Is Youtube Losing Popularity?

[Commodore]

I ask this question because all this weekend I have been seeing commercials on tv promoting Youtube. Seeing as I have never seen a Youtube commercial before and the fact that just about everyone who has access to the internet knows what Youtube is, this strikes me as a bit odd.

Why does Google feel the need to advertise Youtube now? The only thing I can think of is that Google is seeing something about Youtube's "numbers" that they don't like and feel an advertising push is the only way to improve the situation.

So what does CFC think? Is Youtube losing favor with the internet masses? Can anyone provide any insight as to why Google feels now is the time to start an ad campaign for what is probably their most well-known service outside of their search engine?

 

[eduhum]

Youtube is on its peak right now, as the year before, and the year before, etc.
And next year, the peak will be higher.
I remember when four years ago a million views was OMG worthy. Now it's packed with 20 million views.
The view count has and is rising exponentially.

 

[Smellincoffee]

What if it's a market share and not a total views issue? What are YouTube's big competitors?

 

[Light Cleric]

Probably much the same reason companies like Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and Pepsi run commercials despite being near-universally known brands.

 

[Commodore]

Probably much the same reason companies like Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and Pepsi run commercials despite being near-universally known brands.

But why now though? Youtube has been around for nine years and they have never once felt the need to advertise before now.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

It does have competitors who don't make a habit of pulling stuff that people want to see (and I don't mean porn or other disreputable content).

 

[Commodore]

It does have competitors who don't make a habit of pulling stuff that people want to see (and I don't mean porn or other disreputable content).

So you think Youtube's competitors are actually starting to have an impact on Youtube? That would make sense, especially since I have noticed a lot of unhappiness among Youtube users ever since they decided to merge the site with Google+.

 

[downtown]

As somebody who works in digital media for a living, I can say that the math pretty much tells the opposite story. You can charge a much higher premium for ads on video than you can for print, and that isn't because people *don't* like to watch videos.

 

[cybrxkhan]

I'd say that if there are ads for youtube around it might just be google trying to get on people's good side, what with some people not liking its takeover of youtube

 

[Zelig]

I've never used youtube much, I don't really understand the point of it.

 

[Kyriakos]

I use youtube, although mostly for music (particularly game OSTs), and have it in the background. I am not a member there anymore and haven't been for years. Google had some rather restrictive demands which were quite anti-privacy (worst decision was to ask for a phone number for new members). I don't like how centralised the internet has become by now. It was not like this at all a decade ago; there virtually existed no distinct site which got a near-monopoly in the numbers of users visiting it on a daily basis.

Youtube is on its peak right now, as the year before, and the year before, etc.
And next year, the peak will be higher.
I remember when four years ago a million views was OMG worthy. Now it's packed with 20 million views.
The view count has and is rising exponentially.

The view count is at least a suspect feature. It looks cool to have (i suppose if you have a video you want to see how popular it is), but it is very easy to manipulate; i have to assume that a single Google high-ranking employee/other can change it in theory with one or two mouse clicks. So it is more of a virtual reality, potentially.

 

[Narz]

Not for me. I watch YouTube pretty much every day. By comparison I watch television perhaps three or four times a year.

 

[Commodore]

I'd say that if there are ads for youtube around it might just be google trying to get on people's good side, what with some people not liking its takeover of youtube

But they took over Youtube years ago. It has only been recently though that they have started to fully integrate it into their whole "thing" they have going on.

As somebody who works in digital media for a living, I can say that the math pretty much tells the opposite story. You can charge a much higher premium for ads on video than you can for print, and that isn't because people *don't* like to watch videos.

I think you misunderstand. I'm not talking about ads on Youtube videos, I'm talking about commercials on television advertising for people to use Youtube.

While we are talking about ads on Youtube videos though, I am proud to say I haven't seen an ad on Youtube in months ever since I downloaded AdBlocker. Now of course when I tell people about that they get all uppity with me saying stuff like: "you shouldn't do that because ads keep Youtube free". While this is true I counter with this: "I don't care". I also don't think Google would ever charge for Youtube usage even if every single person started using ad blockers. This is because the moment they would announce a fee for usage internet users would abandon Youtube almost overnight and move on to sites like Dailymotion or Metacafe. So if everyone started using ad blockers Google would either have to shut Youtube down or just eat the cost of operating it for free.

 

[carmen510]

I know some people are complaining about the relative ease of videos being taken down, usually for supposed (possibly not even true) copyright violations. Some people are trolling uploaders by reporting their videos; 3 violations and uploader accounts can be terminated.

However, due to Youtube's ubiquity and large userbase, it is hard for uploaders to migrate to other video-sharing sites, especially if one attempts to receive income.

 

[Tahuti]

While I use YouTube often, it would be great if would lose popularity and alternatives like DailyMotion would gain currency, being the Google hater that I am.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

So you think Youtube's competitors are actually starting to have an impact on Youtube? That would make sense, especially since I have noticed a lot of unhappiness among Youtube users ever since they decided to merge the site with Google+.

I don't know. My concern is because so many of the sites that offer TV shows and movies aren't available to Canadians, so I go where I can. And sometimes that's not YouTube.

I've never used youtube much, I don't really understand the point of it.

You probably didn't notice the month or more I was absent from CFC last summer; during that time I recovering from surgery and was quite happily catching up on three and a half YEARS of General Hospital. Since soaps are almost never rebroadcast on TV, that was nice to be able to catch up. The current storyline kept talking about stuff that happened years ago, so I wanted to find out what they were referring to.

And now... I don't need to worry about recording anything, since within several hours, someone will have uploaded the current day's episode.

There are other things I enjoy watching, as well, such as the Tenko TV series - all 3 seasons, plus the reunion movie. The old Irish Rovers TV series and specials. Beachcombers. Rainbow Country. In short, scads of stuff CBC should be offering for sale on DVD but isn't.

So it's not music videos or little "cute animal home videos" I watch. It's stuff I saw decades ago and am glad to have the chance to see again.

I use youtube, although mostly for music (particularly game OSTs), and have it in the background. I am not a member there anymore and haven't been for years. Google had some rather restrictive demands which were quite anti-privacy (worst decision was to ask for a phone number for new members). I don't like how centralised the internet has become by now. It was not like this at all a decade ago; there virtually existed no distinct site which got a near-monopoly in the numbers of users visiting it on a daily basis.

You don't have to give your phone number. It's hard to see, but there's an opt-out for that. They must have finally understood that not everyone has a cell phone or is willing to give up that much privacy (not that any dedicated searcher couldn't find the number anyway; someone who I only knew from a couple of old forums managed to find my number last December and call me).

 

[BvBPL]

Why does Google feel the need to advertise Youtube now?

Because they figured out how to make money on it.

 

[Formaldehyde]

We take Youtube for granted now because it is a pervasive fixture with people who use computers a lot.

But Youtube is becoming even bigger than that now. Many DVD players and TVs have internet access, and the numbers continue to grow. Youtube is available on nearly all of them. It is also the only completely free service.

Youtube will continue to grow until there are better competitors which take market share away from them.

 

[downtown]

I think you misunderstand. I'm not talking about ads on Youtube videos, I'm talking about commercials on television advertising for people to use Youtube.
.

Yeah, I know. The higher advertising premium for Youtube is a reflection in large part of how popular the medium is. That also provides an incentive for Youtube to pay to try and bring in viewers from different demographics (such as older people), given its profitability. It isn't a sign that they're struggling, just that by advertising, they can stand to make even more money.

 

[warpus]

Everyone knows what coca-cola is, yet ads for it are plastered everywhere.