't like it. It doesn't mean evil. It means it is bait designed to make you click.
And clearly, if you look around you, it's working.
There are Channels I subscribe to, that do not use titles like those too much. You can find examples from those channels that are clickbait from my perspective, but that is a general feeling I have.
I would also say that for complex stuff covered by a video you can't give a simple purely descriptive title and then my Clickbait detector allows some leeway. Just don't rely on terms, that almost automatically put a question in minds. Like: weird (weird, how?), the worst/best product (which product? - is it something I know of?).
One definition (maybe close to what your definition might be) is "a title written with the intent of getting people to click on it".
I think the other definition that many people hold would be something like: "a *misleading* title with the intent of getting people to click on it".
So, if someone thinks of clickbait as requiring some element of deception, misdirection, or other very mild fraud, then this wouldn't fit that category. I think that's why people are talking past each other a bit.
For the YouTube video in question, I guess it hinges on whether you recognize the device in the thumbnail you're looking at. If you do, then the title is giving away the lede and letting you have the takeaway if that's all you're looking for. If not, then you could argue that leaving out the product's name is clickbait-y.
So he's claiming that the title is in effect anti-clickbait. That by itself, regardless of the video content or whether or not people watch the video even, it could potentially cause harm to the product. I mean, he's not entirely wrong. It wouldn't be unsurprising if more people saw the title, and said to themselves, "Well, that sounds like a shit product, no need to even waste time watching the video," than actually watched the video.
He clearly says in the review that it’s the worst product he’s reviewed. So what other possible title could he have chosen?
If your objection is that it’s an interesting title that many people will click on … there’s nothing wrong with that. This is a guy with 15 years experience reviewing products, of course I want to know what he thinks is the worst. That isn’t clickbait though!
$$$$$$$$'s in the thumbnail
Youtube sad face thumbnail - youtube open mouth face thumbnail has been retired by the pro level influencers.
All classic youtube algorithm optimisation for clicks tricks - aka clickbait.
> I find it distasteful, almost unethical, to say this when you have 18 million subscribers.
> Hard to explain why, but with great reach comes great responsibility. Potentially killing someone else’s nascent project reeks of carelessness.
> First, do no harm.
It's pretty clear they're not referring to JUST the headline/title of the YT video.
It doesn't mention Humane or the AI Pin, there's also no brand logo in the thumbnail. Just a pic of the device itself. If you had no foreknowledge of the video or device itself, or what he was talking about, you'd have to watch at least 1 minute into the video itself to know the company and device name. The YT video title on its own can't possibly 'kill someone's nascent project' or 'cause harm' on its own.
You cannot just slap together a bunch of tech for no reason and then price it like Apple and pretend you're Apple. The fact that they received $240 million funding needs to be investigated in itself. Such terrible VCs need to be publicly humiliated.