@randahl I immediately associate the "It's over" caption with clickbaity stuff, like YouTube drama videos that usually overuse that caption.

@jiros @Enea90 @djembro @radicalabacus

Thank you everyone. Based on all the excellent feedback in this thread, I have decided to reuse my own thumbnail idea but to redraw it for better composition. Now both heads are closer to the viewer, the countdown is in the middle for a symmetric layout, Putin's cup is out of frame, etc.

I have configured YouTube to do a test, to see if this one works better than the original above. I will report the results later.

@randahl are you asking the right audience? People on Mastodon differ in their opinion with YouTubers.

@randahl 1) are you surprised that AI said to use AI?
2) when I see AI artwork, it always makes me think of people who get a cheap disposable home printed business card that have an advertisement on the opposite side. It's not really a great brand ambassador, and to me reads as quick and thoughtless, which I then extrapolate onto whatever is being represented by it. Human created, even if not perfect, reads as more serious. (1/2)

@randahl When I click on your link, I don't see your thumbnail at all. I see a thumbnail of some ad that precedes your video. The first time I followed the link, I didn't even play the video, because I wasn't sure the link had taken me to the right place.

@randahl

I tend to avoid an AI image. It makes me think that the underlying content is also AI.

@randahl
I don‘t think, I would click on the AI-generated thumbnail.

@randahl the tumbnail should have zelensky and putin on it. And figure out where your face should be. ;-)

@randahl If you were to put the second thumbnail, possibly you would get a bit higher views, albeit not from the kind of people that hang out on Mastodon. You would give up on your originality and what makes you unique, to conform to what they expect of you. The expression "selling one's soul to the Devil" comes to mind to describe that.

@randahl it might have to do something with the title.

I am not sure of your audience but I very rarely open videos with clickbait titles and thumbnails (like AI-generated suggestion here, only thing it misses is lightning) as they usually offer little substance and are rehash at best and ragey slop at worst.

For me your original thumbnail is looking good, standing out in the usual mess even but I'd change title to something more... informational? Something that you'd expect to see as good newspaper headline. Or at least expand it a bit.