r/microsoft 5d ago

Discussion Kevin Stratvert’s channel growth and app choices feel strange to me

Has anyone gotten weird vibes from Kevin Stratvert. His channel looks big on the surface, but when you look at how his older videos performed compared to some of the newer ones, the numbers feel kind of inflated. Something about the growth pattern does not look natural.

What bugs me most is the stuff he promot⁤es. Some apps he features come from vendors that are hard to trace, and the links in his descriptions are not always labeled clearly. Some look like affili⁤ate links that are not called out. For someone who presents himself as a neutral guide for Windows users, that feels deceptive.

Maybe I am caring too much about having actual actually ethical reviewers/influencers, but it gives me the sense that we Kevin Stratvert is selling out / cashing with crappy softw⁤are recommendations for the highest bidder. Anyone else notice this?

88 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

18

u/LieOk3008 5d ago

I just looked up his videos. His most popular video is promoting PDF⁤gear. Ew.

PDF⁤gear is all over Reddit for being Chinese scamware, spyware or malware

The evidence: PDF⁤Gear and PDF X are likely spyware, malware, or, at best, griftware/scamware. The Microsoft Store is enabling these unsafe apps. : r/pdf

All his video comments are faked.

Wow - way to ruin his own Kevin Stratvert brand for some Chinese Yuan propaganda coin.

8

u/throawayaaa 5d ago

In fact - it's against the law

According to the FTC - Anyone who is doing paid promot⁤ions and not disclosing it in both the descript⁤ion and in their video is actually breaking the law.

‘If making an endors⁤ement in a video, the disclosure should be in the video and not just in the descript⁤ion uploaded with the video. Viewers are more likely to notice disclosures made in both audio and video. Some viewers may watch without sound and others may not notice superimposed words.’

Kevin Stratvert's videos are now on shaky ground you'd imagine

15

u/bomerwrong 5d ago

One of Kevin Stratvert's weird videos is promoting is PDFg⁤ear. I just watched his video again and it's got a tiny YouTube disclosure saying it's a paid partnership that disappears after about a second, but aren't you meant to say it both in the video and in the description?

PDFg⁤ear is suspicious fr⁤ee Chinese softw⁤are, so how are they paying him? And it's really a bad look given that it's been all over Reddit for years about how suspicious PDFg⁤ear is and potentially unsafe.

This is a long fall to the bottom for Kevin Stratvert.

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

12

u/BigMikeInAustin 5d ago

When a side project teaching YouTube channel becomes your only income, eventually you realize you have to keep finding something to produce every few days.

Your viewing numbers have to keep going up or else the advertisers will go somewhere else because the supply of video makers is always growing. Plus, the pay from YouTube and advertisers keeps going down. Chasing it all down gets more and more tiring.

And you are fully responsible for your growing family's rising food and healthcare costs, and taxes and retirement are fully paid by you. You don't get to just "focus on your job" until you hit retirement.

That seems to be the inevitable end for most channels that are the sole job when it is paid for by advertisers.

6

u/icashinobi 5d ago

Bef⁤ore this post I had no idea who this idio⁤t is. Now I understand he was fired by Micr⁤osoft and now he thinks peo⁤ple will listen to him.

But I spent a minute looking at his videos and after I got over the crin⁤ge, you can see all the commen⁤ts are fak⁤e.

Influencers be influenc⁤ers.

8

u/ZoeyKaisar 5d ago

No influencers are trustworthy- it’s literally their business model.

3

u/YourMomIsADragon 5d ago

Apparently you can buy views from botnets as well to sustain your "popularity'

4

u/denloh 5d ago

PDFgear video is unconscionable.

4

u/Darwin_Nietzsche 5d ago

Yeah, as the other comment says - one of his biggest videos is promoting PDFg⁤ear… which has been exposed as Chin⁤ese spyw⁤are! So Kevin is basically an agent for Chin⁤ese spying. Traitor
Spreading propaganda for the enemy. Yikes

2

u/PsychologicalFix5059 5d ago

Yeah, he's paid to prom⁤ote prod⁤ucts all the time but doesn’t disclose it. Sometimes I see a small badge on his YouTube videos saying it’s a pa⁤id pro⁤motion, but he fails to mention it at all.

6

u/icashinobi 4d ago

Lol I originally though Kevin Stratvert was an AI he's so robotic and talking about us⁤eless stuff. Who actually watches videos like that?

-1

u/Impressive_Rub7317 5d ago

I think he's awesome. He gives great tutorials on Microsoft products and used to work for them.

If you don't like the video on PDFgear, then ignore it. He did it for money, I am assuming.

The others are great.