YouTuber, Philip DeFranco has not been wary to voice out his issues with the often-changing platform. In a video published in April, he said, “I am tired of trying to work with the alcoholic, negligent stepfather that is YouTube.” He recently launched a new app that allows video-to-video communications between both community members and himself. DeFranco Now, is available for iOS and desktop and it enables users to tune into DeFranco’s content, answer Q&As, pose their own questions, talk about news on their own channels and much more.
The app runs on video platform Snakt, on which DeFranco serves as an adviser. In a brief segment about DeFranco Now, the YouTuber says the idea behind the app is related to one of the features he misses most from old-school YouTube: its video responses. He says, “But I also knew that even if we could get video responses back today, I would want them to be better.”
The goal of the app is thus to enable better back-and-forth between users. He says, “I didn’t want to just upload monologues to the internet. I really wanted to start a dialogue. Of course, you can leave comments, but comments are just text, and video-to-video interaction, it’s just deeper, it’s better. When you can look into the eyes of the person you are having a back and forth with, it just matters more.”
DeFranco had stated publicly that he wants to move future projects away from YouTube mostly because the platform is becoming more volatile for creators. As YouTube continues tightening rules on monetization, more creators are finding it hard to make sustainable income on their content. In a video, DeFranco said his show “may not be able to survive” on YouTube due to demonetization and algorithm penalties. In his words, “I honestly, now, based on the way YouTube has set itself up, don’t believe that I can thrive on this platform anymore.”
DeFranco Now is available for iOS, although, an Android version is being worked on. DeFranco says the app is based around a hyper-focused community instead of being a catch-all social platform like Twitter. He however stated that there are plans and ideas for additional features, how the app evolves is dependent on how people use it.