Centralization isn't the Enemy

I was browsing Twitter and came across this image/tweet from @theycallmedan, with the statement

Becareful who you give your power to.

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I agree with that statement and a lot of YouTubers are starting to figure this out as well. Putting all your eggs in one basket is very risky in this day and age for anyone. Even working for large and/or powerful companies, or even the government doesn't guarantee a steady income. More and more we face companies going bankrupt and large layoffs, government shutdowns causing workers to go months without a paycheck, or trying to start your own business and failing, it's never a good idea just to have one source of steady income.

YouTubers can now set-up an account on Twitch and stream for additional income, start a Patreon page and hope for fan support, or work with a graphic designer and come up with your own merch. Most successful content creators I follow are well aware especially as of recently how important it is to diversify for a multitude of reasons.

However . . .

It's easy to make YouTube the villain, and from what I've read/seen they definitely have made their fair share of mistakes, but how do they get money to pay creators if all the advertisement money walks out the door? The hand that feeds them is the one that is directing the company so if you're going to get mad at YouTube you also need to get mad at the companies that are demanding these changes that advertise on YouTube.

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Plus, how many content creators would have never been successful without leveraging the popularity of YouTube. If you don't believe me quit writing on Steemit and try starting your own Blog. If you think Steemit feels lonely when you're first starting out, try and start your own blog and see how long it takes to get any traction/traffic on your site.

How many people have YouTube to thank for help making them and their business as successful as they are today? I've watched a few people grow on the platform who were either miserable at there jobs or were just starting out, grow into a full-time creator and some have managed to be able to turn YouTube content creation into a business hiring multiple people to work with them.

Conclusion

Decentralization isn't without its own issues either. It's very inefficient as different groups are all working on what they find to be the most important project instead of getting marching orders from a centralized authority that can help prioritize. Without control over what is published on the platform, advertisers could shy away and governments could shut down the sites. Who cares if they can't shut down the blockchain if they can make it almost impossible to access and earn through content creation.

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Instead of villanizing centralized social media, I think it would be easier to work with those it has victimized. To work with people that produce great content that is affected by the swaying of the most recent "politically correct" wind, and to allow them to continue to produce great content on YouTube and maybe crosspost on Steemit or Dtube.

It doesn't have to be an either or type event. DTube may one day help create the next Pewdiepie or his competitor to most subscribers on YouTube may start gaining his popularity on DTube and make the transition to posting on YouTube as well. So yes, it's important not to rely on the hand that feeds you for your sole source of food because it may one day run out of food to give, but it's also important not to bite the hand that feeds you as well, because that may one be your ticket to future success and doing what you love.