Aside from writing this blog, I have a growing, successful YouTube channel that I work on with my husband. It is completely unrelated to this blog, and it is extremely labor intensive. We write, produce, and edit everything ourselves. We’ve been working on it now for two years and when I think back to our humble beginnings, I am proud of how far we have come.
When we first started the channel, as much as I hate to admit it, the criticism we received really got to me. But what I have learned through experience and from other creators is that no matter how on point you are, no matter what your message is or how good your production is, there will always be haters in your comments section. And it is really easy for someone to spew hate anonymously from behind their screens.
Early on when we got some hateful comments, I doubted myself and my abilities. I wondered if I was really cut out for YouTube. I wondered this even though significantly there were more comments that were encouraging and complimentary.
When I started seeing all the hate other YouTubers got, I was shocked. People who I admired and respected in the space were getting much more hate than us, and in some cases, the people spewing the hate were freaking dangerous. A friend we have collaborated with on a few occasions had to call the FBI because he was getting death threats. He wasn’t even doing anything controversial and is the kindest person and his videos reflect that.
Creators have also been doxed. I know one YouTuber who had to move because she was worried about her family’s safety and another one who had a woman stalk her who was obsessed with her children. She would drive one hour to sit outside of this YouTuber’s house and watch her children play out in the front yard – which is just beyond creepy.
Before being on YouTube, I watched it often, but I never really left comments on videos or anything. Being a creator has given me a whole new perspective on the community – which overall is great. But there are some people out there who just want to tear you down. They’ve even created forums where all they do is hate on YouTubers.
The truth is, the more your channel grows, the more you will have people taking bites out of you. It is sad and I wish that these people who do that found more ways to enjoy their time. But they feel better about who they are, dragging others down.
Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by what other people say about you. Sometimes we get constructive criticism, which is always welcome. We are always trying to find ways to improve and bring as much value as we can to our viewers. Constructive criticism is great.
But when people leave hateful comments now, we really get a kick out of it. We laugh about it a lot. Many times, the people leaving those comments are not well informed or are just miserable people. And what I have found, too, is that the community we have built will see the comments before we even do and respond to these haters. So come at me, bro 🙂
But seriously, a lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinion of sheep. If you are getting criticism, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and focus on what you are trying to accomplish. The person who is trying to drag you down is already beneath you and just wants some company.
