Significant Career Lesson From A YouTuber At YouTube
Max, a YouTuber, emphasizes the significant career lesson of embracing criticism, stating that "the feedback from people is incredibly important, invaluable, really." This involved learning to view negative comments not as personal attacks but as valuable data for improvement, such as when viewer feedback led to shortening a self-indulgent video intro.
YouTube, Social Media, Content Creation, Criticism and Feedback, Creative Problem Solving
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
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Traits
Max Carlisle
YouTuber
YouTube Channel
None
N/A
General Studies / Not Applicable
Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Creative
Video Highlights
1. Embrace criticism and feedback, even if it's negative, to improve your work. Don't take it personally, but rather use it to identify areas for improvement.
2. Understand that online comments are just a small fraction of the total audience feedback; even a few negative comments might represent a larger issue.
3. Actively seek out criticism and feedback by sharing your work and asking for honest opinions from others to identify blind spots in your own work
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
One significant lesson I've learned is to not be too sensitive to criticism. Instead, I've learned to embrace it, which is especially important when you're creating something, whether it's art or a solution to a problem. Social media is known for haters and trolls, but feedback from people is incredibly valuable.
For example, when I first started making YouTube videos, I had a long intro with a teaser, followed by my intro, before the main content. This intro alone could be around 20 seconds long, which is quite lengthy by YouTube standards. It was also quite vain, featuring pictures of me holding guitars.
While I liked it, viewers did not. The comments I received were essentially insults, like "Dude, we don't want to look at you, man, get that off the screen." It's easy to dismiss these comments as personal attacks.
However, they were telling me something incredibly valuable: that part of the video wasn't resonating with them. Reducing or removing it would ultimately make the entire video better. It's also worth remembering that the comments people leave are just a fraction of the feedback they're thinking. If a hundred people express dislike for my intro, there are likely a thousand others who feel the same.
Taking criticism without taking it personally is key. You acknowledge a mistake, learn that what you thought was good isn't, and then you correct it. You use that information to refine your future work, and that process is invaluable.
Many people are quick to shut down criticism, but you should actively seek it out. Sometimes, if I'm trying to improve something and I'm unsure what to change, I'll send it to someone and ask them what they would do to make it better if it were their job. I want them to be honest, even if it means telling me I'm talking about myself too much.
People you work with might hesitate to offer such direct feedback, so you sometimes have to actively seek out criticism. Ultimately, embracing criticism is the most important takeaway for me.
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