The Terrifying Prospect of Being Shutdown by YouTube
It can happen to any creator at any time for almost any reason.
Since 2007, YouTube has grown from a small Internet startup to a massive video hosting and sharing platform that doubles as the Internet’s second largest search engine - second only to Google itself.
Because it’s open and free to use, anyone and his mom can set up a channel and start uploading videos, for better or worse.
No matter what you want to see - or don’t - there’s a channel for that on YouTube. Truly, it’s the ideal outlet for someone who wants to create video content.
And it’s great. Except…
One shutdown and you’re done.
The monster behind the curtain at YouTube is this: if your channel is terminated - for whatever reason - you are forever banned from using the platform. You. Not just your channel. You.
After a channel has been shut down, its owner is no longer allowed to be on the platform - even if he has other channels that have never had a problem.
There’s a scary thought.
That means that every channel a creator starts is another gamble, another potential target for YouTube’s channel-axing machine.
If a shutdown channel didn’t mean being permanently banned from the platform, that would be an annoyance but not a major setback. But being banned from YouTube?
That would hurt. Not because being banned from a platform wouldn’t sting. It would.
But because being kicked off the second largest search engine on the Internet and the largest, most popular video sharing site currently… that would sting big time, potentially dramatically limiting your reach.
YouTube is the standard for long form content.
In recent years, short form content has skyrocketed in popularity, and it’s become a key part of any solid marketing strategy. TikTok took the world by storm and has now become the gold standard for shortform, vertical content - for better or worse. Others have added TikTok-like features - Instagram, Facebook, X, and now even YouTube.
But still nothing has taken the long form video crown from YouTube. Some have tried, and there are are a few YouTube alternatives that are starting to pop up, but so far, YouTube is still king of horizontal, long form video.
So being banned from YouTube would be a major bummer for someome who creates primarily long form content and hasn’t doubled down on short form.
It’ll be interesting to see where things sit in a few years, and I truly hope that one or more of these YouTube competitors takes off. Odysee and Rumble both show promise, but they’re just not quite there yet.
So right now, the prospect of being banned from YouTube is scary for anyone who creates long form content - like yours truly.
(On that note, I’d love it if you’d go check out my Odysee channel if you have a minute.)
What can we do?
YouTube’s rules are YouTube’s rules. There’s nothing we can do about them but try to follow them. But even so, no account is immune from the specter of sudden termination without warning.
As much as I recommend creating YouTube content, it seems clear to me that relying on YouTube as the sole platform for video content, simply isn’t wise. And certainly, whether you’re making money from the platform or not - even if a lot of money - don’t quite the day job just for YouTube.
All that income could dry up in an instant without warning.
So what are we to do? I propose 3 things:
Go all in on short form video. While there aren’t many platforms for long form content, there are several for short form - all of which are very popular.
Build an email list. Remember, you don’t control any given platform we don’t own. We don’t own Medium or YouTube or Tiktok or the rest, and our time there is rented. It’s best to build something we do own. Email is a great asset.
Create other kinds of content too. Video is excellent and should be a part of any sane content creator’s strategy. But video isn’t all there is, and it shouldn’t be all you do.
Personally, I plan to keep building my own YouTube channel - Spare Room Tech - while also focusing on other platforms as well.
YouTube is far from the only place to post content, and I don’t want to be caught relying on any one platform if or when that platform goes downhill or decides I’m not welcome for any reason.
The odds of being shutdown.
Now obviously, the chances that any particular channel would be shut down are slim. And hopefully you, dear reader, aren’t doing anything that would deserve such drastic action.
But still, that doesn’t mean that it can’t happen. Even those who have followed the community guidelines to the letter have found their channels mistakenly terminated.
While there is an appeals process, that isn’t always successful. And if YouTube says the suspension is permanent, there’s really nothing more to do.
Of course those odds can be minimized by doing the best we can do to follow the community guidelines and trying to avoid drama (as best we can). There are certain things which unequivocally do deserve a channel termination and subsequent ban from the platform. I think we could all agree on that. Avoid those behaviors.
But take it one step further and watch the community guidelines like a hawk every time you post a video, short or comment.
Tread carefully and have fun.
YouTube can be a lot of fun, I’m learning. I’ve met lots of great men and women creating content on the site, and I’ve learned a lot there. But I know that there’s a fine line to walk to stay on YouTube’s good side.
But even as I create videos and connect with other content creators, I wonder if the day will come that I’ll get the infamous channel termination notice from YouTube - as many other creators have.
I hope that day never comes, and I hope that one day YouTube will take a less draconian turn and only terminate channels that actually deserve it. And I hope that one day a terminated channel won’t mean a permanent ban from the platform.
Right now, my encouragement is to have fun and always keep in mind that our time on YouTube is rented. Build your channel and connect with other content creators - but don’t let that be the only place you post video content.