Was the Buzzfeed Era a Fever Dream?

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Was the Buzzfeed Era a Fever Dream?
Hey guys welcome back to my channel! Today we're doing a video I haven't done in a MINUTE and by minute i mean like two years lol. Last time i did this I'm pretty sure it was the magcon video and I've been thinking lately about Buzzfeed and thought they were the perfect channel to do this style of video for again. I'm sure they need no introduction, Buzzfeed's a company well known for their quizzes, viral videos and tons of other spinoff channels. They also were where mega series like the Try Guys and Buzzfeed Unsolved were born as well as massive stand alone creators like Safiya Nygaard. Unfortunately while they used to be massively popular in the past few years they've experienced a pretty big fall from grace across the board whether that's the website itself or their various youtube channels. And basically every big series the brand was known for (i.e Try Guys, Buzzfeed Unsolved, Lady Like) has ended and seen the creators leave to work on their own projects separate from Buzzfeed (not without making a "Why I Left Buzzfeed" video first though ofcourse).
I thought it would fun to look back on Buzzfeed's hayday because in hindsight I'm not gonna lie it does feel like a bit of a fever dream... like some of yall were making fanfiction for the,, try guys lol. So we'll be checking out some of Buzzfeed's most popular content today. But I also wanted to talk about why I think personally Buzzfeed has been falling off lately and if anything seems like the Skype of brand channels right now on KZbin compared to the other channels they're competing with like Jubilee or The Cut. So hopefully you enjoy :)
I'm sure yall have had an experience with Buzzfeed at some point so feel free to share if you want! Also curious to know what you guys think about the way they've been going about the internet lately and how it's been impacting their success. Whether Buzzfeed is actually able to be saved or not I don't know honestly but feel free to share you're thoughts!
Don't forget to subscribe and like btw if you enjoyed the video! Really helps me out but otherwise hope you guys like it and i'll see you in the comments :))
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[@caseyaonso4270]

Thanks for watching yall!! hope u enjoy :)) DISCORD: discord.gg/Y8rXmj8t4x TIK TOK: www.tiktok.com/@caseyaonso?fromUrl=%2FCaseyaonso&lang=en TWITTER: twitter.com/caseyaonso INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/caseyaonso GOODREADS: www.goodreads.com/user/show/64126678-casey

[@katherinegriffin]

it feels illegal to not say first when im here right after posting

[@dylersol]

I don't have any of those socials lol, sorry

[@crayonburry]

My buzzfeed phase was 2018-19, it had more to do with the Tasty and ladylike channels. Tho I never watched the big series like unsolved, 1) I didn’t know it existed until 2020 when everyone started nostalgia posting about it 2) I didn’t think it was that big of a cultural touchstone, I think I only watched the witch craft episode.

[@themousoleum]

Buzzfeed severely misunderstood that their audience was largely due to their funny cast members and not based on the strength of their brand

[@nicolestewart2843]

I wrote a comment about this topic before I read any of the rest of the comments. Then I read this comment and you said exactly what I was trying to say but so succinctly. And that's definitely no shade. If I had taken the time to read even the first comment I would have realized that someone had made my point better than me and been happy about it. My brain needs to slow down and shut the f****** sometimes haha

[@kev3d]

Funny cast members? Those stupid asshole try guys? Ugh.

[@catd5307]

I’m entertainment, it’s never the strength of the brand that sells but the strength of the cast

[@swimsvg1855]

Or their weird political takes

[@overgrownkudzu]

yep, all the ex buzzfeed cast are super successful because people just liked them

[@LivTheSlayer]

the best part of Buzzfeed was watching all 50 of the "why i left buzfeed" videos

[@caseyaonso4270]

my second favourite video series aside from why i left team ten ❤️

[@madeline4339]

omg it's a liv

[@shadow-vt5hq]

@@caseyaonso4270 💀

[@LivTheSlayer]

@@madeline4339 I’m always here if you scroll far enough 💀

[@josheydubs]

I need a playlist for this….

[@CyberStockholmSyndrome]

I remember when Quinta Brunson was on Buzzfeed and now she has her own Critically acclaimed TV show on Network television. So Buzzfeed has an eye for talent. They just don’t respect them.

[@britt_2617]

What show

[@sharissebullock]

@@britt_2617 abbott elementary!

[@kimberleywilliams7802]

@@britt_2617 Abott Elementary, it looks really good.

[@butterup9443]

YESS I knew i recognized her from the skinny girl problems video, love her

[@smarterperson16]

i know! i haven't watched abbott elementary yet, but it's been near the top of my to watch list. i knew quinta was destined for greatness the moment i saw the mike story, tbh.

[@sadlystuckinreality]

I do remember a time when I genuinely watched Buzzfeed and now I can't even fathom doing that. But I did find a bunch of great creators that I still watch now.

[@Likelyfairy]

Same

[@emmuhhhleeee]

exactly! there’s so many old buzzfeed workers on tiktok that just talk about their experience with the company

[@thilypad557]

Like who? The only one I remember is Quinta but I don’t even watch her content

[@arizonatea9434]

@@thilypad557 try guys and those two ghost hunters are all i can think of

[@celeste9611]

@@arizonatea9434 Ryan and Shane are the only watchable ones everyone else i feel the generation difference

[@Kate-n2310]

I think Buzzfeed tried *so* hard to be so "woke" and "progressive" while also treating their talent like crap, that it just came across as extremely disingenuous, fake and cringe.

[@lowroar5127]

This

[@-toriizaka46]

1k like!

[@sadem1045]

The manspreading video especially got to me. As long as a man is conscious of the people around him and willing to move his leg if someone needs to sit down I'm fine with it. People with third members should be able to sit comfortably.

[@wwaxwork]

They were the ultimate woke company, they treated everyone like shit regardless of race, gender, age or sexuality.

[@MrChhuana]

🙂

[@PassTheMarmalade1957]

I still remember how the Try Guys convinced Buzzfeed to do a video where they spent $300,000 on Keith's bachelor party. And then the Try Guys quit 🤣

[@isortofyoutube]

Iconic behaviour

[@lexiewescott445]

love that for them

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

PLEASE

[@bubblegumbxtch9544]

The Try Guys, Unsolved and Ladylike were carrying that brand.

[@swimsvg1855]

So unbelievably based its not even funny

[@MasochisticMalice]

Calling Buzzfeed "Cocomelon for people over 18" is SENDING ME. I was SO guilty of taking too many buzzfeed quizzes in college in 2015 and posting my results to my Facebook like any of my friends cared.

[@nicoleshan6410]

Yes!!!!💛❤️💚🧡💜💙💕

[@-pavlova-6640]

you might not know it but there'd be those who care because they have nothing else to do and read whatever their friends post lmao. take me as an example

[@womenhavehivemind9043]

Of course your name is emily

[@MasochisticMalice]

@@womenhavehivemind9043 ouch lol

[@marina.chayka]

It was the best thing to do with your friends during class without speaking. Or maybe it was second to Candy Crush, I can't decide.

[@miscellaneousaccount935]

Buzzfeed is awful but all the creators who left and made their own channels are 👌✨✨✨

[@AxxLAfriku]

SUPRISE! I am the funniest YTer evah!!!! Just kidding, it was no surprise. Everybody knew already. HAHAHHAHA!!!! That was an amazing joke (it was real talk though). WAWAWAWAWA!!!! Good afternoon, dear misc

[@strawberrios]

@@AxxLAfriku it’s so sad seeing you comment everywhere ☠️

[@botanicalitus4194]

@@AxxLAfriku booo no one cares

[@starsiadraws]

Dude I deadass forgot that Safia Nygaard started on Buzzfeed 💀

[@warwolflover]

Watcher and try guys are my comfort watches xD

[@lillian6563]

can we get some applause for Quinta? she started at buzzfeed and now she’s creating one of the greatest comedies of today, i love that woman

[@kimberleywilliams7802]

Quinta has probably had the most mainstream success and I freaking love that for her, she has grown immensely from Buzzfeed and is seriously doing the damn thing, I love her so much.

[@dollbowz]

she's so iconic oh my god i have so much love for quinta

[@KathrynGeiger]

Yes I was disappointed she wasn’t mentioned in this!

[@cassiel.6918]

@@kimberleywilliams7802 Quinta has a channel? What is it called?

[@melissabennett4328]

@@cassiel.6918 She's on and wrote a TV show called Abbott Elementary. It's on Hulu and genuinely really funny.

[@allstn]

Eugene x Ned fanfic aged like milk

[@felissylvestris6557]

Why ?

[@gummyjong]

​@@felissylvestris6557Ned cheated on his wife

[@jordanbermudez7710]

I will never forget the time where they made a video where women painted stuff with their own period blood as empowerment and then every woman who commented on that video was literally disgusted 💀 like they really shot themselves in the foot with that one

[@caseyaonso4270]

THEY DID WHAT?????

[@lu-cthecynical]

@@caseyaonso4270 that was my introduction to buzzfeed...not a good first impression lol

[@mariomario1462]

Who cares

[@LisaFevral]

uh... come again😳

[@jordanbermudez7710]

@@mariomario1462 they’re literally painting with human waste 💀

[@eclipse7393]

career paths for former bf employees: -emmy winner -youtubers who just debuted a wildly successful ghost hunting show -cheater i guess

[@mitica-mar]

-voice actor in an Oscar nominated animated film -highly successful off-broadway director/actor/writer

[@ellepalmer]

-youtubers on the verge of bankruptcy who ask fans to pay to watch their new content

[@cassandrad8970]

Buzzfeed made the mistake of not growing with the internet. Things change, you have to adapt if you want to stay relevant. Not to mention the shitty ways they treated their employees.

[@Kayla_P99]

They really owe so much to interns that didn't know any better

[@ghostlygena]

honestly it feels like unsolved almost existed in its own separate era. Considering it just ended last fall, significantly after most other beloved creators had left (even after Ryan, Shane, and Steven started Watcher), it felt like it was really the last thing buzzfeed has going for it. I know I and many others would only watch unsolved from them and I do still go back and rewatch a lot of those episodes because I love them so much whereas I have never had the desire to go watch an old try guys or safiya video. Maybe this is also just a me thing because I love that show so much though

[@dailymdesdemona]

I don't really rewatch old Try Guys or Safiya videos on Buzzfeed, but I absolutely watch rewatch videos on their respective channels.

[@aishah7730]

they have a new show coming out called ghost files on watcher

[@hogkan]

Unsolved is my Cocomelon I literally always have it on as background noise since I started watching it at the beginning of quarantine Edit: I watched it on the way to the hospital this morning, right before making this comment, and didn't even remember lmao ... I have like 50 episodes preloaded on my phone like I'm going on a road trip with a toddler. My brain is pudding which really enhances the rewatch-ability

[@gggthsb]

I think one of the reasons is that the Try Guys and Safiya do the same things on their own channels now as they did on BuzzFeed, while Unsolved doesn't have a match like it on watcher (yet), so of course we go back there to watch the ghoul boys. I hope their new spooky show on The Watcher Chanel will be even better though 😃

[@ghostlygena]

@@aishah7730 yes!!! I’m so excited when they dropped the trailer I cried in my jobs breakroom lol

[@starsiadraws]

Guys, remember when Buzzfeed's channels were all named after colors and no one knew the difference between them? 🤣

[@biggrayalien4791]

I remember reading a comment that basically described everything the colors meant, but it was played off as a suggestion. Which lead me to believe they literally set up like twelve accounts just to satisfy this one weirdo's organizational thoughts lol

[@alwaysfreezing130]

Oh yeah, I remember that 😂

[@yas7689]

WHAAT I ALMOST FORGOT!!

[@saryjackson7705]

I remember watching sooo many videos on buzzfeed violet they were lowkey the best bc they were sad and told stories usually. Esp the ones about lgbt stuff, definitely helped me figure it all out lol.

[@hypatiakovalevskayasklodow9195]

yessss

[@evediby2183]

It's actually embarrassing how much Buzzfeed refuses to acknowledge that the only reason their videos were so popular back in the day was due to the very people highlighted in those videos that they would constantly abuse, screw over, and essentially chase out of the company

[@j24030]

I had a buzzfeed phase and it started to end when safiya left and I noticed a major decline in the lady like videos (she played a big role in the production of it) I felt like the topics weren't as interesting and the quality dropped a lot and then when buzzfeed started rebranding all their other channels it just became annoying to keep up with, the last show I ever watched was unsolved and as soon as that ended I (finally) cut the last thread that kept me there

[@yahirflores9687]

No safiya = No buzzfeed in my book

[@kirstywho1991]

I stopped watching LadyLike because it became ‘what’s Kirstens excuse for not fully participating this week’.

[@eleanorgouldie9355]

ladylike, the try guys and unsolved were the foundation of buzzfeed

[@annabelcrescibene4257]

@@kirstywho1991 Kristen had a bunch of health issues while she was on ladylike. Watch kitchen&jorn why I left buzzfeed for no reason

[@TwelvetreeZ]

Yeah, I noticed that as well. I still liked the other members, but the videos became a lot less focused after Safiya left

[@Kaykokovids]

Shout out to Kelsey Impicciche for CARRYING the buzzfeed gamer channel for like 2 years with her 100 baby challenge videos. I would look forward to those! I'm glad she's off doing stuff on her own and doing well💜.

[@joeyjoe292]

Omg I used to watch those after getting home from school lmao

[@mfitzburger5137]

Wasn't that series just a ripoff of what other simmers were putting out though? Steph0sims even joked that "buzzgreed" stole the idea from her directly.

[@blankblank9526]

@@mfitzburger5137 eh honestly it was a challenge so you can’t really steal that

[@GwendolynnBY]

I was literally just thinking this.

[@GwendolynnBY]

@@mfitzburger5137 yeah, it's just a sims challenge available for anyone to play. and a lot of the appeal early on for Kelsey was her editing.

[@gabyharrie]

I feel so seen by your takes on early to mid 2010 pop culture. I can’t take being surrounded by 14 year olds who didn’t experience the “Why I left buzzfeed” era

[@jvnxiie2441]

One of the best eras

[@satyre_1]

I don't quite get what you mean? Would you mind elaborating a little bit more? I watched a fair amount of Buzzfeed content back then (granted, most of them were Buzzfeed Unsolved and The Try Guys, but I digress), and I'm 15. I did actually get to experience that "era". What is intolerable about teens who didn't get to experience people leaving Buzzfeed?

[@noreingravity]

@@satyre_1 The feeling of seeing someone not experimenting something that for you and that part of your generation was really relevant. It makes you remember that the world moves on, you get old, and it makes you feel alienated from the younger people. Like, im 16, but when I remember that my little brother isn't going to grow up watching Phineas and Ferb but youtubers it takes years of my life. It's not his fault, ofc, but it still feels weird.

[@yippedoodah]

It's so weird to think of how all these things were aimed towards college age people of that time (College Humor, Smosh, etc) and now, it's all 16 year olds.

[@saryjackson7705]

It’s really weird for me bc I’m still 16 but I literally binged there videos so much as a kid with un surprised access to the internet lol.

[@katherinegriffin]

the try guys splitting off to their own company/channel, safiya making videos on her own, the ladylike girls creating content independently, buzzfeed unsolved moving to the watcher; their employees hate them 😭

[@truefalse934]

The old Buzzfeed sketchs with all the OG cast (when buzzfeed was called Buzzfeed Yellow/Violet/etc) during 2014/15 was the best. I miss Quinta, Justin, Allison, Zack (Evans), Ashly, and Gaby so much 😭. They were such a big part of my childhood, but I’m so happy to see them becoming successful (such as Quinta w/ being a producer/writer and her current show)

[@Grace-ig7vm]

YESS EXACTLY!

[@Zipzapadam]

Quinta's new show (Abbott Elementary for those who don't know) is actually hilarious and I love watching each week. If you have Hulu (in the US) give it a shot

[@thoughtfulghost]

YES! The Ashdrew and Quintin shipping days!

[@wonderlucky1912]

I 100% agree with you and I would like to include Buzzfeed Pero Like which had Latino/Hispanic creators. Some of the cast members have their own KZbin channels now and some of them have been on TV shows.

[@Eli_JK]

I LOVED GABY

[@ClazziquaiR]

Buzzfeed Unsolved is the only thing i loved from years of Buzzfeed

[@khalilahd.]

Agreed!

[@hubertgostynski7809]

I agree completely

[@everythingsfinett3903]

You don’t like try guys?

[@HopeGardner3amed]

I got a little into worlds okayest mom. Then I realized that she was just doing what she said she wasn't.

[@iamsakinay]

😭 It was the GREATEST

[@spiderlassie]

the fact that i went through an era were i would have given ANYTHING to be a millennial. truly horrifying. it must have been brainwash

[@Lewisiaisoutofcontext]

As someone born in '96 I'm sometimes referred to as a millennial, sometimes Gen Z, my friends and I were SOOO deeply offended when someone called us Gen Z back then. Like what? Me, a Gen Z? Lol I'm a swag yolo millennial ftw babe. Now I'm doing everything NOT to count as a millennial.

[@alexanon8345]

@@Lewisiaisoutofcontext hi same, another '96er masquerading as gen z around all my older friends

[@miamaria7397]

@@Maggot_Luvr it makes sense, they were the 'young and cool' generation at that time. in 10 years people will say the same thing about gen z, it's always changing

[@patrickbarnes9874]

Why on Earth would anybody want to b e a millennial? Millennials are universally known for being narcissistic, having short attention spans, and being selfish and entitled. My point isn't to say that millennials are those things, my point is why would anybody want to be identified with that stereotype?

[@Candycloud_19]

Same it’s so funny when I look back

[@AammaK]

I'm just still in awe about Try Guys getting to keep their name and make a whole new brand around it. I'm honestly amazed to think they let anybody keep their birth names, like how was that not in their contracts, didn't they have to sell their souls and all or something?

[@gensai93]

They had to pay a lot of money to buy the brand name

[@MsPandachen]

Money and probably Ned, being good with stuff like that. He does the financial stuff for them and he is probably the one who is good with this stuff. And he was there before buzz feed got so big, so maybe in his "old" contact there were more loopholes.

[@elizabethgonzalez414]

It probably helped their was 4 of them who call pool their money together and secure loans to buy the IP from buzzfeed and banking on their massive fan base. I wouldn’t be surprised if they told them to repay Keith’s bachelor party 😂

[@maggiebrown1834]

Additionally I believe buzzfeed still acts as a “manager” for them. Like they are still somehow connected to the company

[@megan-wl1ym]

they did say they had originally had a different name in the paperwork when establishing the company until a last minute change so maybe they did the same with their actual name?

[@maddiejoy6619]

On the eye color video, the African American girl talked about the tendencies in society to favor Black people with lighter eyes. To me, that was what the video should have been about because she was talking about a real issue as opposed to some other people who clearly just wanted to try colored contacts.

[@emmalinekim9822]

My buzzfeed phase was just the high school version of my college Bon Apetit phase. You wanted to watch the talented people be funny and imagine that your adult work life could be like that. You developed a parasocial coworker relationship with them. But then all of your faves left and the lid was blown and you realized it's actually just another kinda shitty workplace where the talent is thought of as replaceable. And then your favorite shows end and you just stop watching the entire channel because there's no point in sticking around to watch people you don't care about. The try guys and safiya are some of the biggest people on youtube, and buzzfeed should have done everything in their power to keep them, like encouraging them to make their own channel and content with buzzfeed as the production company, not forcing them to produce constant, uninspired content for buzzfeed. Actual idiots to not move heaven and earth to keep the try guys and the cast of ladylike and the unsolved guys. buzzfeed was stupid enough to think we liked their brand not their creators.

[@blmnkrnz]

Omg exactly this! Both the og Buzzfeed membrs and Bon Apetit had this ensemble of people that felt closer to life, so you could relate to them more. They felt like old friends and you would imagine being a part of their lovely and talented group. When I was a kid, I didn't really realize that a lot of these personalities, while certainly more "real" than our typical celebrities, still bank on their personalities as a job. In reality, they might not have been that close, etc. Stuff like that. I miss both the OG Buzzfeed people and Bon Apetit. Sigh.

[@emmalinekim9822]

@@blmnkrnz I think the fact that they had a 9-5 working for a company made them inherently more relatable to me than professional influencers or celebrities who are singers or actors. I don't see myself having a career like that any time soon. TBH if any company had their employees take a class on how to be comfortable in front of a camera (like BA did) and started making well-produced, relatable office content I would probably develop a parasocial relationship with their team too lol. Even the influencers who have a 9-5 job still (like simplynailogical did for many years) usually make content about their hobbies or life, not their job.

[@arielmiranda5380]

This! All my faves left buzzfeed and then I discovered bon appetit and subconsciously treated it the same way. Then that imploded too lol

[@jjsegal1915]

Absolutelyyy see the parallels between Buzzfeed and Bon Appetit!! Maybe Bon Appetit was the NYC food media counterpart to Buzzfeed's LA content creator brand, but they were doing the same thing by presenting their workplaces as fun/progressive/the antithesis of traditional corporate offices to their targeted audiences of young people. This narrative was key to their successes because it helped them pull viewers AND employees in a seemingly endless feedback loop. I remember being in college and having a lot of anxiety about entering the workforce for the first time, and there was something very stabilizing (hopeful, even) about having these mini workplace reality shows, even while I had no intention of entering the media field. For my peers who were interested in that space, these companies were really hot because of the name recognition and image they projected, so they had a big pool of talent to draw from. Someone commented that BF was good at recognizing and hiring talent but I'm not sure that's all true, especially after their first wave of success in the website content/earlier casual YT presence (e.g. earliest videos featuring Quinta, Andrew, Ashly, etc before we really even knew their names). I remember a lot of their top YT comments, even then, were about how BF seemed like the coolest place to work. By then BF probably already had their pick of on-screen personalities/BTS crew and it was just a matter of stepping back and letting their work shine. The talent was always the heart of both BF and BA, the quality behind the quantity, and the reason why viewers kept coming back. BF and BA's glossy bubbles only popped when employees shed light on their own mistreatment and the feedback loop couldn't be sustained anymore. I'm just glad people are wising up to the BS of so many of these start-ups who want to act like they're not just as vulturous as any other capitalistic corporation out here. Meanwhile seeing former employees carve out their own lanes, build engaged audiences who support them on Patreon, and make weird content has been dope as hell.

[@mayan6280]

oh my gosh this comparison has blown my mind you are so correct

[@Slap_Pappy]

I was so obsessed with buzzfeed in middle school (2012-2015) but after that they just fell off so hard for me. Really used to like the generic fact videos they used to make.

[@jenh.8531]

A few people have brought up the “painting with period blood” video but does anyone else remember that video where women didn’t wear any menstrual products on their period? I remember Safiya was in it and I couldn’t finish watching the video, she got blood on a restaurant chair and she was so embarrassed. I’m glad she’s out of buzzfeed now

[@trinifernandez8870]

Or the one where a girl showed her bf her used sanitary pads! I just remember both of them being like "yep, that's it. Those are used pads alright" and then struggling to find anything to say for the conclusion part of the video

[@bohemelavie1]

Yeah theres a few period related things on buzzfeed that just didn't hit right. Like yep! Periods shouldn't be taboo and we should be able to have open clear communication about them but it is still a bodily fluid and sharing bodily fluids with people, including unsuspecting strangers, isn't doing anything justice. It's not empowering, it's weird

[@currantevents5607]

Watching buzzfeed’s self-righteous videos definitely made me feel like I was the most enlightened middle schooler ever for watching men try on womens sexy lingerie.

[@patrickbarnes9874]

The sad thing about this to me as a boomer is knowing how unhappy most of you will be when you get to my age. You all are drinking in this rhetoric the Democrats started pumping out largely in response to Donald Trump and you're thinking it's actually real. I see very few people under the age of 30 who have a concept of propaganda and that you shouldn't believe everything you see. It's like the stories of the detransitioners that you can't see because they're largely censored. There are a whole lot of people who bought into gender ideology and had surgery done. Then they realized having a few feminine thoughts as a guy or a few masculine thoughts as a woman doesn't make you trans, but now it's too late. Now instead of being a man, they're a woman with no breasts and a beard. You young raging feminists are going to be thinking quite differently 20 years from now when you're the mother of a son. All of a sudden #believeallwomen isn't going to sound very good when your son is expelled from college because a female student got mad at him and got revenge by making up a story about sexual harassment, and because of the very same laws you protested for and voted for, your son is legally banned from defending himself. You're also going probably think back on the slogans you chanted like "silence is violence" and "free speech is white supremacy" and regret them when the next generation grows up and decides something is offensive and you find yourself being censored and demonized as a bigot for thinking something that was completely normal all your life in the same way you were willing to instantly label people boomer transphobes who lived for 50+ years without personal pronouns. I'm sure nobody who reads this will believe me. You won't believe it until it happens. Just ask the TERFs. 10 years ago they were in your shoes. They were the young civil rights crusaders shaming and attacking anyone who didn't agree that all men were rapists. Now you can see their videos and articles where they are completely shocked at being on the other side of the same treatment they spent their youth giving to others.

[@ashleybz]

the downfall of buzzfeed came after safiya nygaard left

[@yahirflores9687]

No one can convince me otherwise

[@jaquec9]

Yep, I feel like it made people on Buzzfeed see it was possible

[@teasoturkish]

safiya inspired others to be free, love her so much!

[@bubblegumbxtch9544]

Safiya's Ladylike era was amazing.

[@bleeploughly6311]

I was obsessed with buzzfeed during early college and especially liked the ladylike series. The women in that series were just…so cool?? They were so unique and were very much themselves and it was something I really looked up to at 18. But then ladylike ended and buzzfeed started doing stuff like the painting with period blood and I just…wasn’t into buzzfeed anymore

[@abbysc417]

Same, I really loved how authentic and “real” the earlier ladylike content seemed especially as a very insecure teen

[@DrawciaGleam02]

"painting with period blood" Um..how on EARTH did they get enough blood for something like that?!?

[@harleyhurricane2075]

@@DrawciaGleam02 you underestimate how much one can bleed during their period

[@bohemelavie1]

Ladylike started to fall after Safiya left, I don't think she was the secret ingredient to their sucess, just that that's when we started to notice the cracks. Around the same time they tried way to hard to make ladylike "a thing" despite the fact that it had already been a thing for a while and it sort of started to feel inauthentic.

[@j24030]

the best way to describe early buzzfeed videos is there were a digital version of 90s-00's teen magazines

[@Moony1568]

The squidward footsteps sound effect will always make me laugh no matter what.

[@caseyaonso4270]

like why soes he sound so gooshy

[@nanisgoated]

GOOSHY 💀💀💀

[@FlagCutie]

"Cocomelon for people over 18." The accuracy of this statement!

[@Amelia-kc9lx]

Buzzfeed sustained me in college from like 2015-2017. If we didn’t want to do homework we all took buzzfeed quizzes or watched their videos together

[@piersnivans5983]

Same! Waiting for class to start!

[@livjames8624]

Watching this after the ned scandal 😭

[@aethcat]

samee

[@SoniasWay]

“Was buzzfeed era a fever dream” I’ve never heard Buzzfeed described so accurately before

[@upshurs133]

me and my sister used to be really into the ladylike series in high school, and we both still watch the individual members youtube videos since theyve left buzzfeed. we liked it because of the cast and because the fashion was cute, but going back to it the whole thing is cringy and dated. especially that damn period blood painting video. still get chills just thinking about it

[@Mila-Rosa]

Do you remember the video where they had the girls free bleed at work for the day? Everyone I tell about it thinks I'm lying and I can't find it but I swear it happened lol

[@kyleemeier7438]

@@Mila-Rosa I REMEMBER THAT

[@hhyyiktylm]

@@Mila-Rosa oh yeah, I remember it! I found it by searching "ladylike free bleeding", its actual title is "Women go without period products for a day"

[@upshurs133]

@@Mila-Rosa holy shit that was so weird... society shaming menstruation is definitely an issue but I think there are better (and much more sanitary) ways to tackle that

[@ansleyzigzag]

@@Mila-Rosa yesss and they had puppy pads in their chairs 😭

[@MrPidg]

Buzzfeed is the brand version of that one person that refuses to acknowledge that it is any year post-2014

[@mollymcnair7505]

Personally I've never forgiven Buzzfeed for their complete misunderstanding of how hoop skirts work

[@Ziaberry]

Now I need to know what video you're referencing so that I can also be angry

[@memali2939]

@@Ziaberry it was a Ladylike video I think, problably called "Women try wearing hoopskirts for a day"

[@pcbassoon3892]

Yes!!!! They said that only women who had slaves would wear them! I pointed out that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about wearing them on the freaking prairie.

[@SocarellaDeToussaint]

My favorite Buzzfeed video was when they let their Buzz Quiz tell them what to do and ended up stranded on a desert island. So for survival, a part of the group became a cannibalistic cult for Ashley Tisdale. The part where some hipsters girls danced around their devoured friends while singing "Bop to the Top" was iconic.

[@kimberleywilliams7802]

omg I need to watch that.

[@genericname2747]

Please, do you remember the name of the video?

[@ia490]

Is this real 💀

[@hieovri]

what.

[@person954]

My favorite part of this era is the end where every other video on the yt trending page was “why I left buzzfeed”

[@user-rz3nu3lm5r]

I remember loving buzzfeed as a tween bc it was one of the first times I saw lgbtq people represented in main stream media, but then realizing as I grew up that the company itself couldn’t care less about its own lgbtq employees or viewers and often relied on sterotyping the community for brownie points

[@sacha8uk]

They also happily stereotyped straight white people, don't worry.

[@patrickbarnes9874]

When you've realized that ALL companies and political parties are this way -- even the ones you like most -- then you'll truly be an independent thinker. Most people never realize this.

[@user-rz3nu3lm5r]

@@sacha8uk I know this makes me a hypocrite, but I don’t care about straight white people being stereotyped at all. You’ll live :)

[@metalheadjake3339]

As a male. I couldn't like their stuff because all buzzfeed came off to me was "MEN BAD."

[@dollbowz]

i definitely had a buzzfeed phase BIG TIME in high school but tbh i only watched the series you mentioned (try guys, unsolved, ladylike) so personally i was thrilled when all those creators left and i could subscribe to their own channels and not have to deal w all the annoying "filler" content. the try guys & safiya especially are still some of my favorite youtubers to this day and my favorite content of theirs has nothing to do with buzzfeed. but i am grateful for buzzfeed for launching those creators and for being a source of laughter and fun when i was dealing with a rough time back then. that being said, wouldn't touch the channel with a 10 ft pole these days lol

[@laurenolson4273]

I used to work with former Buzzfeed employees in the same field (writing online articles). While I can't speak for their KZbin success, I can offer some perspective on their main ad platform: Facebook. Buzzfeed used to be really good at using SEO and clickbait titles/images, which is why their ads went so viral on Facebook and other sites. But then these sites created more restrictions on what they would promote. They no longer promoted certain images, photos with red circles or arrows, weirdly cropped images, titles that directly call out the reader (i.e. "you won't believe") and a bunch of other rules that are still in place today. While other companies adapted to these SEO changes, Buzzfeed didn't. That's why they suddenly vanished from Facebook. I also heard that Buzzfeed wasn't crediting images for a while, which landed them in legal hot water. Allegedly, writers had to take their own photos for a while. I heard this from a friend of a friend, so take it with a grain of salt. I'm not surprised that Buzzfeed isn't up-to-date with certain trends. As a content writer, you have write a lot of articles as quickly as possible. It doesn't matter if the articles/videos are clickbaity or cringey; if they get ad revenue, you gotta make them, as an employee. Also -- that "food you're eating wrong" video -- those types of articles STILL make bank. I wrote SO MANY of those articles back in the day, like wrong grocery shopping strategies, wrong cleaning methods -- anything that the reader is supposedly "doing wrong" gets a ton of clicks. And the more clicks an ad gets, the more money the company makes.

[@clownfromclowntown]

Out of curiosity since I’ve never seen someone who wrote clickbait before: did you actually agree with what you were writing? And did you ever feel like you were manipulating people?

[@mellalena]

@@clownfromclowntown I wanna know too

[@laurenolson4273]

​@@clownfromclowntown Nope, we didn't always agree. Sometimes we'd have to write articles that generated "rage clicks," as we called them. Articles like "millennials don't know what these items are" that people click on because they're mad. We didn't have to agree with what we were writing. We had a minimum word count, we needed to keep people engaged (for better or worse), and we needed to publish those articles ASAP.

[@ghostbat1001]

Hmm, I wonder if a related factor in their downfall is that facebook ads have gotten MUCH more expensive over the years. It might just not be worth running them anymore just to show some more ads.

[@RomeoandJuliet55]

Zack and Keith from the Try Guys recently talked about Buzzfeed on a podcast and one of the more enlightening things they said was that corporate buzzfeed was very against series that had reoccurring talent. Their most popular series like Try Guys and Ladylike almost didn't exist because upper management didn't like it when the same people came back for similar videos, most likely cuz they didn't want individual employees to get enough star power to leverage better pay or leave to make their own content. They wanted to have a cast of revolving characters that the audience was vaguely familiar with so they would recognize them when they showed up, but not so familiar that the audience would fallow them to a different channel. They ended up shooting themselves in the foot on that front with their massive video output. Keith explained that they only had like 3-4 days to come up with, shoot, and edit a video so when they were making a video that was a fallow up to something they had done before it was easier to use the people that were in the last video because they already knew how to shoot it. This lead to the audience getting to know individual talent and liking them a lot. I find it amusing how corporate was adamantly opposed to the very video style that eventually became the most popular because they didn't want their employees to have any kind of power. Then it happening anyway because of the unrealisticly high video output they demanded of their creators.

[@colleenholden6583]

who’s where after the ned and ariel scandal

[@gwen_wise]

7:52 seeing this after Ned's scandal is even more bizarre than it was beforehand??

[@parisye1337]

People rarely talk about Gaby and Allison leaving, who were some of the first people to leave and continued building a much better brand on their own

[@alexisw8662]

i’m a huge unsolved/watcher fan and that was the only content i’ve ever really consumed from them (outside of the occasional quiz). you’re right i really only watched unsolved bc i enjoyed watching shane and ryan talk about ghosts and mysteries, not bc it had the buzzfeed name or anything. i mean look at every unsolved network video made without them, there’s a drastic difference in views

[@umnia4316]

one of my favs from buzzfeed days is Quinta brunson and it makes me so happy to see her thriving rn!! she created, writes and leads in Abbott elementary which is breaking network sitcom records rn, love that for her!!!

[@kelsey.is.offline]

"Hey there demons, it's me, ya boy!" - Shane Madej, infamously

[@justanotherlesbian6335]

I definitely had a big buzzfeed phase, and I was a sucker for the "things only ---- people will know" and the ones where people from different cultures tried Americanized versions of their food. It's a shame because Buzzfeed had some real gems of serious videos as well. I think they started falling off when they just couldn't keep up anymore; there's a reason y its been a running joke for years that Buzzfeed has run out of ideas. I also think they had a really bad approach to addressing social issues and the "manspreading" video is a perfect example. It all seemed so random and not representative at all.

[@GwendolynnBY]

don't forget, a big reason they peaked in 2018 and then immediately died right after is that they laid off %15 of their employees at the start of 2019.

[@anto4380delaguaridaa]

uhhhhh, coming back here after the Try Guys scandal

[@slaughter-water]

The way that the creators who have left BuzzFeed have become super successful since they left is kinda crazy. Like Quinta Brunson just won an Emmy, the Try Guys have a tv show now, and Ghost Files on Watcher reached #2 on trending and passed 1M views in a little over a day. I think that speaks to how the creators at BuzzFeed were the ones who made the good content and made the bad stuff at least somewhat watchable

[@chameleon25]

When Safiya uploads it usually gets on trending too! This whole thing with Ned made me realize just how many buzzfeed peeps I still follow and I’m so proud of them all! Except Ned for obvious reasons lol

[@slaughter-water]

@@chameleon25 omg I forgot about Safiya!! I don't watch her vids but I think they were recommended to me before I even knew what buzzfeed was, but she's definitely one of the biggest ex-buzzfeed employees. And yeah the fact that I commented this the DAY before Ned got fired from the Try Guys,,,yeah screw Ned lol

[@negligible_reality]

never heard of it lol; the only Ghost Files i know is an old documentary from the 90s

[@mina3625]

i remember there were two videos where they sat down a bunch of people and in one asked them what "white" meant and what "black" meant to them. it was so bizzare hearing that they associated things that i would literally just see as colours with things like for one "arrogant", "naive", "average", "a set of values" and for the other "beautiful", "intelligent", "misunderstood", and "forgiving".

[@NoFirstNoLastName]

Yea, Buzzfeed played a huge part in making a lot of lower class and blue collar white people who might not be aware of the intricate details of white privilege (because they aren’t rich) feel like black people just HATED them, which resulted in them becoming defensive.

[@genericname2747]

Colour symbolism says that colours do have meaning, but I'm confident these people didn't know colour symbolism.

[@madox4061]

@@genericname2747 you dont have to *know* color symbolism. people like painters or filmmakers learn color symbolism to be able to use them, but every single human associates colors with certain things, it's not something you learn.

[@genericname2747]

@@madox4061 true, but I don't see how a random person can decide a random colour represents something like "intelligent" or "naive".

[@mina3625]

@Generic Name they were talking about white people and black people in the video i believe, but still very odd.

[@welovemaddy]

My all time favourite was "the empty suitcase show" by @kitchenandjorn. But learning that kirsten was feeling awful the entire time broke my heart. That could have been such a great ongoing show. 💔

[@isabelxy3197]

same! I watched kristins video where she explained everything and felt so bad for her. I am glad they're out of that company now

[@lithium2000]

gotta admit ..there was a dark time in my life where I had a buzzfeed era. it was my flop era too 😔

[@ecenbt]

Buzzfeed honestly reminds me of the Bon Appetit and Condé Nast debacle. Like how do you not realize and recognize that your audience is there for the talent that you hired and treat them accordingly??? How are companies so dense? Before the whole racism and low payment came out Bon Appetit was averaging on 1.5 M views on videos regularly with some going to 4 M. I checked for their lowest viewed video on that era and it was 800k. After the whole thing, even with the rebranding efforts and everything, 800k is their highest view count and that 1 video is an exception. Their higher bracket is around 500k with some videos not even reaching 100k. This is exactly how you shoot yourself in the foot

[@chameleon25]

Dang I didn’t know that about that company! I did notice I stopped seeing those vids on trending all of a sudden tho

[@chameleon25]

That’s horrible tho. When will companies learn?

[@rachelhansen2417]

One of the funniest was women dressing against recommendations for their body type, and ALL but the girl organizing it HATED it.

[@DrawciaGleam02]

The title for that video please?

[@rachelhansen2417]

@@DrawciaGleam02 “We Try the “WRONG” Clothes For Our Shape” It’s on the As Is channel

[@applechiz98]

way back in the day, buzzfeed did a lot of skits! i found buzzfeed as a young queer person and a lot of their gay-specific content was really formative. it was the first time i had witnessed that kind of content on youtube and it was really popular!

[@wawaicedcoffee]

Casey your point about college students between 2015 and 2018 giving Buzzfeed viewership is SO TRUE. I started college in 2016 and 90% of what I watched in my free time was Netflix or Buzzfeed and I did like 5 buzzfeed quizzes a day lol

[@averyeml]

That bit about Buzzfeed needing to thank college kids from those specific years is too, too real. I was an RA in college and needed something brainless and appropriate for work to do on the computer while I worked the front desk from 8-10pm most nights. I didn’t do the videos, but I did burn through millions of quizzes and articles from exactly the years 2015-2018 😂

[@nicoleshan6410]

I felt your comment like a ton of bricks...

[@anajagarinec5437]

The Try guys and Safiya are some of my favourite youtubers, which is ironic because I can't stand buzzfeed

[@graceofgardens]

the internet evolves so fast and if you don’t evolve with it you’ll die out, which is 100% what is happening to buzzfeed. They can’t keep doing what they’re doing (probably having to listen to some company exec tell them to make the same content) and expect to survive the changes & speed in content

[@TKinfinity01]

That food series they did where they tried different foods at different price points was pretty good. Although that again had to do with the people involved with it.

[@itsisabel420]

The only acceptable shows to enjoy during this era were any show with Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara, that duo made my tween years and I honestly love them for it.

[@kaepiper]

so happy ryan n shane have their own channel. i love them sm, they’ve raised me

[@kitthew]

the "omg ppl ate their favorite food everyday for a week" one is so insane to me as an autistic person bc i have a rotation of 3 foods i eat like baby thats just how my normal weeks look

[@pcbassoon3892]

I'm not autistic and I do that. I think everyone does that. Who doesn't pack something they like for lunch?

[@kitthew]

@@pcbassoon3892 babygirl this is like the autistic version of someone saying they're sad bc they have depression and u reply that u dont have depression but u get sad sometimes too

[@sarahmurali9771]

@@pcbassoon3892 the difference is for neurodivergent people is its not always a choice what we like or dont like in the moment. Eating only a few things because they are safe foods is not how every human eats. For myself, I have ADHD and autism, and I have food fixations where I only want to eat the same exact salad everyday but then one day it makes me want to throw up for no reason and I find another safe food for the period. We all pack foods we like, but for neurodivergent people its a matter of safety, food we know we like and will not overstimulate us. This can mean simply a can of sliced peaches and nothing else everyday for a work week of lunches because everything else sounds gross or makes us nauseas.

[@WerewolfCat890]

i LOVED the ladylike era and really miss that content!! however it's much more about the people in the videos vs. the actual content, since there are still lots of creators that make buzzfeed-esque content

[@thoughtfulghost]

I was so deep in buzzfeed back in highschool that i watched the first episodes of try guys and buzzfeed unsolved (pre Shane) the day they came out and i know who graphic design guy is 😬

[@alanacrail3244]

I had completely forgotten about Graphic Design Guy until I saw this comment...

[@nikkicaptures]

omgg i totally forgot about graphic design guy until this moment

[@SanskarWagley]

lmao real ones know

[@britnicox3929]

Man, remember the rash of “why I left buzzfeed” videos that came out until they were almost a meme?

[@khalilahd.]

1000% a fever dream. I just want to talk to the marketing team controlling the socials because 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@seasalt3756]

How are you everywhere

[@myriam1777]

Okay but Worth it,Safiya and the Try Guys >>>>>

[@thanatoast]

Buzzfeed content is somehow either incredibly upsetting or the most bland cheugy content ever. Sometimes both at the same time.

[@shakiras5679]

Truly the definition of cheugy

[@Animerulespeople]

@@shakiras5679 what’s that mean

[@shakiras5679]

@@Animerulespeople per urban dictionary The opposite of trendy. Stylish in middle school and high school but no longer in style. Used when someone still follows these out of date trends.

[@sunbeam42]

I haven’t heard cheugy be used in a long time 😂

[@okitokidokii]

the only good buzzfeed thing rn is their translating recipes series because i love chaos

[@skyemccready]

Also want to shoutout @Drawfee who, after getting FIRED from Buzzfeed during the pandemic, are doing AMAZING with their channel

[@jax422]

There was a time when I watched Buzzfeed. I loved Safiya, Freddie, The Try Guys, and the two Buzzfeed Unsolved guys. After Safiya left and Ladylike took a nose dive, Buzzfeed was really trying to push these two women Jazzmyne and Lindsay. I remember the two of them making fun of Safiya in a video and I was over it. I stopped watching then and there.

[@hannah18958]

i've been watching ur vids for about over a year now and I've always enjoyed your stuff but for the past few months you've just been killing it with quality! i don't really know what you're doing different, i just find myself laughing more and i like that you've been delving a bit deeper into certain issues without going over 20min (impressive). keep it up!

[@pusheenqueen519]

I watch Watcher, the Try Guys, Safiya Nygaard, Kitchen and Jorn, Freddie's channels. I love so many of these creators and I'm so glad they're making their own content.

[@claireseelig3347]

"unironic weezer enjoyer reacts to mental illness trends on tik tok" is a video i would be clicking on tho

[@AlexisTwoLastNames]

you’re like the cool girl in 90s teen shows. that’s the vibe i get from you consistently lol lmfao it is funny that you mentioned what your fanfiction character would be like

[@alexandragatto]

I was more of a Buzzfeed quiz taker and listicle consumer but literally over 95% of the text content on their website is now thinly veiled Amazon wishlists. It's literally ALL "here are things you should buy!" just with a million different titles. It's wild tbh.

[@quenotedariayo]

I remember when Buzzfeed was just a website with random questionable articles and bonkers quizzes AND THEN moved into KZbin in their heyday. And yes, I believe Safiya (❤️) leaving Buzzfeed was the beginning of the end for them.

[@brodyh98]

i definitely had a buzzfeed phase around 2014-2017. i've been unsubscribed from all their channels for a couple years now, but if an interesting video of theirs pops up in my recommended i'll sometimes watch it lol. still watch the try guys here and there & i am an avid enjoyer of abbott elementary (shoutout quinta!)

[@skiesofthemoon]

The words buzzfeeds hayday trigger a fight or flight response in me

[@cryism7798]

you’re so chill i love watching you

[@summerwillows4655]

buzzfeed got into videos, it was largely a website that college students genuinely checked daily both for quizzes and "news articles." That is what truly feels like a fever dream to me. 😂

[@geneventide5314]

Gaby and Allison’s buzzfeed content were my favourites! I still watch them till this day. Also Safiya!

[@lamplol7120]

I started watching buzzfeed not that long ago (maybe 2019ish) but I dropped them pretty quickly since it got repetitive (I probably binge watched them for a month or 2) but I think the bigger reason is bc I discovered a lot of independent creators who make the type of content I’m interested in

[@Cinnamon.girl__]

I love seeing the og Buzzfeed employees succeed and prosper on TV, commercials, etc

[@VibesReverb]

Buzzfeeds political content hurt the left so much. I can’t talk about normal progressive ideals with a conservative without them hearing a buzzfeed employee yelling at them that their knees are too far apart. I have to use “brogressive” language to get them to agree. (I realize not everyone saw the meme about borgressives and might think “aggressive” but it’s basically progressive values but with himbo energy)

[@charleyb.8286]

I will say the reason I regretfully watched a lot of buzzfeed videos despite... them being buzzfeed videos was because a) most youtube videos were blocked on my school computer in high school but buzzfeed wasn't and b) once you watch a single buzzfeed video (at least back in 2017), that was your entire youtube home page. you could not escape it.

[@wonderlucky1912]

I love all of the creators you mentioned and I still watch them to this day. I would like to include Buzzfeed Pero Like which had Latino/Hispanic creators. Some of the cast members have their own KZbin channels now and some of them have been on TV shows.

[@snootfullofhoneybees1355]

Casey I was literally JUST thinking about this and here you are, ready with a video

[@skuleglass1721]

I’m subscribing I absolutely love how you created this video. To the point with a lot of specific explanations of each point you made.

[@bird__man]

even when i was younger the "feminist" i try for a week views like the manspreading one always came out very cringy and forced. to me it always shined a bad light onto these topics because most of the time the people in them seemed very fake deep yet still completely missed the point. manspreading is not this world ending issue but its inflated to be by how they talk about it and the effects of doing it for a week.

[@roseskye]

I went through a Buzzfeed phase from about 2014-2016 and it was absolutely because of the personalities, not the company. The second their well-known personalities left, I left too. Not to mention their shady online practices (embedding people’s tweets without asking leading to people being outed).