RIP Buzzfeed?

Buzzfeed. One of the most prominent, highly visited sources of news and personality quizzes alike. Their YouTube brand also boasts a whopping 35 million subscriber count over their 7 accounts: Buzzfeed Blue, Yellow/Boldly, Violet, Video, News, Celeb, and Ladylike. The content on their website has always been amazing, especially their random quizzes, but their YouTube channels are another story.

I have noticed that personally, I watch Buzzfeed much less than that I used to, say a year ago. I attribute this to the fact that many of my favorite content-creators have left Buzzfeed to start their personal YouTube channels. A prime example of this is Safiya Nygaard, who co-created the Buzzfeed Violet Series “Ladylike” with Freddy Ransome – which just isn’t the same without her. Safiya has her own YouTube channel now with more than 3 million subscribers, which I would rather watch.

Another example is Michelle Khare, who used to do more physical videos on Buzzfeed. She also has her own channel now, though not as successful as Safiya’s, in which she has total freedom. In all honesty, the only reason I watch Buzzfeed anymore is for the beloved “Try Guys:” Eugene Lee Yang, Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer and Zach Kornfield, Hannah Williams, who is the “world’s ok-est mom,” and the lifestyle and food series “Worth It.”

This isn’t to say that “Buzzfeed sucks” or that Buzzfeed isn’t good anymore. There is definitely still a lot of quality content on the site and on their YouTube channels. I just noticed that I had been watching Buzzfeed a lot less and wanted to figure out why. For this reason, I decided to ask some students at AISG on their opinion of Buzzfeed and if they think it has gotten worse. Sophia M, a sophomore, comments saying that she especially “[likes] Eugene, Ned, Zack and Keith from ‘The Try Guys’, and that she thinks Buzzfeed’s general content is “fine.” Alison L, also mentioned that “there has been a really big issue with people leaving and […] the controversy around [why they left].” However, she adds that she “wouldn’t say [that their content is] worse, [she] would just say there is less content that is likeable for a younger audience.” She believes that “the quality of the videos is still good.”

Overall, the future of Buzzfeed still seems strong because their website is still doing well. They are also constantly gaining new content creators and writers, so it is always changing and improving. Keep taking the great quizzes like “Answer These Seven Questions and We’ll Reveal What Type of Pie You Are!”