Even though I have several videos on Diode Zone, a PeerTube instance, I’m been thinking of going solo with YouTube.

The catalyst has been limited storage space, though now I am double checking, and it looks like Diode Zone always offered unlimited space… I could have sworn it was topped at 10GB at some point. However, even with unlimited storage, this instance is run by one person who hasn’t been too active online, which is always a worrying sign.

YouTube is the king of online videos, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy to work with. It’s lawyer-speak meant for brands, not people; each video I upload is scrutinized for fear of getting sued and greed for making ads. Last night, when I tried to add a link to my wiki (which I’m recording in the video itself), it informed me I had to be verified, either by uploading a video of my face or scanning a government-issued ID.

Annoyed (Google already has enough of my government-issued ID one way or another), I checked to see if I could move content from my alternative account to my primary one (not really) and found out I can have a dedicated “brand” (of course) account on the platform with my primary Google account, which is verified. So now I need to move my videos from my TAONAW dedicated account to my primary Google account to open a brand there as an alternative account for the primary account…

I’m not against making some money from my content, but Google just makes it feel so crooked. It is a well-oiled money machine, which means Google won’t shut it down any time soon (though the risk of rebranding it in new colors and logos remains, as they tend to get bored quickly over there, it seems). So do I just put up with it for now? Do I engage with it, jump through its hoops, and learn to be a “brand,” asking people to subscribe in each video?

I don’t know. I’m stuck somewhere in the middle.