YouTube: Up From the Depths and Thirty Stories High

Today I came across this MediaPost article that discusses Google’s desperate attempt at managing a little website you may have heard of called YouTube. Apparently this site is only number one for video-sharing on the Interwebs.

I agree that number one is pretty pathetic—which is why I fully support Google’s endeavors.

Drastic measures must be taken to salvage this underdog website. YouTube needs professionally produced content so that it could compete with broadcast and cable TV. We all know that people go to YouTube because they want to watch television.

You know I’m only trolling.

What I really want to say is: Google is creating a monster.

Google’s motive in pumping nuclear power into YouTube-zilla is so that viewers would watch more than 15 minutes of video daily—several hours more to be exact. Because viewers will spend more time on the Tube, there will be more incentive for advertisers to sponsor the site.

Spending hours in front of a screen while being bombarded with ads sounds familiar…

*Gasp*

We already do that when we watch TV!

To contradict what I had said earlier, I watch YouTube videos because it’s not television. I just want to watch that funny Asian dude, music videos, and the guy who reviews viral videos.

Recently, I’ve noticed that YouTube has been streaming live footage of concerts, exclusive interviews, and even presidential speeches. I never cared for any of it. If I wanted to watch that stuff, I wouldn’t be on YouTube in the first place.

Barring music videos, I don’t want professionally produced material or live streams on my YouTubes. I want the mediocre crap that I’ve loved watching for the past five years. Professional content will only raise the standard of the average video. The amateur vlogger will be overlooked in a high production environment.

Google, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

The last time I checked, it’s called YouTube, not CorporationTube. The more you focus your attention on maximizing profits, the less fans you’ll have in the future. Even if we don’t stare at your website for as many hours as we do on Netflix, you should be proud that you have so many viewers.

I said many good things about YouTube in a previous post. I love the website because it’s not Netflix or Hulu.

YouTube was built on user-generated content.

I hope Google didn’t forget that.