Why YouTube’s reply girls are here to stay
Try as it might, YouTube cannot get rid of the reply girls.
Since summer 2011, the opportunistic women have used their search-engine-optimization prowess, cleavage, and tag manipulation to generate massive view counts and, in turn, advertising revenue on YouTube. Their breast-filled thumbnails took over the related videos section until February, when community members banded together in protest.
The Daily Dot dubbed the outrage “Tittiepocalypse,” and the Google-owned site rewrote its code in March to deal with the reply girls’ spam techniques.
The homegrown YouTube community rejoiced at the momentary victory. Users returned to watching viral videos of cats and pranks without being bombarded with reply girl cleavage on the right hand side of the screen. It was a happy time for many.
However, some women have found an exploit that works, and the reply girls’ ample breasts are creeping up the related-video section once more. Where there’s a will—and financial incentive—there’s a way.
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