The video discusses the decline of BuzzFeed, a once thriving brand that has experienced a significant drop in YouTube views and stock price. It attributes this decline to a series of poor decisions, including a controversial shift towards identity politics and the politicization of their brand.
The video highlights how BuzzFeed started in 2006 with a focus on relatable, clickable articles, often centered around identity politics. They were particularly adept at producing articles that pandered to specific identities to attract clicks. However, this approach led to a significant backlash, and BuzzFeed began undermining their own reputation.
The video also mentions the impact of the "Try Guys" and "Buzzfeed Unsolved" series, which were well-received and contributed positively to BuzzFeed's brand. However, it's suggested that these creators left to pursue their own projects, taking their audience with them.
The video further discusses the impact of layoffs at BuzzFeed over the last four years, which it attributes to the company's inability to diversify its revenue. It also mentions a hiring tweet from 2016, where BuzzFeed Canada stated they were looking for non-white, non-male writers, a move that was criticized as discriminatory.
In the end, the video suggests that BuzzFeed's business model has failed, and that the company's decline is a result of its focus on social change rather than profit. The stock price dropped from $10 to $4.50 within a month, reflecting the company's current financial state.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Buzzfeed is a media company that started in 2006 and became popular for its clickbait articles, lists and videos.
2. Buzzfeed faced criticism for its political bias, controversial content and low-quality journalism.
3. Buzzfeed lost many of its top talent, who left to start their own channels or projects.
4. Buzzfeed had several rounds of layoffs and redundancies due to falling short of revenue goals and failing to diversify its income sources.
5. Buzzfeed went public in 2021 with a target valuation of 1.5 billion dollars, but saw its share price drop by 55% in the first month.
6. Buzzfeed's business model is seen as a failure by some analysts, who question its ability to make money and satisfy its shareholders.