Mike M. is correct that YT has only landed a first punch. And it may be a big showy punch with no power behind it. The YT statistics appear to be cooked in at least a couple of ways. In navigating around YT one often manages to "watch" videos twice by accident by going back in the navigation. Kids put their videos online and refresh refresh refresh to get to the top of the most watched lists. It's so bad that there are videos "outing" egregious perpetrators and demonstrating the effectiveness of the technique. It seems that there are many aspects of the YT wayfinding experience designed to generate lots of accidental views and crank up the numbers. In addition, the network effects on YT are enormous. If your video bubbles up to a spot where people will see it -- like most viewed of the day or week list -- it will go on garnering many many more hits while often better videos languish. As a result, it's doubtful that even YT with its huge numbers can deliver a real audience. I've only done a cursory examination, but what I saw suggested a kind of a Brownian free for all that looks like a fair extension of the behavior of the dogs-on-skateboards and teenie boppers shaking their asses crowd. I checked the stats on some of the "other" videos made by the people with the most viewed videos. Those "other" videos which are no worse than the "most watched" videos and made by the same people have a tiny number of views, suggesting that even having a hugely popular video - in the multiple millions of views -- cannot deliver even a fraction of that "audience" to your next effort. Some of my less watched episodes have more views than the less watched productions of people with a video with millions and millions of views. All of this suggests chaos, randomness, luck, timing and a total lack of a cohesive consumer behavior. It suggests a million kids with a footprint that looks like multiple millions of kids viewing videos that are in front of their faces because those videos at the top of the wayfinding experience. It suggests browsing more than searching and much more than seeking out and following specific artists. It suggests kids (and a few interested adults) sneaking a couple of YT vids into their day before mom calls them to dinner. YT is a website where any cute girl under 25 who appears to be not full of herself is valued, dogs on skateboards are endlessly fascinating, lighting your farts on fire is high art, and most things displaying sentential logic or thought requiring more than 20 seconds of attention are doomed. YouTube is a big bloated chimera.
-David --- In [email protected], "Jan McLaughlin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Note: YouTube vids have recently begun to appear in Google searches. > > Jan > > On 2/5/07, Mike Meiser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > On 2/4/07, Andrew <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I agree that Compete is comparing apples and oranges, but it's still > > > reasonable to assume that they're not far off the mark and that YouTube > > > and MySpace are the top two sites and of course both are relatively > > > closed systems (if I search for something on YouTube it's not going to > > > give me results from MySpace video or vice versa). I think this is a big > > > challenge because let's say your video is hosted on Blip.tv or > > > Revver....assuming Compete's numbers are close even though your video > > > might show up in an AOL Video or Google Video search over half of the > > > time people look for video on the internet there is no way they are > > > going to find your stuff unless you upload separately to YouTube and/or > > > MySpace and agree to their TOS. > > > > > > With any web site or blog I've ever been involved in, over half the > > > visitors discover the site via search engines. How do you deal with the > > > fact that the main places people are searching and using video are > > > closed off from the outside? Especially in light of the network > > > neutrality issues with MySpace Kent raised recently. > > > > > > > I guess I missed the MySpace issues kent raised. I assume you mean > > Kent of AskANinja? > > > > Overall... precisely. Google is going to refocus google video now that > > they have youtube into making a neutral video search engine. This may > > take them six months to relanch a true search engine that can search > > the entire web of videos regardless of site, or it may take them over > > a year. However once they do the question is this... > > > > Will we see an immediate shifting or simply a new understanding of the > > over 300 video sharing sites and countless independant video blogs > > that looks much more similar to the long tail? > > > > The other question is while this would be TREMENDOUSLY positive for > > all the smaller hosting companies... i.e. NOT youtube or myspace (and > > especially independant videoblogs from rocketboom to kitykity) is it > > going to be a conflict of interest for google now that they're in the > > content game... or the 'destination' game. > > > > Will google's purchase of youtube dilute or enhance their ability to > > be a neutral search site of the ENTIRE web of video? > > > > So far as I can see Yahoo is grappeling with the same issues. > > > > It's also interesting to note that "video search" for the entire world > > wide web is NOT a new thing. Altavista and others have had web wide > > video search for YEARS... litterally since the start of the web and > > yet this illustrates how innovation happens so quick it can litterally > > obsolete whole sectors overnight. > > > > What most people don't understand is what's driving this explosion IS > > RSS... RSS is NOT simply a means for piping video... i.e. as with > > fireant or democracy. Indeed it's legacy may be it's ability to share > > and enhance tremendous amounts of semantic metadata on media. It may > > represent if it doesn't already in the blogging world, i.e. with > > technoratti, a new more social way of making the web work as opposed > > to the technology driven means that have been employed google... i.e. > > page rank... and the technological means that are still being > > experimented with like voice recognition in audio podcast and videos. > > > > Anyway, it's all a brave new world and I really, really don't think > > we've scratched the surface of it. > > > > I would say youtube landed the first big punch. Let's acknowlege that > > just to get over it... but that its success is by NO means a knockout > > punch... it is merely the first salvo. > > > > Peace, > > > > -Mike > > mefeedia.com > > mmeiser.com/blog > > > > > > > > - Andrew > > > > > > > > > Mike Meiser wrote: > > > > > > > Precisely. Well said mike. > > > > > > > > I completely agree. > > > > > > > > I have one question. Does the fact that we're comparing apple's and > > > > oranges mean this thing still hasn't even shaken out the winners and > > > > loosers yet? > > > > > > > > To me it would seem to indicate there's a lot more terretory yet to > > cover. > > > > > > > > -Mike > > > > mmeiser.com/blog > > > > mefeedia.com > > > > > > > > On 2/3/07, Mike Hudack <[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:mike%40blip.tv>> wrote: > > > > > Compete's numbers are even worse than Alexa's, which are themselves > > very > > > > > often demonstrated to be false. Compete's methodology is inherently > > > > flawed > > > > > on numerous dimensions. If you have any doubt about this look back > > > > to the Ze > > > > > Frank/Andrew Michael Baron disagreement as just one of many > > examples. > > > > > > > > > > That said, I'm not sure I disagree with the conclusions in general. > > The > > > > > funny thing is that Compete is comparing apples and oranges. Google > > > > Video is > > > > > rapidly transitioning into a discovery engine that doesn't host. No > > > > one I > > > > > know (other than Yahoo employees who are forced to) uses Yahoo Video > > to > > > > > host, but tons of people use it to find new videos from sites all > > > > over the > > > > > Web. AOL carries tons of commercial content. This is like comparing > > > > ebay and > > > > > amazon traffic in 1997 and saying "Amazon is winning! Amazon is > > > > winning!" > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > > > From: [email protected] > > > > <mailto:videoblogging%40yahoogroups.com> > > > > <[email protected] <mailto:videoblogging% 40yahoogroups.com > > >> > > > > > To: Yahoo Videoblogging Group <[email protected] > > > > <mailto:videoblogging%40yahoogroups.com>> > > > > > Sent: Sat Feb 03 17:43:45 2007 > > > > > Subject: [videoblogging] Top Video Sites in December 2006 > > > > > > > > > > NewTeeVee posted a list of the leading video sites according to > > Compete > > > > > data for the month of December 2006. Here's how the top five break > > down: > > > > > > > > > > YouTube 41.1% > > > > > MySpace 19.3% > > > > > Google 10.2% > > > > > AOL 6.2% > > > > > Yahoo 3.6% > > > > > > > > > > You can read the full list at > > > > > http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/newteevee/~3/85628611/ > > > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/%7Er/newteevee/%7E3/85628611/> > > > > > > > > > > What's interesting is that Revver doesn't even show up in the Top > > 20. > > > > > NewTeeVee does point out that Compete is relatively new and could be > > > > > under-reporting numbers. Still, that's interesting. > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > > > > Andrew > > > > > Creative Director, The World's Angriest Puppets > > > > > > > > > > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:andrew%40angrypuppets.com> > > > > > Web: www.angrypuppets.com > > > > > Blog: puppetvision.blogspot.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________________________________ > > > > > Need personalized email and website? Look no further. It's easy > > > > > with Doteasy $0 Web Hosting! Learn more at www.doteasy.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- > > > > > > > >No virus found in this incoming message. > > > >Checked by AVG Free Edition. > > > >Version: 7.1.411 / Virus Database: 268.17.24/668 - Release Date: > > 2/4/2007 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > Andrew > > > Creative Director, The World's Angriest Puppets > > > > > > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Web: www.angrypuppets.com > > > Blog: puppetvision.blogspot.com > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > > Need personalized email and website? Look no further. It's easy > > > with Doteasy $0 Web Hosting! Learn more at www.doteasy.com > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > -- > The Faux Press - better than real > http://fauxpress.blogspot.com > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
