metalresearcher
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Why do most hobby chemists rely on YouTube ?
The YouTube channels of Cody's Lab, NileRed, Exposions & Fire, Advanced Tinkering, MrGreenGuy, LabCoatz, ChemicalForce and many more are really
excellent. They all have professional labs and all warn for the dangers of the used chemicals and the experiments. And, yet, according to this
MrGreenGuy's video: https://youtu.be/W6ikWU3yaVg Youtube is censoring. Ten years ago, I posted my videos on YT, relatively harmless experiments, like isolating Si
from SiO2 + aluminum powder and some were age restricted. So I stopped publishing on YT and hosted my videos on the VPS I rent.
Yet, way less professional than the mentioned guys, but I don't have such a fancy lab as I cannot afford it and do not need to monetize.
When such guys have so much to spend, they can easily host those videos on their own website and are not harassed by the random YT censorship. And
monetizing won't be an issue as well, a simple 'sponsor' button would be a solution.
So why this dependency on the largest advertising company which violates our privacy by Go Ogle us via YT, Chrome browser and Android ?
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Sir_Gawain
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Because no other site has remotely as big of a user base.
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Radiums Lab
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Because YT comes pre installed in some phones and apps like tik tok are banned in some places.
[Edited on 24-6-2025 by Radiums Lab]
Water is dangerous if you don't know how to handle it, elemental fluorine (F₂) on the other hand is pretty tame if you know what you are doing.
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j_sum1
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Like it or not, YT has a monopoly for long-form online video content. If you want to reach people, that is your platform.
I may be mistaken, but I don't think that Tiktok has the same search capabilities which is essential for scientific content.
By now, YT stands as a repository of information, procedures and demonstrations. A lateral shift just is not practical.
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MrDoctor
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imo one of the reasons that nilered is so big is a lot of people who arent even interested in chemistry still watch some of his purely chem videos.
Like, it just captures general interest at times. And thats only going to fly with an algorithmically curated search/feed.
its essential for exposure. Also, unless the alt-video sites like bitchute and rumble began purging/censoring too, i can never seem to find, really
anything on them that hasnt been getting reposted/stolen for 10+ years
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metalresearcher
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Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  | Like it or not, YT has a monopoly for long-form online video content. If you want to reach people, that is your platform.
I may be mistaken, but I don't think that Tiktok has the same search capabilities which is essential for scientific content.
By now, YT stands as a repository of information, procedures and demonstrations. A lateral shift just is not practical. |
That monopoly we create ourselves. Every developer / hobby chemist can make his own website at a hosting provider to host videos, even with such tools
like Wordpress, so no web design knowledge is needed. And communication ? Put a link to an email or social media on it to communicate with others.
Search engines can find any website as long as you don't include robots.txt, so anyone can still; find your videos and website.
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clearly_not_atara
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| Quote: | | When such guys have so much to spend, they can easily host those videos on their own website and are not harassed by the random YT censorship.
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It's easier to hide in a crowd than in a quiet room. The YouTube censorship is "random" because their userbase is too large to police effectively. But
it's precisely this kind of obscurity that makes it so convenient. By contrast if you set up a website your hosting provider could be unhappy and they
have far fewer clients to keep track of.
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j_sum1
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| Quote: Originally posted by metalresearcher |
That monopoly we create ourselves. Every developer / hobby chemist can make his own website at a hosting provider to host videos, even with such tools
like Wordpress, so no web design knowledge is needed. And communication ? Put a link to an email or social media on it to communicate with others.
Search engines can find any website as long as you don't include robots.txt, so anyone can still; find your videos and website.
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I disagree. I do not think "we" create the monopoly ourselves. I just don't think "we" have enough clout to significantly swing the market.
Whatever definition of "we" that you use.
As for using social media and linking to another video hosting site. I just don't think that strategy translates to viewership. For me, this site
and YT are the only social media I use. I am not alone in being a social media lightweight.
But more relevantly, video hosting platforms have their own systems for hooking and retaining viewers: recommending videos, search algorithms,
subscriptions, creation of playlists, and so forth. All of that gets lost if you go independent and link from some other platform.
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AdamAlden
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cause we never took chemistry
do not take notes
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JamesUlyssessJoyce
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I'll answer a bit perversely - in your post you mention the most famous chemistry youtubers, but in fact, according to my experience, it's practically
all of them - unless the algorithms don't allow me to find anything else interesting. If you know other youtubers as good as the ones you mentioned,
I'd love to look up on them. As for the main question - we rely on youtube because it is much more convenient and faster than going through hundreds
of pages of books. And apart from books, it is basically the only source of verified information.
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metalresearcher
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| Quote: Originally posted by JamesUlyssessJoyce |
.... we rely on youtube because it is much more convenient and faster than going through hundreds of pages of books. And apart from books, it is
basically the only source of verified information. |
I am not talking about books, but about internet, which is, as you say, much more convenient. But why do most use only Youtube ? You can host videos
anywhere !
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CuriousOnlooker
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And misinformation.
Condemnant quo non intellegunt.
Never fire a warning shot. It is a waste of ammunition. ~ Hunter S. Thompson
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chloric1
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True there are some misinformed and lame ducks on YouTube but it is by far the better platform for experiments. A lot of the chem videos removed from
YouTube can be found on odyssey or bitchute and also Internet archive. There is a playlist of 100+ synthetic chemistry videos by Chemplayer on the
archive!
My personal reasons for liking YouTube for chemistry is the videos provide verification whether a synthetic process is viable or not in a home lab.
Also, I can make a better informed decision about safety as well. For example making azides from and alkyl nitrite,hydrazine hydrate,and alkali in
alcoholic solution. Years ago, I was not aware of how exothermic this was and I appreciated the reflux condenser as a safety feature to control
hydrazine vapors. Had me or someone else tried this without a way to manage fumes it could have been disastrous! But the knowledge I now have means I
can refuse to do experiments based on my comfort levels and simply watch someone else do them! Not everyone has to be a kewl, just watch the fringe
videos and appreciate them in safety!
Fellow molecular manipulator
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jackchem2001
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Every website has a line. Even Bitchute seems to have removed Explosions&Fire's Youtube videos. A bit sad but oh well. Maybe some people have
backups but not sure if the creator of the videos wants them uploaded since they are quite old
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moviez
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| Quote: Originally posted by metalresearcher | The YouTube channels of Cody's Lab, NileRed, Exposions & Fire, Advanced Tinkering, MrGreenGuy, LabCoatz, ChemicalForce and many more are really
excellent. They all have professional labs and all warn for the dangers of the used chemicals and the experiments. And, yet, according to this
MrGreenGuy's video: https://youtu.be/W6ikWU3yaVg Youtube is censoring. Ten years ago, I posted my videos on YT, relatively harmless experiments, like isolating Si
from SiO2 + aluminum powder and some were age restricted. So I stopped publishing on YT and hosted my videos on the VPS I rent.
Yet, way less professional than the mentioned guys, but I don't have such a fancy lab as I cannot afford it and do not need to monetize.
When such guys have so much to spend, they can easily host those videos on their own website and are not harassed by the random YT censorship. And
monetizing won't be an issue as well, a simple 'sponsor' button would be a solution.
So why this dependency on the largest advertising company which violates our privacy by Go Ogle us via YT, Chrome browser and Android ?
|
This doesn’t only occur to big, influential YouTubers; it happens to everyone and anyone. I’m running a small YouTube channel that barely has 100
views per video and I still got one of my videos struck down. I eventually appealed and the video was back. Not that I have a large audience but
it’s just for the principle. Maybe you could let me know if this video deserves to be taken down: https://youtube.com/shorts/lLhtaG4dSoc?si=eMUl4ZRzbZuadhB1
Unfortunately, the real customers for YouTube are advertisers. Content creators are just a vessel for ad placement on the videos they make. If YouTube
thinks the Advertisers won’t like the content, it’s for YouTube’s best interest to demonetize it, or taking it down entirely.
On a separate note, I do think the tech giants, particularly Alphabet, Meta, X, are getting too much power. They also control how the information is
distributed.
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teodor
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Of course there are hobby chemists who don't put any videos on YouTube. Those who put something play the social game by the rule set for them by
YouTube, so there is no point to make their own platforms. The game is participating in human competition and the price is accepting the rules of the
provider.
Where is chemistry stops and making the entertaining contents starts and vice versa?
If we would see on hobby chemistry experiments as on a part of hobby chemistry science that we should acknowledge that as Edsger Dijkstra said the
science initially had only three goals - Elixir of Ethernal Yourth, the Philosopher's Stone for unlimited gold production and the accurate pediction
of the future but those goals were never reached, so basically the science is just a way of compensate it trying to understand immortal things without
ability to spend enough gold and predict the future with some entertaining social activity during the road. So, I would not bother the form and the
platform of that social activity separating it from the hobby chemistry itself.
Because unlike YouTube with its carrots and sticks, the way of science is not so regulated and this is exactly why some people do it as a hobby -
there is a lot of freedom in it. There is some experience which is only between you and the nature and I assume most of the people do hobby chemistry
(as well as other hobby science) to get exactly this experience. But some are also very talented to provide some good entertaining context. If
Exposions & Fire has so big talent and want to say something (and people love his videos) why he should stay away from YouTube?
So, please separate the hobby chemistry, competition, entertaining and talented people who can do everything from this list even on YouTube platform.
[Edited on 29-7-2025 by teodor]
[Edited on 29-7-2025 by teodor]
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shadowflare
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| Quote: Originally posted by metalresearcher | The YouTube channels of Cody's Lab, NileRed, Exposions & Fire, Advanced Tinkering, MrGreenGuy, LabCoatz, ChemicalForce and many more are really
excellent. They all have professional labs and all warn for the dangers of the used chemicals and the experiments. And, yet, according to this
MrGreenGuy's video: https://youtu.be/W6ikWU3yaVg Youtube is censoring. Ten years ago, I posted my videos on YT, relatively harmless experiments, like isolating Si
from SiO2 + aluminum powder and some were age restricted. So I stopped publishing on YT and hosted my videos on the VPS I rent.
Yet, way less professional than the mentioned guys, but I don't have such a fancy lab as I cannot afford it and do not need to monetize.
When such guys have so much to spend, they can easily host those videos on their own website and are not harassed by the random YT censorship. And
monetizing won't be an issue as well, a simple 'sponsor' button would be a solution.
So why this dependency on the largest advertising company which violates our privacy by Go Ogle us via YT, Chrome browser and Android ?
|
i don't think its most hobbyist chemists use youtube, its just that most hobbyist chemists that you know of use youtube. i imagine for every
chemtuber there's like 10 others who do the same things at home but just don't bother recording/uploading.
youtube provides a convenient host for recordings, and it also provides discovery features too. i don't spend all that much time on youtube so at
least from my perspective theres less on that platform compared to your typical image board (that allows such a topic)
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teodor
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| Quote: Originally posted by shadowflare |
i don't think its most hobbyist chemists use youtube, its just that most hobbyist chemists that you know of use youtube. i imagine for every
chemtuber there's like 10 others who do the same things at home but just don't bother recording/uploading.
|
Exactly. For example, last week I did a lot of experiments trying to get crystalls of lithium acetate dihydrate as well as the anhydrous salt and
discovered 5 methods which doesn't work and then 2 which works. There is a little information about that in any sources I have found. Also most of
them are not aware about the existence of both dihydrate and anhydrous salts (e.g. wikipedia). I did some study of the possible chemistry involved in
the hydration of lithium salts etc.
I spent many hours in my laboratory and filled 12 pages of my laboratory notebook. Most experiments were, as usual, frustration.
To turn it into intertainment I should:
1. Prepare the explanation why this problem could be important for someone the same way it is important to me. Actually it is connected with another
chain of experiments, so I should be ready to make a long multi-video story.
2. Make some plot keeping the auditory attention, showing several unsucessful tries, the lost of reagents, making some drammatic line in the middle of
it showing arising some new hope and finaly the shining result. So, there should be some plan how to keep attention.
3. Just imagine the amount of video editing involved. Not saying actual video capture walking with the camera and light the same time as doing
experiments. Probably the best way is doing everything twice to be aware about what we are really capturing.
4. Considering the amount of work and time already invested in the video - checking the number of views, auditory coverage etc etc. And this is like
returning to the same thing instead of making new experiments.
So, as you see, the making entertainment is not the same thing as a making experiments if I would consider making video of what I am doing.
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CuriousOnlooker
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There is an expression often quoted as:
Tell me and I forget; teach me and I may remember; involve me and I learn.
This site This site elucidates it further as:
Not having heard of it is not as good as having heard of it. Having heard of it is not as good as having seen it. Having seen it is not as good as
knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.
Before embarking upon something that's possibly new, one can gain an insight into potential pitfalls, or what to do when they happen. I'm sure many of
us have fond memories of a nitration that's gone runaway.
Condemnant quo non intellegunt.
Never fire a warning shot. It is a waste of ammunition. ~ Hunter S. Thompson
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teodor
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| Quote: Originally posted by CuriousOnlooker | There is an expression often quoted as:
Tell me and I forget; teach me and I may remember; involve me and I learn.
This site This site elucidates it further as:
Not having heard of it is not as good as having heard of it. Having heard of it is not as good as having seen it. Having seen it is not as good as
knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.
|
I didn't think about that. This is a new insight for me. Thanks.
Indeed, I remember that my interest in chemistry raised on doing photography and some household chemistry together with my uncle as well as one
chemistry demonstration evening in my school. But before that it was story told by my grandfather about coke production. But if I would summarize all
this experience probably it is a bit more than 5 hours total. So the rest I was doing by myself greedily searching the information piece by piece in
all sources I was able to reach and it was not so much (2-3 books about chemical experiments and encyclopedia). With the information available today I
don't see why one can not educate himself in chemistry without YouTube but I also understand that there could be some difference between those who was
grown in that pre-computer time (without even knowing about existance of some book and ability to buy it except in a local book store) and those who
had the great access to information when he starts. As well as I think that the informational starvation and using imagination and experiments is a
key of the self-education. And I would say that despite all those videos I still have more questions than answers when I do any study. I still use
paper books as the main source of information and the thing is that reading about any topic in good written book generate more questions than gives
unswers. So, from my point of view the teaching is not feeding with information, this is involving in the process of thinking using imagination. There
is no possible to capture on video everything that your imagination can create as well as cover any serious topic beyond the basic. Well, there are
talented people and talented people can break many rules but I already mentioned, they can be very good using any platform as I see. Still, the most
videos are not of high quality. We are discussing now of doing some efforts together, I mean some videos and some people having a popular channels
were initiators of this process asking me to make some videos in my lab, and then we have plans to visit labs of each other making videos etc. I can
say that there is no discussion about which platform to use. Of course YouTube but now most of videos we are exchanging between our small group is the
private ones. Because it doesn't take so much time and efforts comparing with the video adressed to unknown auditory. But hope we will produce
something. The people who are involved also had ideas of writing some books not mentioning offline meetings. So, you see, it is not only YouTube. It
is YouTube when we want to reach a wide auditory and it is only a small part of the whole activity.
| Quote: Originally posted by CuriousOnlooker |
Before embarking upon something that's possibly new, one can gain an insight into potential pitfalls, or what to do when they happen. I'm sure many of
us have fond memories of a nitration that's gone runaway.
|
I have those memory not only in my soul but also in my lungs. Still half of my best friends died from cancer and heart attacks and nobody of them
practiced any chemistry. The big part of the rest are in the therritory where is the war now and I am calling to ask is everything OK every few days.
Still I have some relative who died as a result of chemical experiment in a professional laboratory. Safety is a part of chemical education but don't
say it is not possible to study safety myself without constant spoonfeeding. Reading this forum I see much more discussion about safety than
discussing of any topic of some scientific interest. (Including discussions of fume hood construction which is not hard but not everybody has it).
It's not only annoying but also in contradiction of scientific way - taking some risk as the price of knowledge. There is no true knowledge here that
you can get completely for free.
P.S. There is some age, probably it is after 30-35 when people think that the teaching is a kind of social responsibility. I am close to 50 and I
would say: it is not. Don't expect somebody who is free from "getting likes addiction" will make videos for teaching people. The most of people just
don't learn even the most important lessons. I would keep my personal time for those few who can learn but still I am not sure I must. Even for things
I know professionally like software development and have more than average experience I would prefer to keep silence and allow people to grow without
my help. Still I can answer questions when somebody asks. The same in chemistry. It's long story why, but you can understand it yourself some day. It
is something about knowing more about life and the human society.
Probably the most important lesson the life can give you is that trying things and doing errors is unavoidable thing to develop our own vision.
| Quote: Originally posted by moviez |
On a separate note, I do think the tech giants, particularly Alphabet, Meta, X, are getting too much power. They also control how the information is
distributed. |
They are not getting too much power, they are just instruments used by those who already has power. The power will take any other influential sources,
this is its nature. Don't bother and do some science. This is not worse way than getting power on others. If you searching the meaning of freedom you
will not find it replacing YouTube or playing other games with the society. To search the meaning of freadom we should work by ourselves discovering
our own possibilities. The science is one of the way doing it.
[Edited on 30-7-2025 by teodor]
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