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It's been almost exactly one year since Vidme shut down. Vidme was a video platform that tried to challenge YouTube by claiming to be the world’s most creator-friendly video community and also very transparent, which were both inaccurate, in my opinion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LVbhHpFrOA&pbjreload=10
I say that because I was someone who had a channel on Vidme. In order to have your channel monetized, you had to apply by sending an email, requesting it. Since my YouTube channel was monetized, I thought this was merely a formality and I would qualify without a problem. However, my request was rejected.
When I emailed them and asked why I was denied monetization, I was told that they could not tell me the reason. So much for transparency.
They did tell me that I could reapply at a later date. I assumed it was because I didn't have enough videos uploaded at that point. Since Vidme had an import tool, I took advantage of it and imported several of my YT videos. I waited a few weeks and applied once again for monetization. I was denied again. Again, I emailed them and asked why and once again, I was told they could not give me the reason.
I decided to check out some of the Vidme channels that were approved for monetization and found dozens of them without a single video uploaded and also no interaction at all on the platform.
Transparency indeed.
## How Were Vidme Channels Monetized?
* on-platform tipping
* paid subscriptions
* ads on channels (in beta at the time the platform shut down
## Why Did Vidme Shut Down?
>We were confident we could create a new type of video platform — one that was more community-oriented, more transparent, and more equitable to creators. Inspired by reddit’s crowd curation, we also saw an opportunity to improve the experience for both viewers and curators by allowing the community to surface trending content.
> > Vidme came a long way as an independent platform, but we couldn’t find a path to sustainability. [via Vidme](https://medium.com/vidme/goodbye-for-now-120b40becafa)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4WtddRpyu0
## Actions Speak Louder Than Words
If you're going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. You can't just say you are transparent platform without backing it up. I was only one of many that were denied verification without explanation. That, to me, is not the definition of transparent.
I also saw examples of censorship when other Vidme users were critical of the platform. It seems that the founders did not appreciate having the users bite the hand that fed them, even though it fed them very little.
## No Visitors
In reality, Vidme shut down because nobody visited the site. The only people that watched Vidme videos were other Vidme users and even then not many users watched. For a site that wasn't decentralized and was banking its future on advertisers, having no visitors was a big problem. I was not surprised one bit, when they announced that it was shutting down.
Another problem is that Vidme did not deliver on its original claims as a better alternative to YouTube. They were gatekeepers just as much as YouTube is. That was what their real downfall was.
**Happy anniversary, Vidme!**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S7Sj4AzPvg
