Oh, for cryin’ out loud. That’s the last straw. We’ve seen one hazardous YouTube video as well many. Are we honestly cursed with a false comments system that unequitably rewards hazardous habits in on the internet videos? undoubtedly the response is ‘yes’. now the genuine concern becomes, can we do anything about it?
Professional motorist on a closed Course
Marketing is all about putting something in front of a consumer as well as getting their brain to go “awesome!”. The fast, loud, shiny, burny, as well as sharp things are all on the table for that task. It’s the primal part of your brain that provides you jolt, as if your amygdala failed to remember exactly how to run from sabertooths (saberteeth?) as well as discovered exactly how to like as well as subscribe.
Back in the day, people were hurt as well as even killed when replicating stunts they saw done on television. To secure from litigation, business started adding disclaimers — Don’t try this at house or my favorite: Professional motorist on a closed Course.
But the thing is, commercials are huge business. If somebody gets hurt, there’s money to be had by assigning blame in a court of law. When the capability to create as well as distribute video material was democratized by the coming of the Web we lost those warnings as well as the typical sense that went with them.
Going method back to this remote-control-a-real-car hack in 2009 I haven’t been able to shake the lack of consideration for risk in a job like this. I included it in the title, which ends with “(dangerously)”. While I wasn’t taken to task in the comments for that title, I have been chided for advocating for things as questionable as helmets when strapping your body to a moving object. Do a Ctrl-F on “helmet” in this post to see what I mean.
The people pulling off these hacks were doing it since it felt remarkable as well as they wished to paper exactly how that felt. They weren’t stars, they were hackers as well as the world mainly ignored them except in locations like Hackaday. We may dispute the lack of security procedures however a lot of presumed any individual with skills to do this would take a beat to think about the risks. This was most likely a false assumption.
It’s All about the Subs
Things have gotten worse considering that then. I can’t blame all of this on YouTube, however I’m going to try. One day, YouTube altered everything. They put together a best mix of simple uploading, excellent discoverability, as well as (most importantly) marketing profits sharing. For some people, this ended up being a service as well as not just a method to link with the rest of the hacker community.
This is the increase of the customer base. It’s a vicious cycle — you requirement a lot more people to like as well as subscribe to ensure that their influence will push your channel to a lot more people to like as well as subscribe. The issue is, the fastest method to this is that difficult amygdala again. For some, this is being funny, however for others this is speed, fireballs, as well as loud bangs, without any regard for life, limb, or eyeball.
We’re far From Blameless
I like fireballs as well as quick cars as much as the next person. as well as we’ve definitely run a great deal of articles on the escalatingly hazardous hacks available for all to see. For instance, we’ve covered a number of hacks from [kreosan], like microwaving things outside of a microwave and then building a microwave gun.
Short sleeves as well as flamethrowers. What might go wrong?
But even the a lot more mainstream material appears to be getting a lot more as well as a lot more dangerous. Our cherished [Colin Furze] is guilty of hazardous behavior. Not only did he shed himself testing a jet engine out without any type of security gear, however turned the aftermath into one more ad-supported video.
Which brings me to the straw that broke the camel’s back. Here’s a hack that’s based on the concept of hurting people. It’s what is (luckily) a crappy robot created to acknowledge faces as well as radiate lasers into any type of eyes it detects. actually it’s conceived to shoot your eyes out. It’s utilizing a red laser that likely won’t cause eye damage unless you intentionally gaze into it without blinking, however that’s not discussed in the video, as well as somebody who doesn’t understand much better replicating this with a different laser might quickly cause irreparable damage to their sight.
Rocket Scientists utilize typical sense as well as So must You
I was going to utilize the heading “This Isn’t Rocket Science”, however you don’t see rocket scientists testing new engine styles by illumination a fuse as they run away giggling in short sleeves as well as flip-flops. Those remarkably intelligent people are tucked safely in a bunker at a risk-free distance with their hands hovering over the emergency kill switch as fire battling devices hangs out at armsreach. Rocket scientists understand a great deal about security as well as so must you.
This is simple. We don’t have to invent anything to add security to our hacks. utilize typical sense. gown properly for your demo — as the circumstance dictates utilize affordable fire-resistant clothing, helmet, etc. wear protective glasses, laser spec’d goggles, as well as ear plugs; each whenever called for. Take fumes as well as particulates seriously as well as wear respiratory gear. Keep a fire extinguisher around. as well as if you’re making a video or publishing pictures about it — which you must absolutely do — snap a photo or provide us a quick video cut to the security precautions you’ve chosen.
I still want to see remarkable projects on YouTube. however I likewise want to see the pattern towards risk for clicks stopped. Let’s do hazardous stuff safely. as well as let’s be conspicuous about those security measures. That combination is genuinely awesome.
Now get off my lawn, as well as wear your seat belt while doing so.