I have noticed multiple YT content creators just casually mentioning things like "like and subscribe for the algorithm" and even "leave a comment for the algorithm", which people do, sometimes just saying "comment for the algorithm". One creator I remember did a "if you watched until the end comment 'boat'" or similar, which of course is again just baiting more comments. It also nudges recurring viewers who know that spiel to watch until the end, because they get to enjoy the dopamine from being one of the people who can comment the word. This increases watch time, which apparently is again one of the things the algorithm uses.
Maybe I have just become more attentive to these things or they have become more prevalent, but I notice this blatant optimization for the Algorithm(tm) more and more. I guess this is the meta you need to play in order to stand out/make it in the torrent of content that is YT or social media in general. I also see this as an example of Goodhart's law as creators try to optimize for reach and thus likes etc. while the original intention of the YT Algorithm(tm) was (or should have been) to serve you content you will enjoy.
Just yesterday I discovered a channel that asks for people who watched all the way to the end to replay the video at 0.25x speed to support the channel. I have zero clue if that would work and I’m not going to do that, but he makes good videos so I mean, if others want to do, it’s whatever I guess. I no longer care about crap like that, YouTube is essentially its own medium at this point.
Youtube definitely switched at some point from rewarding number of views (which incentivized short content: 10 minutes was a bit of a meme for a bit because that was the minimum for monetizing) to rewarding watch time (which incentivizes longer content: suddenly people noticed VODs of 6 hour livestreams doing numbers), as far as their recommendations and ad rewards worked. I wouldn't be surprised if they take the video speed adjustment into consideration such that the suggested action would contribute.
Maybe I have just become more attentive to these things or they have become more prevalent, but I notice this blatant optimization for the Algorithm(tm) more and more. I guess this is the meta you need to play in order to stand out/make it in the torrent of content that is YT or social media in general. I also see this as an example of Goodhart's law as creators try to optimize for reach and thus likes etc. while the original intention of the YT Algorithm(tm) was (or should have been) to serve you content you will enjoy.