What annoys me about YouTube videos • Hacker News Board

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#11

Post by jbluepolarbear » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 4:40 PM UTC

rvnx wrote: post #7

His logic is actually very wrong. The main reason content creators create 10 minutes YouTube videos is not because of fashion but because it unlocks additional ad slots and monetisation opportunities. If you do a 10:01 video you can earn much more than a 9:30 video. Also, in general, YouTube recommendation algorithms tend to prefer monetized content, this is why you see more monetized content in recommendations than…

How’s his logic wrong? He says a paragraph (1-3 minutes) is stretched to 10. This is true because of the ads. YouTubers talk about this all the time, that 10 minutes is the minimum for a video because the algorithm dictates that. It’s more views more money because Youtube won’t promote a 3 minute video.

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#12

Post by Wowfunhappy » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 5:09 PM UTC

One of my favorite college classes was called "Prose Boot Camp", where we basically practiced all the types of writing you don't usually learn in school. Assignments included writing an obituary, a restaurant review, a termination letter, a letter appealing said termination (subtle threats included), and recipe intros for a fictional cookbook called See Dad Cook!.

A majority of these assignments had specific word-count requirements. The appeal letter, for example, had to be exactly 800 words, no more and no less. The requirement irked me at first, but it ended up adding to the value of the class. The professor wasn't an easy grader, so you were forced to really consider how to use the space. A 100 word blurb needs to be approached differently from an 800 word letter or a 2,000 word article.

My point is, there's nothing inherently wrong with length targets, and maybe the author needs to find better videos!

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#13

Post by naikrovek » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 5:15 PM UTC

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #12

One of my favorite college classes was called "Prose Boot Camp", where we basically practiced all the types of writing you don't usually learn in school. Assignments included writing an obituary, a restaurant review, a termination letter, a letter appealing said termination (subtle threats included), and recipe intros for a fictional cookbook called See Dad Cook! . A majority of these assignments had specific word-co…

> maybe the author needs to find better videos!

the YouTube algorithm significantly increases the recommendation weight of the 9-12 minute videos, though, and decreases the weight of everything else. it's not like 9-12 minute videos are in short supply, either.

I'm trying to say that it is often difficult to "find better videos" in any real quantity without a long YouTube watch history demonstrating a preference for them. this results in a situation where it is somewhat easy to find them if you've already found a lot of them, and not so easy otherwise.

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#14

Post by Wowfunhappy » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 5:16 PM UTC

naikrovek wrote: post #13

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #12

One of my favorite college classes was called "Prose Boot Camp", where we basically practiced all the types of writing you don't usually learn in school. Assignments included writing an obituary, a restaurant review, a termination letter, a letter appealing said termination (subtle threats included), and recipe intros for a fictional cookbook called See Dad Cook! . A majority of these assignments had specific word-co…

> maybe the author needs to find better videos! the YouTube algorithm significantly increases the recommendation weight of the 9-12 minute videos, though, and decreases the weight of everything else. it's not like 9-12 minute videos are in short supply, either. I'm trying to say that it is often difficult to "find better videos" in any real quantity without a long YouTube watch history demonstrating a preference for…

Right, I'm saying that content creators need to do a better job of writing to that length. Come up with a concept that works in 9-12 minutes, instead of attempting to stretch out a paragraph.

Look at it this way—traditional television programs have always had mostly-arbitrary length requirements as well, and I'd say they managed to do a lot with that format!

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#15

Post by naikrovek » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #14

naikrovek wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> maybe the author needs to find better videos! the YouTube algorithm significantly increases the recommendation weight of the 9-12 minute videos, though, and decreases the weight of everything else. it's not like 9-12 minute videos are in short supply, either. I'm trying to say that it is often difficult to "find better videos" in any real quantity without a long YouTube watch history demonstrating a preference for…

Right, I'm saying that content creators need to do a better job of writing to that length. Come up with a concept that works in 9-12 minutes, instead of attempting to stretch out a paragraph. Look at it this way—traditional television programs have always had mostly-arbitrary length requirements as well, and I'd say they managed to do a lot with that format!

> Right, I'm saying that content creators need to do a better job of writing to that length.

yes that would be nice, and there is zero incentive to do that, unfortunately.

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#16

Post by quotha » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 6:38 PM UTC

vbrandl wrote: post #5

quotha wrote: post #2

Does this dude realize he’s doing the same annoying thing on Twitter?

I think that's intentional and meant as an example of the issue at hand.

Well yeah but it’s a bad example and is still annoying. I stopped reading it.. Like NJM commercials, they poke fun at jingles by having commercials with annoying jingles. It’s really not witty!

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#17

Post by shannifin » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 6:55 PM UTC

Fluff. Yep. Fluff makes money. YouTube, books, TV shows... Fluff designed to hold your attention while delivering very little actual content. Very annoying.

Please make the world better, don't make the world suffer, Get right to your point and don't be a fluffer.

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#18

Post by tenfourwookie » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 7:00 PM UTC

quotha wrote: post #2

Does this dude realize he’s doing the same annoying thing on Twitter?

He does. He’s mocking it. Deliberately.

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#19

Post by photoGrant » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 8:07 PM UTC

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #14

naikrovek wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> maybe the author needs to find better videos! the YouTube algorithm significantly increases the recommendation weight of the 9-12 minute videos, though, and decreases the weight of everything else. it's not like 9-12 minute videos are in short supply, either. I'm trying to say that it is often difficult to "find better videos" in any real quantity without a long YouTube watch history demonstrating a preference for…

Right, I'm saying that content creators need to do a better job of writing to that length. Come up with a concept that works in 9-12 minutes, instead of attempting to stretch out a paragraph. Look at it this way—traditional television programs have always had mostly-arbitrary length requirements as well, and I'd say they managed to do a lot with that format!

This is a very good point but puts the arbiter of quality content on those willing and able to be weaker on that ratio and still earn the same dollar. It’s not enough to ask people not to be lazy

Re: What annoys me about YouTube videos

#20

Post by colinwilyb » Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 9:37 PM UTC

I would like a browser extension that automatically reports all youtube videos whose title contains "shocking", "astonishing" and "what happens next" as spam.