Good Morning John,  In 2010 YouTube celebrated itself with a thing called YouTube Rewind.

At that point this was just a top 10 list of the most popular YouTube   videos of the year. Something that you could do back in 2010 when a viral video  was something that happened once a week and not a hundred times  per day.

Like it does now. But YouTube Rewind really became itself in 2012 with a video that brought  lots of top YouTubers into physical studios together to be a part of the memes. I remember feeling quite left out that I was not on YouTube Rewind  that year or the next year.

Thought we did manage to slip into, what may have been the peak  of the series Rewind 2014 which is a vibe. Even re-watching that though, it’s clear that there is a problem. Already a YouTube video was moving away from being a genre of content  and toward being a kind of content.

To illustrate what I mean by that in the shift that really happened  between 2016 and 2018. Allow me to propose a thought experiment–Spotify Rewind. A single video that attempts to encapsulate the entire music industry’s  year in 6 minutes.

No one wants this. Because it does not make any sense. Now starting in 2016, Spotify started to do something  that people actually liked then, and continue to like now.

Wrapped is a recap of what you liked.  Not like, what happened in music that year. What you enjoyed in music and podcasts. Now on YouTube in 2016 things were simple enough that people  were like ok, yeah a fair number of these folks are people  I have some affinity for or are at least familiar with.

But by 2018 the story of YouTube was very big,  very complex, and had been really quite full of scandal. And more than anything a YouTube video was not a genre  of content anymore. It was a kind of content.

It was not a single community anymore,  it was many communities. And many of those communities  disliked each other. They had to have known that people would not like it.

But in the way of large companies  I’m sure a lot of people looked at it and they said this is bad,  but it’s the thing that we do and we’ve done it, so let’s do it.  Now in response to being the most disliked YouTube video ever. In 2019, they just did like another top 10 video except with more  production value and people also disliked that. It was clear to me at that point,  that there would never be a YouTube Rewind,  and there was not another YouTube Rewind.

I would like to propose that we bring it back. Now people are annoyed by Spotify Wrapped. They will say Spotify Wrapped sucks.

Either because they don’t use  Spotify and it annoys them to feel left out. Or because they think that like,  your taste of music doesn't make you an interesting person. But I am neither of those kinds of person, and I actually think that Spotify Wrapped  delivers a ton of value to the people who make content,  the people who use the platform, and the platform itself.

It seems to be a huge win. It shows me who I love,  which I actually don’t know. I don’t know what YouTuber  I watch the most of.

It gives people content to share if they would like to.  That’s great promotion for Spotify.  And for the musicians and podcasters that are featured. And I think it gives especially smaller podcasters and musicians  a chance to feel appreciated. And to connect with their audience.

I think that this is what YouTube Rewind  should be. And I think that they should just call it  YouTube Rewind. I think that that’s great.

A breakdown of my year on YouTube.  Who did I watch? Who did I like?  Is there a creator, who basically, like,  I’m a bigger fan of them than anyone else. Cause I bet I am.

I bet I’m gonna like 0.1% of  a few creators. How many comments have you left? How many videos have you liked?

How many super thanks, super chats have you sent? And in a perfect world there’s a chance for me to type a message  to my favorite creator. And then the day after YouTube Rewind happens.  Creators get their own Rewind.

That gives them all of their stats, and a few messages from people  who appreciate their content. I think Spotify Wrapped  does good things for the audience, the creators and the platform. And I think for the people who find it annoying.

They’re part of the discourse too. It’s a fun day.  And it fixes all of YouTube rewind’s original problems. That it had to pick winners,  that they had to try and portray YouTube in a particular way,  that was maybe not consistent with how we were imagining it.

And of course, with YouTube   not being anything like a unified culture. And so YouTube if you’re listening, put me in coach. My consulting rates are high, but they consist entirely  of donations to Partners In Health.

John, I will see you on Tuesday