Your comment just made me $10, thanks for participating!

I have been looking at trying to support all the creators I watch on their Patreon pages, but I can’t pay that much to follow everyone.

I am aware that I’m not just paying for Premium features, but helping them keep the lights on. The cost for data centers, storage, and workers to keep it running comes from my contribution, so to say I’m just paying for features is inaccurate. The fact they still pay their creators after all that is good, but I agree they could do better.

All in all, I do feel there is a tipping point approaching where I will abandon Google which I am actively working on by setting up a personal cloud on my own server.

I don’t work for Google, but I have been in IT Support for almost 20 years.

Same. I also remember when it took forever to load and there was nothing but viral videos. Now I can learn a new skill or watch in depth research on things I am interested in buying by people who took a lot of time to produce a video to help me make the best decision. If I was only consuming trash YouTuber content like Mr. Beast, then I would understand. The majority of my watch history consists of educational or informational content, and not having to watch ads and have it on-demand reliably is something I see worth paying for.

If I’m shilling for anyone, it’s the content creators. The platform wouldn’t be what it is without them. I don’t consume YouTube, I consume the videos it makes available which is a big distinction.

I’m not bootlicking, I just recognize the value their platform adds. Do I wish there were a better alternative? Absolutely, but I have not done the work to figure that out and am able to pay without issue. I have been working on Tech for nearly 2 decades, so I am acutely aware of who I am dealing with.

I acknowledge your opinion, but you won’t make me feel bad for exercising my freedom of choice. I do appreciate your upvote.

I only pay $22.99, I didn’t want YouTube TV since I don’t really watch regular TV.

I’m not rewarding them for bad behavior, I am paying them for running a sophisticated system that delivers any and all information in a digestible format to my fingertips. I do agree their free service has gone to shit, but it should have been a paid service from the start. I’ve built my own personal cloud and it is prohibitively expensive for me to have it stream HD video. Definitely more than a YT Premium subscription.

I am not opposed to being enlightened if you are willing to share. Otherwise, your comment adds nothing of value.