Any thoughts on Nebula as a YouTube alternative?
I know Nebula is not exactly open source, but it is pitched as a creator-controlled (or, at least a creator-centric) platform.
YouTube is my main platform of media consumption, and I would prefer to find other avenues that are not quite as monolithic.
Has anyone here tried Nebula? Is it worth it, and is there anything sketchy about it I should be aware of?
I have been using Nebula for years and it has replaced most of my use of YouTube. Whether it is worth it for you or not depends on what you watch. You can see what content is on Nebula without subscribing to get an idea of what is there.
The biggest problem I have with Nebula is that it is advertised as a “creator owned” company, but that is not actually the case. Here is a blogpost that goes into more detail about that. That being said, from what I am aware of, Nebula still pays creators more than YouTube per view. I just wish they were more transparent about their business.
This is exactly the information I was looking for.
It seemed like the key points from the medium post were:
I think you summed it up well. According to that post, they are a better option than YouTube, are friendlier to content creators, but are in serious lack of transparency
Came to say the same. It’s probably a step in the right direction, but for me at the moment, as much as it might be a slap in the face to all the creators who’ve infested their time into it, I’m inclined to say “not good enough” and learn to organise better if you want proper independence.
AFAICT, just providing some actual share ownership and decision making mechanisms would have made the difference.
That being said, from what I am aware of, Nebula still pays creators more than YouTube per view.
I think it's really important that we stop talking in terms of payment on a per-view basis - Nebula does not pay on a per-view basis. Nebula uses the same model as music streaming companies, i.e. a pro rata stream share model. This means that creators get paid based on how large of a percentage of the total streaming time was on their content. No additional money is generated for each view, it's conceptually still a fraction of what you pay monthly. The more content you view on the platform, the less each view conceptually pays.
I'm subscribed to Nebula and like it.
The site isn't meant to be a YouTube replacement. It is more of a collective of YouTube talent wanting to be on a platform that they collectively own together. There is a paywall because that is how they get funding for their activities.
I signed up for it because I want to contribute to people like them more to a finer degree than Patreon subscriptions of individual creators.
Samesies
I like it. I watch a ton of channels from YouTube on science or tech or media that are on nebula so it works well for me. It reduces my YouTube usage significantly which I’m happy about. Plus it’s ad free and channels usually cut out the sponsored segments which is huge. The service is not perfect but the apps have improved a lot over time. I’m glad it supports the creators I watch but even without that it’s been good. I just wish Chanel discovery was better but otherwise I’m a fan.
May not be the best or easiest way to find content but PeerTube maybe an alternative to YouTube.
As others have said… YouTube (like Discord, GitHub, etc.) has “the numbers”. Everything else is fighting an uphill battle… even if it’s a better alternative.
Nebula isn't really an alternative to YT, but it is a complementary service.
Overall I like Nebula and I definitely like the idea of it. It offers some respite from advertising madness of YouTube. What i would like to see is the ability to create playlists and the ability to create a more personalized feed for myself.
A lot of YouTubers actually upload their videos to Odyssey as well, which is free. Might be worth checking it out. Although I'm not a huge fan of the company cosplaying Odysee as a decentralized blockchain YouTube alternative when everything is clearly stored on their servers. Cannot really stor videos on a blockchain
Every time I read "block chain" in relation to anything on the Web, 99.9% of the time is complete garbage used to try and make as much money as possible. Your description of their "service" reinforces my opinion.
Almost everything on Odysee is pretty extreme right-wing content. I used to sync to there, but now I sync to makertube instead.
I've had a subscription with them for several years. I'm a big fan. There's nothing particularly sketchy I've seen. If anything, it's the opposite of the typical grifters. They sign on a lot of left voices and trans creators. You won't find conservative grifters on there. Creators have to be invited to join Nebula, and they don't let the trash past the door.
I don't know about an alternative per se, as youtube's whole thing is user generated content, which means alternative-wise PeerTube and it's ilk are more fitting, though far lacking in the depth, breadth, and wealth of content found on the former. Nebula is almost the opposite of that, being a more curated catalogue of content in exchange for being a paid service. Note, I myself don't have Nebula yet, but I do use something similar (Dropout.tv) Ultimately I think they're just fundamentally different use cases, and fit more like an alternative to streaming services than youtube including the faults that come with not having a massive multinational company backing them for years, as does PeerTube.
also streaming services tend not to have comments, which can halt discussion, though that can be remedied with forums, like how youtube creators used to post their stuff to subreddits
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That's not really what I'm looking for myself -- I'd like a no-log, no-profile YouTube, myself, and that's not their business model -- but that may not be the case for other people, depending upon what they'd want in a YouTube alternative.
I try to throw Nebula a month of subscription every so often, since they do feel like a step in the right direction.
But the one that really replaced YouTube, for me, was DropOut.Tv.
And yeah, I guess that means silliness is more important than science videos, for me.
I'm still looking for a non-monopoly service for handyman stuff, if anyone has suggestions.
It's not a total alternative but I have had nebula for years and it's a great platform.
Content 10/10
App (android) 6/10 clunky and crashes sometimes
I used to use it but on a technical level it was consistently disappointing. There are a number of creators who have joined then subsequently left Nebula, often on bad terms. I expect that to continue to be the case, so I don't have a lot of faith in its sustainability personally. Pursuing classes and exclusive content seems misguided in the long-term.
I tried it for a year but I don't watch very much of the type of content on there so I ended up canceling it. It's a decent app. Definitely missing a lot of the QOL of something as long in development as YouTube, but it wasn't bad.
I don't think their goal is to be a YouTube alternative for what its worth. They seem to cater it towards very specific types of videos (mostly educational and news content creators).
Nebula is one I've been interested in too, I always see creators I like advertising that they're on there as well. If anyone knows how it compares to Curiosity Stream or other services I'd be interested to know (hope this isn't too off topic, OP).
isn't it always bundled with Curiosity Stream?
I actually got an email from Nebula about how that's been discontinued
Hello,
As of January 1, 2024, access to Nebula is no longer provided by Curiosity Stream. We will continue to provide complimentary Nebula access for the remainder of your current subscription period, but future renewals of your Curiosity Stream subscription will not include access to Nebula. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
If you would like to continue accessing Nebula and supporting your favorite creators, you can switch to a direct Nebula subscription here for a discounted rate of $30 per year.
And I believe before like, 2021 it wasn't available as a bundle but that could be incorrect
There used to be a bundle with both, but that ended over a year ago.
If it is that’s news to me, I thought they were two different services.
I originally dropped Nebula due to them allowing the channel "Second Thought" on the service.
While this particular creator may have been good in the beginning, over the years they have devolved into a source of tankie propaganda. The first video I saw from their channel was titled "Alternatives to capitalism", which I had hoped would go through a few alternatives and list out pros, cons, and history. Instead, the video was summed up as "Amerikkka bad and therefore capitalism bad", with 0 mention of any actual alternatives to capitalism as an economic system. Going through more videos showed that this was par for the course.
I was disappointed that Nebula would allow this creator on their platform, as they advertise themselves as a hub of educational video content. Thankfully, Second Thought had a very angry falling out with Nebula over Second Thought's celebration of Hamas's attacks on Israel. To clarify, they were supporting Hamas, not Palestine.
Recently I've started other Youtubers that have joined the platform. Combining that with Second Thought leaving is making me seriously consider signing up again.
Second Thought is awesome I loled that you left because of him 😄
posted from lemmy.ml
Yeah, that tracks. Tankies gonna tank
I've been using it for a year or two now, and here are my notes on it.
Overall, I really like it. It does a lot of stuff right and I feel that my money was well-spent. I would like for there to be more of the people I watch on it (Dankpods, for example). Nebula's pay scheme seems like a fair deal to me given the type of platform it is.
On the note of no personalized homepage - I would highlight that there's a section of the app called "My Library" which just has all of the video by creators you've followed in time ordered series.
I do think the discoverability of Nebula does suffer for infrequently creating folks. I normally watch LegalEagle after seeing a new video from him pop up on YouTube, as an example.
good point, and it also does have a "recommended for you" category. I honestly think it's a pretty good system so long as you keep in mind that it isn't meant to be what youtube is.