I KINDA MISS CAPITALISM… THEN YOUTUBE SHOWED ME AN AD. 😂
I was sent a 43-minute video arguing that modern capitalism isn’t working very well. Then the marketer in me noticed the capitalist machine operating all around the video.
⭐ SOMEBODY SENT ME A VIDEO.
A relative of mine who lives in Washington, D.C. sent me a YouTube video and suggested I watch it.
The title was:
THE RICHEST COUNTRY IS PRETTY MID NOW
And the thumbnail had this giant message across it:
I KINDA MISS CAPITALISM
👀
Okay.
You got my attention.
So I clicked.
And almost immediately…
AN AD.
😂
I skipped it.
Started watching.
Then I got another ad.
And that’s when the marketer in me started getting distracted from the actual video.
⭐ FOR ANYBODY NEW TO THIS GAME, THOSE ARE ADVERTISERS.
Brands pay YouTube to get in front of audiences.
YouTube controls the advertising system.
They have a virtual warehouse full of advertisers who show up continually.
How big is this virtual warehouse, you ask?
YouTube generated $40.4 billion in global advertising revenue for the full year 2025.
And eligible creators can participate in the revenue generated around their long-form content.
In very simple terms:
THE CREATOR MAKES THE CONTENT.
THE CONTENT ATTRACTS THE AUDIENCE.
THE AUDIENCE CREATES AD INVENTORY.
ADVERTISERS PAY FOR ACCESS TO THE ATTENTION.
Now we’re speaking my language.
That’s sponsorship and advertising happening right in front of me.
And here’s what made the whole thing funny.
THE VIDEO IS ABOUT CAPITALISM.
From what I watched, the basic thrust was pretty clear.
The video argues that something has gone seriously wrong with the way capitalism functions in modern America.
I’m simplifying a much longer argument, obviously.
And for the record, I happen to love capitalism.
- I don’t believe capitalism works equally well for everybody.
- I don’t believe every business succeeds.
- I don’t believe every person gets rich.
That’s not even what made me laugh.
What made me laugh was the environment I was sitting inside while this argument was being delivered.
THE VIDEO HAD ABOUT 2.7 MILLION VIEWS WHEN I LOOKED.
About 152,000 likes.
And it was roughly 43.5 minutes long.
I looked at the length.
I looked at all those opportunities for advertising.
And I thought:
“Nope. I’m not giving you 43 minutes right now. I can watch Formula One for that.” 😂
But before I left, I couldn’t resist leaving a comment.
It was something roughly along the lines of:
“Dude! You have 2.7 million views and 152,000 likes on this one video. Pretty sure capitalism is working GREAT for you. 😆”
And then I started laughing again.
Because now I wanted to know more about the business than the argument.
💰 SO WHAT COULD 2.7 MILLION VIEWS ACTUALLY BE WORTH?
I obviously have no idea what this particular video actually earned.
I can’t see the creator’s YouTube Studio, his real RPM or how many ads actually served.
So I’m not going to pretend I know his income.
But we can do some hypothetical math just to understand the scale.
⭐ LET’S USE RPM INSTEAD.
RPM is basically the amount a creator earns per 1,000 total views after YouTube’s revenue share and other real-world monetization factors are reflected.
Published industry estimates vary wildly because different audiences and topics have very different advertising value.
For illustration only, let’s use three hypothetical numbers:
$4 RPM
$8 RPM
$12 RPM
At 2.7 million views:
$4 RPM = approximately $10,800.
$8 RPM = approximately $21,600.
$12 RPM = approximately $32,400.
Again:
I AM NOT SAYING THAT’S WHAT THIS VIDEO MADE.
Maybe it made less. Maybe it made more.
I don’t know.
That’s not really my point.
My point is:
THE GUY ISN’T MAKING SEVEN BUCKS ON THE VIDEO. 😂
And remember…
That’s one video.
⭐ THEN I CLICKED ON HIS CHANNEL.
This is where it got even more interesting to me.
When I looked, his oldest material went back roughly eight years.
And he had something like 274 videos sitting there.
Some of the most popular had millions and millions of views.
When I looked I saw numbers around:
- 6.9 million.
- 5.4 million.
- 4.2 million.
- 3.9 million.
And so on.
Now the salesman in me really woke up.
HE HAS 274 LITTLE DIGITAL SALESMEN WORKING FOR HIM.
Think about that.
He created a video.
Published it.
And then moved on.
That video doesn’t need a lunch break.
- It doesn’t call in sick.
- It doesn’t need health insurance.
- It doesn’t ask for a company car.
- It doesn’t complain that somebody stole its stapler.
- It doesn’t care that I didn’t watch it for 43.5 minutes. 😂
Somebody can discover that video tonight.
Tomorrow. Next month.
Three years from now.
And if YouTube continues recommending it and people keep watching it, the piece of content can continue attracting attention.
And attention creates opportunities.
- Advertising.
- Sponsorships.
- Subscribers.
- Other videos.
- Brand deals.
- Merchandise.
- Affiliate links.
Whatever business model the creator decides to build around the audience.
⭐ THAT’S CAPITALISM TOO.
That’s why my comment amused me so much.
Yeah, I laugh at my own jokes.
I wasn’t trying to write a 14-page economic rebuttal in a YouTube comment section.
I was looking at the obvious irony.
Here I was watching a successful creator use privately owned equipment and a privately operated media platform to distribute his ideas to millions of voluntary viewers…
…while commercial advertisers competed for some of those viewers’ attention…
…and the platform shared part of the advertising revenue with the person who created the content.
And the topic was:
I KINDA MISS CAPITALISM.
Come on.
That’s funny. 😂
We can argue all day about whether capitalism is functioning the way it should.
That’s a different Parking Spot.
But this particular capitalist content machine appears to be doing okay.
📺 AND THIS IS WHY CONTENT FASCINATES ME.
I understand the business principle.
Content can keep working after you finish creating it.
That’s powerful.
And it’s the same basic reason I like building these cool Parking Spots.
I can create something once.
- Give it a title.
- Give it its own URL.
- Put photos around it.
- Eventually embed my own videos around it.
- Make it searchable on the Island.
Then point people back to it in the future when it’s relevant again.
That’s what I’m doing with this very Parking Spot.
⭐ LOOK AT THE LITTLE MACHINE I JUST BUILT.
A relative sends me somebody else’s video.
I watch part of it.
I notice the advertising.
I leave a sarcastic comment. 😂
That gives me an idea.
I turn the idea into a Sponsors Freak Parking Spot.
Later, I can create my own video talking about the idea.
I can embed my video here.
I can share this Parking Spot through social media.
Somebody discovers Sponsors Freak.
Somebody discovers my brands.
Somebody discovers me.
Maybe they read another Parking Spot.
Maybe they create one themselves.
Maybe they don’t.
Either way…
I NOW OWN ANOTHER PIECE OF CONTENT.
And that is the part of capitalism I definitely don’t miss.
I’m using it right now. 😂
🏝️ WANT TO HANG OUT ON THE ISLAND?
I built Sponsors Freak because I think this entire world of sponsors, advertisers, creators, brands, attention and money is fascinating.
I’m just starting to build Parking Spots around the Sponsors Freak Island.
If you want to look around, look around.
If you want to read my stuff, cool.
If you want to park something of your own here too, that’s what the $7 Parking Spot is for.
Pull up a chair.
Click the button below if you want to park something of your own.
This Island isn’t going to run out of beachfront property anytime soon. 😂