Clickbait is Unreasonably Effective

The title and thumbnail play a huge role in a video's success or failure.
Check out kiwico.com/Veritasium50 for 50% off your first month of any subscription!
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Special thanks to Patreon supporters: Alvaro Naranjo, Burt Humburg, Blake Byers, Dumky, Mike Tung, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Ismail Öncü Usta, Paul Peijzel, Crated Comments, Anna, Mac Malkawi, Michael Schneider, Oleksii Leonov, Jim Osmun, Tyson McDowell, Ludovic Robillard, Jim buckmaster, fanime96, Juan Benet, Ruslan Khroma, Robert Blum, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Vincent, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Alfred Wallace, Arjun Chakroborty, Joar Wandborg, Clayton Greenwell, Pindex, Michael Krugman, Cy 'kkm' K'Nelson, Sam Lutfi, Ron Neal
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Written by Derek Muller
Animation by Ivy Tello
Filmed by Derek Muller and Emily Zhang
Additional video supplied by Getty Images
Produced by Derek Muller, Emily Zhang and Petr Lebedev

[@jonathangrant4247]

This guy really just stood on a ladder and gave a power point presentation

[@Baalaaxa]

That's Derek for you. Gotta love his commitment and quality content.

[@Daye04]

And I absolutely loved it

[@TheChangeYT]

Cool idea 👍

[@niqaily4415]

It was unreasonably effective

[@gubx42]

That's a stepladder

[@thatbaccus]

When I first came across Veritasium I looked at the titles and thought "That's garbage, can't be true, clearly clickbait" and moved on. Then some of the researchers I worked with were talking (actually arguing) about a particularly interesting idea on a Veritasium vid, which got me to watch it - and I realised while the titles were absolutely crazy and hard to believe, they were also true. The great thing about this channel is that the team finds interesting and wild ideas that sound like they can't be true, and yet are - they use clickbait language that still manages to not be true (unlike so many that misinform willingly/intentionally). Bring on the legitbait!

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I passed over the first Veritasium video I was recommended because my brain connected the channel name with some channels I had recently been duped by that also had "latin-esque" names. But the second time one was recommended, I watched, and watched some more, and through this channel got into Steve Mould, and through Steve got into Matt Parker. Another channel that got recommended to me from watching Veritasium was Xyla Foxlin, from which I started watching Allen Pan, who may also have been recommended because I watched Kyle Hill (the Mythbusters 2 competition link). - The recommendation engine is sometimes good, but more than half the time recommends things I don't care about, or channels I actively hate. If KZbin never recommends a Joe Rogan video to me again, I might die happy.

[@DavidMuri-lm5vy]

IT'S MISTER. BEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone please sing the mister beast outro song!!!!!!!!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@ryans5073]

His whole point is that the vids are for educating most people not people who are actively working in or around research like yourself

[@Kroooza]

​@@DavidMuri-lm5vywierdo

[@knihovnik2]

Similar here. I got recommended the asteroid video (with the new title) and went like: "Ok, I know Veritasium is a great channel but this doesn't sound very interesting", and yet when in this video he started talking about "Asteroids: Earth's biggest threat" I was like: "Oh, this video sounds very interesting", only to be surprised that they're the same video.

[@37Kilo2]

I hate clickbait titles and thumbnails. I actively avoid videos and articles with them out of spite. I hate that they're effective, because that means they're never going away, and I have to see them constantly.

[@perafilozof]

Because most people are mentally weak and have no discipline.

[@DavidMuri-lm5vy]

And mind you KZbin came into the online social media internet stage roughly one year after Roblox came out in 2006, and KZbin started out as it just educational stuff posted by the people who made the company, so the companies growth 📈 in progress in terms of development was slow, but once the first KZbinrs who date back before Stampy long cat, mrbeast, and other old KZbinrs came into the his stage there was seemingly explosive growth as now more, and more KZbinr's who existed on multiple other platforms before they had a KZbin career joined, and made KZbin videos doing crazy challenges which gathered so many views that the company had to expand, and adapt also they had to become bigger they even got into a partnership with Google to expand even more the average video in KZbin kind of golden era of 2010 was people counting to 537 in one sitting, and probably taking live footage of a famous structure in their local area saying: I'm currently in front of (insert their towns famous structure here) and right now I'm going to walk inside of it because it's a pretty impressive building, so I can show you the inside of it! The comment section when the video was live: (if videos are live until the video is finished after being uploaded to KZbin back then) (everyone: OMG it looks so cool!!!) Nowadays: the average video is MrBeast eating $50,000 ice cream, eating the largest slice of pizza, being buried alive for 50 hours straight, Mark Rober making the world's smallest nerf gun, And so much more! The modern-day comment section when the video is live: (everyone: OMG I'm completely speechless by how great the video is!!!!!!!!!!!) So in retrospect if you look through KZbin's entire history year by year it would be surprising that KZbin has come this far in so little time! 😅🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@ClydeH777]

Especially sexual ones.

[@MrTAGGER88]

Well actually that isn't quite true and the reason why might surprise you. See it all started with the rise of yellow journalism in the 1920's, thanks to an editor at the. . . . . . . . . . . Hahaha got ya with some clickbait 😁😁

[@RealEngineering]

I use “clickworthy”

[@angelo.strand]

Click clarity

[@JamezMartinez]

You stole that from Linus

[@alonsovm2880]

*"The Insane Engeneering behind clickbait!*

[@devoltar]

And yours generally are :) I mentioned this in another comment but your thumbnails also have something Veritasium's need more of - consistent branding/style. I see your videos pop up in my feed and I know who it is and that I should click on it without looking further, which increases the frequency KZbin recommends them to me. The Veritasium videos I click the fastest have Derek's face in them.

[@pvic6959]

Veritasium is clickworthy. "OMG you wont BELEOVE what happens next" and the video is dumb is click bait

[@ChineseCookingDemystified]

"I'm terrible at making clickbait" says one of the people with the strongest title/thumbnail games on the platform. Seriously, the past two years of Veritasium has been a case study in how to make clickable videos while still respecting the intelligence of the audience.

[@WanderTheNomad]

I can't believe I only just now noticed that you guys don't have a verified checkmark. ..Why is that? 🤔

[@AkariInsko]

okay fine

[@vijayabhaskarj3095]

Yes, I have discussions on reddit that Mark Rober and Veritasium have cracked the code to KZbin algorithm.

[@Eridu]

wow i could never have said it better, that's exactly it

[@tennoki]

He's reflecting on his entire time in KZbin. For the longest time, he never bothered with his title/thumbnail game.

[@Taikamuna]

Alternative title: "I CLICKBAITED My Audience And You WON'T BELIEVE What Happened Next 😨!!!"

[@coffeenator3219]

Oh big Finnish channel. Torilla tavataan 🥳😉

[@Lunar_360]

Fakebait

[@aneeb6269]

@@Lunar_360 also add (Mind blowing result!!!)

[@dug3952]

@Thishan Mallawa Arachchi LMFAOOOOO I WAS GONNA SAY THAT

[@HolahkuTaigiTWFormosanDiplomat]

I think the current title will only attract the people who want to know how all of this work.

[@ironnick6399]

You're genuine. I hate that anyone making click bait could hide behind this spectacular video, but you've exonerated yourself. Recently found and now love your videos.

[@BrookeRooney]

I love the transparency of this video!!! Not only is this super helpful for the average viewer to be aware of, and the budding content creator to be aware of-but you're also able to highlight the values of you and your channel! I applaud the hell out of you for this. Seriously. Thank you

[@lukas1891]

Props to Derek for permanently letting a projector shine into his eyes for the whole record.

[@Indrakusuma_a]

And standing awkwardly on top of a ladder

[@nasreddinegalfout8893]

Look at the shadow. It is not

[@crisp.6341]

lmao

[@sid6645]

Props*?

[@richardmillhousenixon]

@@nasreddinegalfout8893 Yes it is. Otherwise his face would not be lit at all

[@millicentduke6652]

I love anti-clickbait. It’s like “here’s the short answer, but we both know I made a video because the long answer is crazy interesting”, and like… fair.

[@tehalexy]

yeah, those "anti-clickbaits" are unresistable for me. Adam Neely is damn good at it. I love this because you know in a tl;dr what you get but its well made and interesting.

[@TheMusicalFruit]

Anti-clickbait is win win, in my opinion. You get the effect of clickbait but you also continue to respect the intelligence of your audience. Do salt lamps work? Anyone with a basic understanding of chemistry and physics would probably guess the answer is "No" but I was very interested to see how the channel investigated the question.

[@merlinkater7756]

Agreed. Check the thumbnail of "How Much Money I Made From Game Development This Past Year" by Miziziziz. Great example.

[@dancinswords]

It's kind of like a guarantee; they're willing to give away the short answer for free, so the long answer _must_ be interesting. It also feels ballsy and subversive, which engenders respect

[@GermaphobeMusic]

This is what I love about Tom Scott and Vsauce. Sometimes, the simplest things can create the most intrigue.

[@VideoNozoki]

(I can tell you) The difference in every one of the example videos shown, THE PHOTO. It was the different photo (MUCH more than the title) that made all the difference. [a basketball with two arrows] vs [leaning over a dam+ the white path it will take+ arrows] [half photo you+ Ions Good For You?] vs [central photo of you+ "NO"] It is the photo, not the title.

[@DerekKerton]

Guy climbs up a ladder, and you WON'T BELIEVE what happens next!!!

[@dw6600]

Day 1: “We need to talk about clickbait” Day 2: “Mr. Beast and I need to talk about clickbait” Day 3: "Mr. Beast and I almost died when we talked about clickbait"

[@thommylicious]

Day 4: "Mr. Beast and I almost died. GOING SUS / POSSIBLE INTERCOURSE"

[@tommytomthms5]

day 4: I shot Mr. Beast! 😱 (with information)

[@xarpe3806]

Underrated comment

[@yomer355]

day 666: amogus

[@aidanjanemcintosh6919]

Day 5: It's all over. End of our channels?

[@Hoot]

_"We need to talk about clickbait..."_ _"I spent 19 MINUTES on a ladder, and here's what happened."_ _"HOW HIGH DID I CLIMB??? feat. MrBeast"_ _"This secret is costing you millions of views"_

[@idkwhybut...]

Have my first like. I'll be here at 1K.

[@paultintin4789]

You're hired 😁 Great idea tu put clickbait on a video about clickbait

[@sheeperskipps]

LMAO\

[@lexscarlet]

Insurance companies must hate you

[@segmentsAndCurves]

Damn.

[@xmartofskyx]

I was to send Veritasium team a message exactly on this topic! I was getting your videos on my feed for sometime now, but avoiding them because the titles and thumbnails looked like clickbait. Last week I finally gave up and decided to watch one. I was so happy I had finally found a channel about science that is serious rather than sensational (on a personal note, this what I miss most about science channels on television)... And was thinking to myself, now that I know about the channel, I'd watch any video, even if the title sounds more "classical" or "boring". Now the reason is explained. Thanks for making the content that you make, see you around!

[@hnc1500]

This channel doesn’t make Clickbait, it doesn’t constantly ask to like, subscribe and leave a comment. That’s why I’ve subscribed, always like, and leave comments 😊😊😊

[@kurzgesagt]

Legitbait is a really cool term. Super interesting video! The reality is that you have to be interesting with your thumbnails and titles or people will not watch them so we always have used clickbait (hopefully closer to legitbait) in the hope that our videos then are actually filled with enough substance that people will leave satisfied. We never tried switching out thumbnails though, might experiment with that!

[@amiraslanbakhshili5420]

I read the comment in an English accent

[@destra4531]

Nah, your videos are super interesting and cool. I dont think you need it :p

[@adamadams7107]

100% your videos are legitbait, I’m never disappointed with a Kurzgesagt video

[@subodhthallada3270]

Can't believe I am one of the first commenters for your comment

[@molrk]

No matter what the title or thumbnail, I’ll always watch a video of yours!

[@IMredard]

"I'm terrible at making clickbait" I believe you, even though you had Mr.Beast in your video you didn't use him as a clickbait in the thumbnail. Great Video

[@mkannan]

Check back again in a few days :P

[@alexpaw3493]

Exactly what I was about to comment, lol

[@rudi-gs2pd]

i was about to comment same thing lol

[@Rishabh_Joshi_]

😂

[@meltice_official]

Lmao, but if you hover over the video, the preview shows Mr. Beast in it, this has to be some advance lvl planing and non can tell me different

[@bhaveerathod2373]

After this was posted I realized that your thumbnails are a perfect balance, in the title you state what the video is about, “the most misunderstood concept in physics”, but then to not withhold information, the thumbnail is one word “entropy” so the viewers get a taste on what the concept and video is about

[@RonniesRambles]

I could not stop watching this video. You have opened my eyes to the very thing missing from my titles and thumbnails. As you have demonstrated in the video and with your thumbnail and title, it suddenly becomes clear to me. Very much appreciated, thank you.

[@Afrotechmods]

I remember back in 2009 KZbin had an option to report videos that had misleading titles or thumbnails. Nowadays if you do it they invite you to KZbin HQ and put you in a Rewind video.

[@misaaFPS]

mate your comment got botted

[@RyanUnbarringSlinkyOrgan]

Sheesh 🍩🍩🍩

[@straddlescout1220]

someone give this person a cookie

[@nathanvarghese.]

Funny how he interviewed Mrbeast - He's the one who does most clickbait on youtube!!!!!!!!

[@dhc2]

@@nathanvarghese. how? anything he puts in the title is in the vid

[@23iros]

I think "The Secret of Synchronization" might outperform "The Surprising Secret of Synchronization" because the audience learned that "Surprising" often leads to Type II clickbaits.

[@snuffeldjuret]

indeed

[@kimvangvideomarketerbangko3265]

I also think it moved the emphasis away from "secret," which is more powerful than "surprising."

[@user-xe1de9if2o]

Indeed. And I'm not surprised. Realizing a title is fake feels pretty bad and frustrated, and being not surprised like the title says suggests I might not be the target audience.

[@RaptorNX01]

@@user-xe1de9if2o plus the majority of the time you aren't actually surprised. esp given that you often click on videos that are already within the realm of your knowledge or interests. to use a recent example I saw, if there is some video claiming to reveal some secret about the matrix films, you likely will only click on it if you know about or are a fan of those films. the only people likely to ever actually be surprised are people that probably would never click on such a video.

[@aucklandnewzealand2023]

We Synchronized and found out the hidden secret

[@shadowfpv4701]

Thank you for this channel and all the work you guys have put into these videos. Never stop learning and exploring!

[@nikkiwolf22]

This is the best and most agreeable and believable explanation in favor of clickbait that I've ever heard. It's a shame most clickbait creators don't see it the same way though. For what it's worth, when used in this context, I approve

[@LeventK]

"Why is clickbait everywhere? Well... because it works." *Reality is often disappointing.*

[@veritasium]

I feel you

[@chromiyum6849]

@@veritasium to be really honest, i love your videos so much that even if you upload a 30 min video with the title "i cant think of a title" i'd still happily jump to click it! ;D

[@shelekhov]

Banner advertisement worked very well once. Few don't know how ugly it ended. Recent youtube's policies make me open platform less and less. 2 unskippable adds for a freaking minute...

[@maluraq]

See also spam and scams in general. They work.

[@deputydog1995]

Yes. That's why many people prefer to spend their time elsewhere than in reality.

[@MateusRapini]

The BEST non-clickbait clickbait video I've ever seen!

[@nathanvarghese.]

Funny how he interviewed Mrbeast - He's the one who does most clickbait on youtube!!!!!!!!

[@shalomnoah7309]

🙌🏼

[@blockbusterng]

(not clickbait)

[@rizwantarar4208]

Naah man ... you got click baited to this click bait video

[@krifik_kentang]

Type I clickbait

[@daffy1567]

Thank you Veritasium, I appreciate how your videos are always well researched, well presented and done in a way making so that We are able to follow the things you talk about in all of your videos.😊

[@slr-d]

soooo omany great points in this. I really believe that leveling up our titles and thumbnails is indeed the secret sauce. We've heard it so much we re prolly numb to hearing it. But your points here clearly shows the effects are real! Bravo and *Thank You* for ALLLL you do. 🙏🏾

[@pauldacus4590]

Alternate Title: *KZbinr Overwhelmed by Clickbait Guilt, Nearly Dies Jumping From Ladder*

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Let's calculate how much he risked his life.

[@o.o9709]

@Leonard Ney *GONE WILD* *GONE SEXUAL!?!??!* 5000 DOLLAR GIVE AWAY !!

[@jvsonyt]

Now I HAVE to watch the whole video!

[@sgx9874]

i think its a bit too long...

[@darklight6921]

@@o.o9709 mr beast colab.

[@waiitwhaat]

Veritasium is a man of his word. Veritasium: I'm bad at clickbait Also Veritasium: Doesn't say ft. Mr Beast

[@psyclone1349]

Ur right, any other youtuber would hv milked the opportunity to say they had MrBeast in their video

[@RamsesTheFourth]

I have no idea who that guy was.

[@Steelrat1994]

I would've skipped the video if it had a ft. *random guy* unless it's some other youtuber I like a lot. And I think I'm not alone in this approach to that kind of clickbait. So it's a choice between: - trying to attract everyone outside the set of people who watch veritasium with let's call it a "normal" probability of success. - trying to attract *random guy's* audience with a higher than "normal" probability of success, but everyone else with a lower than "normal" probability. Good luck estimating the probabilities to figure out a better choice)

[@psyclone1349]

@@Steelrat1994I don't get why u would skip a video if it had a "random guy" featuring, even if I don't know who the youtuber is , I would still check what the video is about without just skipping.

[@rmclean3]

I love the humility in pointing out that titling a video "Strange Applications of the Magnus Effect" was not a great marketing strategy. That being said, you are killing it on the viewership front and this is one of my favourite channels!

[@alienrobotcommando]

Almost forgot, and last one. I really do enjoy all your videos, the information in them, the education from them, and all the work you do. Thanks!

[@DrBecky]

As an astronomer, I fully approve of the division of clickbait into "Type I" and "Type II"

[@dehanbadenhorst1398]

Hey, love your videos

[@boredomblasters1787]

Hey!! I watch your videos

[@latitzouri]

What's the link with being an astronomer 😅

[@herobrain]

@@latitzouri Astronomers divide supernovas into 2 types: Type I supernova, Type II supernova.

[@AnindyaMahajan]

@@latitzouri Type I and Type II Supernova

[@SeekersofUnity]

Hey Derek, here's a new title: KZbinr Does Nothing Wrong. Gives Most Thoughtful Apology, Ever

[@turtleanton6539]

Wow

[@whatiselephants]

i would like to challenge that with "CGP Grey Was WRONG" video

[@flashlabseu]

I remember the salt lamps video! I was so happy to see the answer in the thumbnail that I clicked it immediately and watched the whole video 😆. Thank you Derek for your great work!

[@nanettejurgensen4451]

I get what you're saying about reaching more people. I would probably not have stumbled on this channel otherwise. I'm totally glad the algorithms lead me here. There is a lot that I don't know about in this world but I have a curious mind. Thank you for putting out this content and making my mind grind its gears a bit more!

[@m1a1jake]

The key difference is that your videos actually deliver the satisfaction that the title and thumbnail teases us with.

[@cristianestrada5381]

Legitbait

[@jaceycrouch4917]

Exactly. When a subscriber is consistently dissatisfied by starving curiosity then this falls apart. Thankfully I have yet to find a video that was misrepresented on this channel.

[@AceFaz]

Type 1 clickbait- He's pretty bad at it though, this guy didn't even put, "(ft. MrBeast)" in this title xD

[@Alic4444]

@@AceFaz 😂

[@lyricsassam]

@@AceFaz that's the point, I don't click on Veritasium's videos to see Mr. Beast.

[@EazySpeezy]

This is such an interesting topic for youtubers. How a super small change in the title/thumbnail could provide a drastic change in the results of the video, while still trying to stay true to the actual content

[@crimsondragon2677]

You watch Veritasium?

[@JM-us3fr]

Having a second channel with other speed runners tends to help too

[@pvic6959]

dang, I see you be doin some research! Next video: "I speedrun making a clickbait thumbnail"? LOL.. wait I kinda like that idea. it would be fun/interesting to see how fast you can edit a thumbnail and we'd get a "behind the scenes" sorta thing too!

[@SpiritSlayer1]

Hi

[@sameetpatil_5]

Look now he is even speed running KZbin

[@user-sh4vg3te2d]

Honestly, most of your video titles don't sound that interesting to me, but then I watch them and I'm fascinated Great channel. Love it

[@random9q]

Thanks for taking the time to walk through this. It’s not quite what I expected in terms of the title, as it’s more self-reflective and, perhaps, a measure of defensiveness against the way we, as audience, can react when we witness a change in behavior or the edging towards the outer envelope. I can only guess that it’s possible I got to see this video today because the title and thumbnail were refreshed, given that it’s two years old and most of the comments are a year old. I had some observations occur to me as I listened: This is called “marketing” in the parlance of KZbin and virtually all practitioners. But there’s another domain which has the exact same problem, and a lot of similar feelings about it, and that field is a lot older than KZbin, a lot older than video production of any kind. That would be journalism and the relationship between an article and its headline (and, optionally, a cover photo or sample video). There’s definitely both an art and a skill to it. An art, always, because it’s a moving target - audience moods and outside context do not remain the same, and even use of language changes. Given that the internet also causes effects where “overuse” of words or images or fonts occur at a much faster rate than previously, how language feels to an audience changes at a rate we’re not really used to thinking about. And, to emphasize it, what this channel does is science journalism. It doesn’t always immediately strike the audience as intuitively in that bucket, because rather than current developments and short-form journalism on a topic, the channel focuses on more “evergreen” topics and longer form videos. So, audiences come into witnessing how this channel uses what superficially feel are the same techniques as other content creators in entirely different categories and, because we’re collectively overburdened with spam via literally every media-channel that we pay attention to, a dozen more we likely intend to pay attention to but guiltily don’t, and another gross that we aren’t paying attention to, most of which we aren’t even aware of, and yet still someone views us as a viable target? Yes, there’s a heavy percentage that’re going to have a knee-jerk reaction when we see the same techniques being used by what we feel is spamming us from sources we expect not to be spamming us. It’s not at all fair, but it IS predictable. (Oh, and there’s an unintended consequence of being heavily spammed by media channels that we’re not regularly participating in. If we return after a time, or if we are encountering it for the first time, the typical presentation is mostly what’s hyper-popular yet somehow irrelevant, therefore spammy. Top that off with some media channels THEMSELVES being especially “needy” and sending daily emails if we don’t log in. [Looking at you, LinkedIn and TikTok. There are others, but you two are the ones in my inbox daily.]) Despite me being philosophical about it just now, I have one of the most intense aversions to advertising of any sort that I know of, even though I find the topic fascinating when I’m able to think about it in a removed way. I’m just not “loud” about it, I tend to only weigh in and comment when I’m feeling more thoughtful and empathetic. I just get that knee-jerk reaction all too well, it’s like yelling at a sudden bright beam of light that’s stabbed me in the eyes unexpectedly. Pointless. But the light DOES literally hurt the eyes for a bit until I either shield myself from it or look away. Ultimately, I hope you just keep learning about it. Learning how to write a good headline that draws people in quickly can be just as much a lifelong practice as learning how to write good poetry. Very different feel, sure. But from the vantage of the brain gyrating through the linguistics, creativity, and mental associations that must be explored… Strikingly similar. Thanks for everything you’re making. Much appreciate it. 😊

[@HauntingTube]

Would have never clicked for strange applications of Magnus Effect!! But I click on every video of yours now, irrespective of thumbnail or title :)

[@hatethisfamehatethisgame]

Bruh

[@mathlegendno12]

Verified with no comments?

[@mathlegendno12]

Not nymore

[@anubhabdas7370]

Jai Hind bhai!🙏

[@yourstrulytk12worldaffairs]

awww

[@tomschick2002]

Veritasium basically exposing himself is the most truthful thing I've seen on KZbin.

[@donottrustanyonelol]

No one could expose me so I did it myself

[@WraithlingRavenchild]

And showing his respect for us, proves he deserves our respect.

[@michaelwallace9291]

Personally. If a thumbnail has a person doing that fake surprise beta open mouth face. Out of spite I mark it uninterested.

[@RatusMax]

I am still watching the video, does he speak about how YT is segregating the people and putting them in echo chambers? How it is making people impulsive quick to reject information from other points of views? How when they are given opposite information, they reinforce their thoughts with the information from their feeds? We're all screwed and we don't know it yet...

[@bixmcgoo5355]

Yeah until he says he doesn't do it for money

[@eatyourvegetables1449]

I love how at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="340">5:40</a> Derek had to take a second to calm his laughter, you could see him smiling almost laughing when he started talking after he said “dupechute”.

[@shanealexander9952]

You are right with one exception! People recognize over time what the click bait people are doing. They get a reputation for doing it and people hesitate or avoid that channel.

[@Aphova]

20 minutes of wondering "Why is he on a ladder" with no relief at the end in a video about clickbait. Meta game is strong in this one.

[@christopherstark887]

i agree

[@mrshickadance6815]

do you walk up to a couple in the street and question why they’re holding hands? i imagine not, so why question why he is simply holding onto his lover?

[@JSBnl]

exactly what i was thinking

[@damien4197]

"We need to talk about clickbait" "Clickbait is unreasonably effective" Trying to get me to watch the same video twice, huh, I see how it is.

[@jajefan123456789]

lol he practices what he preaches :D

[@themrpancake]

^ Almost a wooosh

[@thomasmaier7053]

Am I part of an experiment?

[@BrownMInc]

Hehe

[@giambo7547]

The first title was better imo

[@Bobbbybags]

I was just surfing through your videos for something to watch and thinking to my self “I really appreciate how he doesn’t use clickbait” then I landed on this video.

[@dennisg7196]

Great vid! The vid previously popped up with its old title “we need to talk about click bait” but I wasn’t interested. Have to agree that the new title and thumbnail definitely worked on me 😅

[@rafielk3606]

I've always thought that Tom Scott has the perfect balance between clickbait ( or in this case legitbait) and interesting content that isn't misleading.

[@Louis-fh4sh]

Absolutely. There are a few that come to mind. "I promise this story about microwaves is interesting" is real good it was interesting, too, so legitbait

[@lucbloom]

@@Louis-fh4sh Yeah that was Tom worrying too much about the same thing as this channel. Meanwhile subs know it’s legitbait 1000% and click when the bell rings. Other newbs who get lulled into viewing won’t mind either. It’s the people who *don’t* worry about sounding like clickbait that we hate :-D

[@yesjo1456]

tom scott is great

[@youtoober2013]

So true. None come to mind for me... like Mr. Beast seems obvious, but it's his content that brings in the views not his legitbait. Now that you mention it though, I can't think of anyone better than Joe Scott. It's actually the perfect, most decent, engaging and informative, consumer-friendly balance of piquing my curiosity and letting me know if it's worth my time to click at any time. I watch every video eventually because he is exactly so forthright.

[@youtoober2013]

Wait. I thought we were talking about _Joe_ Scott. Yeah, Tom's not bad either I guess, but Joe's videos are _WAY_ more digestible.

[@wistfulgraph]

“The Strange Applications of the Magnus Affect” could’ve been “I threw a ball off a dam! You WONT believe what happens!!!”

[@sincostanlogin]

(Gone sexual) *mouth agape*

[@perikholt3395]

Add a “thumbnail face” and I would never have found out what happens.

[@Liwet.]

Type 2 Clickbait.

[@tagnetorare5401]

Sounds like a 3-year-old

[@otofoto]

@@perikholt3395 Liar

[@lightning_11]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="347">5:47</a> Props to whoever made this sick 3D animation here!

[@no1hypocrite]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1030">17:10</a> I was feeling cynical and know-it-all-ish about the concepts you had brought up until this crucial little caveat at the end. Bravo, I really enjoyed this video. It feels easy to write off the value of marketing & social media, to view them as antagonistic towards the actual work - your reflection here helped remind me that all of these factors are somewhat important, especially in creative pursuits.

[@scarletspidernz]

**The Clickbait Paradox** **Here's how you're getting Dupechuted** **Man stands on ladder for almost 20mins, here's why**

[@KevinJohnMulligan]

The ladder one is great 🤣🤣🤣

[@Joe-nb3fs]

At no point in this video did he explain why he was on a ladder. jebaited.

[@ChivalrousVeteran]

@@Joe-nb3fs : he's on the "ladder to success" - oh why couldn't i resist; and why am i actually laughing ... ??!!

[@mestiarcanus]

@@Joe-nb3fs I think you mean dupechuted!

[@BradTheAmerican]

Gonna try adding "dupechuted" to my vocab

[@pingo400]

Ironically, the original title was more similar to "lets have a talk about clickbait" and I chose not to click it since it was to vague. I only chose to click it after seeing the name change to "clickbait is unreasonably effective"

[@wargamulaya]

It was "We need to talk about clickbait"

[@JustinS06]

I had the same lol

[@V0odOo]

I added it to my watch later list with the first title, because I saw the other video of his on this topic years ago and wanted to know what he has to say now. I wouldn't have watched it with the new one though, because duh, of course it is unreasonably effective. And so I would expect less new thoughts/angles/whatever on the clickbait matter from him.

[@NielsChristianNielsen6720]

Which it was.

[@tears_of_asariel3198]

i clicked the video on "We need to talk about clickbait" but i was pulled away from the computer to do other things, finally came back to it now though lol

[@mousasha-]

This is just an interesting bit abt titling in general. Media has always to an extent, lived or died off its title. Really great video!

[@streetwalkingworld]

this is really great content, basically a free class on how to get more views on your youtube video without the 'clickbait' of all the other videos by youtubers that try to market the same idea of 'how to get more views'

[@jmvjeroen]

"I don't want to make vlogs, I want to make science documentaries on KZbin that puts broadcast to shame." And for that, I love this channel

[@hynjus001]

Also, mission accomplished!

[@indianjitsingh8838]

That line was savage

[@edc1569]

I feel this is something AI will be terrifyingly good at.

[@quarkonium3795]

Oh yeah, black box problems are the bread an butter of AI software

[@edwardmitchell6581]

Especially if KZbin allowed for A/B testing.

[@jacobb5625]

Type II clickbait, yes I agree. but not Type I clickbait

[@anthonyconte9543]

Or it'll get a little bad data and we get an amazing shitpost algaritham

[@samuraiboi2735]

I guess so probably if they send the AI to mars they would just make their own colony and just become independent on themselves

[@nathandean4412]

I'm afraid you're going to scorch your retinas looking into that projector for so long, brother😮Thanks for the excellent videos and all your hard work

[@AndyGoesOutside]

love this projector and ladder stype of presenting

[@WoLpH]

I think Tom Scott is pretty good at this. While his titles are often clickbaity, he always delivers on the promise but not always as you would expect.

[@Baulder13]

His videos always leave me with more questions which is actually a good thing. I end up on wikipedia for hours.

[@LimeyLassen]

Tom Scott has enough clout to get away with stuff others can't. Like "I promise this video about microwaves is interesting".

[@Taima]

Sort of a less schizophrenic vsauce

[@shashwatsharma2596]

I always feel weird about falling for clickbait, but when I watch his, or Veritasium, or smarter every day, I am always pleasantly surprised

[@logicbomb9026]

or vsauce 2

[@Jack42_]

The Og title was “We Need To Talk About Clickbait” it’s now “Clickbait is Unreasonably Effective”

[@zthehuman7051]

Yep

[@mthlay15]

....funny thing is I've seen the thumbnail for a few days. Tonight I clicked it. Why? I don't know 😭😆

[@callmeterry5371]

@@mthlay15 same bro haha

[@djjimmaster8261]

@@mthlay15 omg same

[@silverish9081]

And the new one is more descriptive and probably performs better

[@Menown7]

I love the moral discussion about being misleading vs honest whist still getting the maximum viewers to click you your videos and i think you hit the spot:)

[@0106johnny]

I like anti-clickbait. It gives me the feeling that someone actually has a good explanation and is not just trying to get my attention for nothing

[@conall9415]

"I'm terrible at making clickbait." Really? "Risking My Life To Settle A Physics Debate" was an immediately clickable title. Edit: This is a compliment, not an accusation.

[@veritasium]

Yeah, I didn't come up with that - that was the team.

[@bhavyasingh5410]

@@veritasium Hi Man...

[@bhavyasingh5410]

@@veritasium Love your Videos.... From past 6 years

[@MrTorygg]

@@veritasium bruh

[@TheSwarm666]

@@veritasium what was the original title going to be?

[@channingmcgregorsmith]

Best legitbait title ever: "The ingenious design of the aluminum beverage can"

[@kashu7691]

best video on this site

[@walidfakhfakh3660]

@@kashu7691 Anna Capone bodyguard

[@chan625]

Engineering guy's?

[@walidfakhfakh3660]

@@chan625 yes you come in this is marvelous Anna in the bathroom of the hotel room you have to jump into the Russian about changing Smith Sam Smith's about this peanuts nuages about the tombstone that I could find intuited highlighted peanuts

[@NickiRusin]

@@walidfakhfakh3660 are you ok

[@miladaghajohari2308]

your explanation for it was really straightforward! I really love your videos. Keep going, the world needs you. Thanks.

[@user-be4ys3by2c]

Just found myself in love with this dude's presentation

[@space1607]

The fact that I avoided this video for three days just to finally click it proves that clickbait always wins.

[@ChrisGoblinHD]

Right with you

[@tamadz1009]

Same

[@harleyspeedthrust4013]

the thumbnail changed at some point in the past few days. I don't remember exactly what it said before but it wasn't "Here's the proof" like it is now

[@aleshatim]

@@harleyspeedthrust4013 for me it's "Clickbait is unreasonably effective" right now o_O

[@yanboa]

Exactly! “Here’s the proof” is exactly the point where I, and I assume, most of us, will have finally clicked... ;)

[@StevenHe]

Thank you for being so truthful👑 you’ll always be a legend in my eyes

[@Rekker1]

Yo it's the guy from Beijing corn

[@marclabouchardiere8713]

yo didn't know the ceo of Beijing corn was interested by clickbait

[@sugunyt1800]

Hey Steven one of your biggest fan here

[@justicebydeathnote]

STOOPID

[@thebarkingmouse]

"Stuff with the most engagement rises to the top." Utter BS. "Stuff that fits Wojcicki's & the woke mafia rises to the top, while inconvenient facts are buried. Fixed it for you.

[@JonathanMurray]

Funny how I didn't recognize your guest at first... I blocked his work some time ago because I was sick and tired of the expressions and titles... and now you've finally found a way to make me watch more than .0001 seconds of him.

[@MaX271]

This video mad me realize why I click on less and less videos from Veritasium and its increasing clickbait title and thumbnails. Building the curiosity gap takes time, so overall there is less and less to learn and the video length rises.

[@FrostyLava]

First title: We need to talk about clickbait second title: Clickbait is Unreasonably Effective

[@simonlomet-sounddesign7881]

I only saw the second one, and I don't think I would necessarily have clicked on the first one. First one has an ambiguous and almost negative tone, which, I think, would have made me think that the video would be about 'what is wrong with clickbait' (something I already saw a lot) in contrast to the second one which have a more neutral and pragmatic tone and made me think the video will be about the phenomenon as a whole with an interesting way of seeing it (including data with the thumbnail).

[@joecerone]

I only ended up clicking after the title change 😂🤣

[@bradbobov4815]

🌚

[@MysticKenji2]

i clicked on the first one (it was in my subs) but didn't get around to watching it until after the title changed. wonder how many other people this happened to

[@johncao6516]

Saw the first title, didn't have time to watch it at the time. When I returned it has changed.

[@polcyon]

This guy stared into a projector for 20 minutes for our education Respect.

[@MarioX1818]

Yeah about that....

[@tonyfalapatt1308]

i hope its a joke...but we have 2 hrs class using projectors.....

[@mal2ksc]

@@tonyfalapatt1308 Are you in the beam of the projector? Because it's like trying to ignore someone shining a flashlight at you. Otherwise... that's a nice projector. I just don't understand why he couldn't put everything two feet lower and stand on the ground, rather than using a ladder.

[@jacobshirley3457]

@@mal2ksc Novelty, especially for long-term subscribers.

[@kh_trendy]

I love how much thought you put into this video. I'd love to talk to you about clickbait titles one day. I helped invent the clickbait titles you see today. I used to be a top ranked user on Digg, and part of that rise to ancient internet fame was simple... I used to modify the titles on the articles I was sharing to be more catchy. That was my trick, and all the other top users trick. "Bush makes a statement to the press today" became "Did President Bush just declare war?" And my submission got the votes.

[@CaedmonOS]

The secret of synchronization sounds super succinct

[@brizzly1787]

I think Tom Scott does a great job with the title and thumbnail. Not obnoxious, but genuinely interesting. CGP Grey is also pretty good. I like that overall style.

[@GrandElemental]

With Tom Scott's videos, the title matches exactly what he delivers: interesting topic explored well in the limits of the time frame. It never feels cheap and I never get the idea that I was tricked into clicking them.

[@dputra]

I agree gcp titles and thumbnails are legitbait

[@extagram]

@@GrandElemental But I don't think you can pull that off with veritasiam content though.

[@parag263]

Tom's Red Tshirt is enough to get my click

[@lak1796]

I agree. But Tom's video is a whole different ball game from super educational veritasium videos, so they are unapplicable.

[@BoomBrush]

"We need to talk about clickbait" > No red circles or arrows in clickbait thumbnail Yes.

[@nabhchandra_]

there is a red arrow tho

[@ThreeMountainsStudio]

Don't you see the red arrow?

[@tpgmflint]

@@ThreeMountainsStudio he probably just changed the thumbnail lol

[@IteKLF]

"Clickbaits: How to get good at KZbin" could also work..

[@YuvanSeth27]

> No Mr. Beast in the thumbnail

[@topherthe11th23]

Re: The domino-planting machine from KiwiCo. I remember when I was a toddler and Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon came over to my parent's house to play. The machine set out all of those dominoes, and then we pushed the first one (which we'd labeled "South Vietnam") over. It leaned into the next domino, which remained upright. None of the other dominoes fell over. Lyndon and Richard tried to kick the dominoes to KNOCK them over, thinking the game must've been unfair, but the dominoes remained standing. I went to the instruction-book that had come with the kit, and it had the strangest title: "How To Whip Up Phony Red-Scare Hysteria To Win Elections".

[@ll5974]

You got my view with this title! And - love the shadow!

[@jehanr]

How is this not called "Mr Beast teaches me about clickbait" and include Mr Beast in the thumbnail? (Or maybe it will soon! Or maybe it did!)

[@Rekisen1]

the thumbnail did when it was uploaded but he changed it after a couple of hours

[@Althar93]

I think it did and he is specifically testing the effects of the thumbnail on the click-through-rate by swapping between different ones.

[@Shmidershmax]

@@Rekisen1 Was there a red circle around him?

[@davibergamin5943]

@@Shmidershmax there was a red arrow

[@kevinross6235]

@@Rekisen1 My memory is bad cause I don't remember that lol

[@gklnth187]

"I'm terrible at click bait" Yet I'm here

[@BobAndrews69]

He makes good content

[@HmHm-xz9nv]

Well we clicked on the notification, not the thumbnail.

[@PinkeySuavo]

@@HmHm-xz9nv True, I watch Veritasium no matter what he posts. Thats the power of getting true subscribers. You get some constant views, and then u can aim for more random people

[@teemuleppa3347]

and yet millions of others are not

[@WanderTheNomad]

You are but a single data point. Amongst possibly millions of people who may or may not have clicked on the video.

[@piggybankaccountant]

Coming back to this video for a second time. Even though it came out 2 years ago. Thank you for this. Road to silver button

[@adithyakaravadi8170]

You've such high standards, I respect you a lot. Thank you, Derek. This is by far my favorite channel on KZbin.

[@FlyntofRWBY]

It’d be cool if KZbin let us upload multiple thumbnail/title combos with each video. It would show each of the combos to different sets of people, then depending on which one has the best CTR, it would start to show that one more and more to the masses.

[@JoeJoel]

Interesting. This is kind of how Tinder shows people pictures on your dating profile.

[@Maximus-rm7jn]

funny enough, this is how google handles news articles in order to get more clicks(and thus revenue) overall.

[@Girugi]

I bet they could do one better... They can even segment viewers into hidden categories and test each group (ex, age groups and content habits), then assign each group the thumbnail and title that works best in that group automatically. I know KZbin already have a lot of this data for its recommendations. So just also use it to test and select thumbnails too.

[@WilcoVerhoef]

A/B testing

[@catdisc5304]

I like the idea. Leave the clickbait to the machines

[@marslogos]

“Surprising” is an overused clickbait that people are desensitised to; this means that people have developed an immune response to unconsciously ignore such bait.

[@had0j]

especially ''surprisingly isnt''

[@jebronlames987]

6:57 This point still stands true though. The people that ignore clickbait don’t matter. It’s the people that fall for it that do, and more of them come over time.

[@marslogos]

@@jebronlames987 15:36

[@walidfakhfakh3660]

@@had0j La bumba sticker Funeral Home in New Castle

[@Lavonne9870]

I think you mean DEsensitized

[@gut2814]

Derek, você é incrível!! Nunca vi tanto profissionalismo em um só vídeo!

[@austindickey1372]

This was a trend I had been noticing on your channel as I made my way through your latest videos. Here, you have explained it so well that I have made a complete 180 on my original opinion of your clickbaity titles. This has made it quite clear to me. Also, as a late-comer to the wonders that KZbin creators like yourself can offer, I was left up to my own interpretations of you based off of basically your most recent video. I never knew your intention for creating this content, just that you created very enjoyable and digestible content and that was enough for me. You reinstated here what your intent was, and that has cast a different light on what you’re doing here, to me anyway. My opinion of you holds no more weight than anyone else, but I would be amiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to tell you that you are, in every way, achieving your goal of making mini-docs that put broadcast to shame. I don’t know what sort of production team you have behind you, but I find myself hypnotized by every last one of your videos. So, as if you needed me to tell you this, keep doing exactly what you’re doing. Your intuition has brought you this far, so I plead that you continue to believe in your abilities. You are a fantastic scientific communicator, and your contribution to satisfying our curiosities has been more than invaluable. From one humble human to another, I want to thank you for dedicating your time to educating me. Informal or not, you are a teacher. And a fantastic one at that. Thank you. Austin, 27, Boise ID

[@JeffGeerling]

I just wish KZbin would add an A/B feature so creators didn't have to spend the first few hours/days babysitting their videos to try to achieve a good CTR.

[@foobars3816]

is there an api for this?

[@gonzalomorislara8858]

I mean there is always the youtube api so an A/B feature can already easily be implemented using it. A couple python lines in AWS Lambda do the job fine.

[@clickbaitpolice1750]

It’s not the fact that these clickbait KZbinrs make a lot of money or fame, it’s that they steal a lot of their viewers’ time with irrelevant material, then the actual content you clicked for is at the end of the video. My main focus is the viewers’ time, that’s why I want to stop this clickbait epidemic.

[@anesthetized7053]

sorry for my ignorance but what is an a/b feature? i used to upload videos in the early 2000's and have no idea what that means.

[@jonathanclemens3755]

@@clickbaitpolice1750 Do you have a proposed alternative that is likely to engage viewers and promote time spent on the site?

[@veritasium]

In case you're wondering, the recent title/thumb change seems to be effective - from "We Need to Talk About Clickbait [It's Important. I'll Explain With Data]" to "Clickbait is Unreasonably Effective [Here's The Proof]"... The problem is I know a bunch of you are clicking on this video to comment on the title and thumbnail change so that looks like a spike in engagement but then you comment and leave, which may make YT think the new title no longer appropriately represents the video. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@arceusfromyt9084]

That makes sense

[@whooozitz]

So if the universe begins to unravel in the next few hours we know who to blame?

[@ryanisdoneby]

The algorithm only fed me this video after you’d updated your title. I’m a sub, so, make of that what you will 😅

[@erpasptstark2487]

Hopefully it actually is a better combo

[@ToX1CxHaZe]

i have always wondered why when i first see you upload a new video, the video title suddenly changes after 24 - 72 hours and i was curious as to why.. well now i know why and i completely understand where you're coming from. props to you for being so honest and engaging with your audience. well done my friend.

[@mmdpc6102]

i love this channel. even the end ads have some use for me.

[@robertwhiteii3208]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1027">17:07</a> that's crazy, I saw that video and chose not to watch it because it gave me the answer in the thumbnail, but you reveling that people click on it anyway proves your whole point by itself plus explains a lot. Tbh you could of just said that and I would of been on board

[@doryiii]

Tom Scott: "Here's 2 hours of a piece of garlic bread flying to the edge of space."

[@SALEENS7GTR5]

I thought he was going to ask Tom Scott when he mentioned "the king of clickbait" but yeah, Mr. Beast exists lol

[@GeneralZimmer]

I watched that video xd

[@Hugh.Manatee]

@@GeneralZimmer Me too, but I skipped most of the middle bit (except for the balloon popping)

[@andersbuchjeppesen5493]

Pretty sure the title is “2 hours of unedited garlic bread flight footage” unless he changed it

[@sgnosymfoemos]

AND WE ALL WATCHED IT ANYWAY

[@BobbyDukeArts]

Titles and thumbnails are the thing I stress about the most. This was very insightful. Thank you!

[@lilchico4381]

Hi

[@iamjimgroth]

Your content speaks for itself though. You could number your videos, in name and thumbnail, and people would flock to them.

[@veritasium]

It's the thing I stress about the most too!

[@williamchamberlain2263]

@@veritasium I think that most scientists have a hard time with paper titles too. Also: KZbin shorts please, a la ActionLabs and The Spiffing Brit

[@maskboy2743]

@@veritasium Can you make another video on the kuramoto model explaining it? I liked it so much i want part 2!

[@BrianIrwin]

Really interesting video thank you. I had slowed my clicks to this channel because of some of the title cards felt more click baity. Turns out now I know more about it, need to get over myself and keep coming to good content. Now will go yell at some kids to get off my lawn.

[@azw2540]

Brilliant presentation and very insightful as always. Love this channel. Very professional and just fascinating.

[@FJBauser]

I have the perfect clickbait for this video: “A SCIENTIST discovers MARKETING. This is what happened!”

[@theflyingnegro5063]

LMAOOOO this is it

[@jezonesjezz7179]

Or SCIENTIST spent 19 minutes on a ladder here's what happened

[@Ilander86]

To be honest, it would have been nice if scientists had brought in the marketing/PR team on a whole bunch of things before now. Maybe we'd have started the game with "Climate Crisis" and "Global Heating" and have moved the ball further by now.

[@zwenkwiel816]

A scientist discovers marketing, GONE SEXUAL!

[@terenceaaron1999]

@@Ilander86 Problem is that so many in the marketing world aren't on the same side as these scientists.

[@fletcherfrost9266]

I love how openly self-conscious you are about not only whether or not you are making the best content you can, but doing the right thing in the process. People say it's bad to overthink these things, but the alternative is far worse.

[@StudioBuster]

i am very surprised that i watch the commercial ads to the end. May be its because you present them by the best possible and interesting way. Thank you for all the stuff you do.

[@owenlloyd2528]

This was perhaps the best of your vids (that I have seen) so far. :)