Youtube - now with commericals!

[Flashpoint]

Hooray! Google has managed to destroy what was once great about Youtube.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6958103.stm

The adverts will begin 15 seconds after a user has started to watch a video, but only on 20% of the screen window.

Hopefully this spells the beginning of the end of YouTube. Sites without ads will be getting my traffic. There is simply no place for commercials in my life. I have a DVR for watching TV, my Firefox and host file block banner advertising on the web, and my DVD player is old school so I can skip by all the crap to the main menu right from the get go. I haven't listened to the radio since MP3's came out.

Don't throw up the argument "they need revenue to support the site" either. YouTube was doing just fine BEFORE they started taking up 20% of the screen with crap.

[RougeUnderoos]

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

There is if you're willing to eat grass and tree bark

Oh, and soil

[MarchHare]

Don't throw up the argument "they need revenue to support the site" either. YouTube was doing just fine BEFORE they started taking up 20% of the screen with crap.

Were they? I just went to the site and watched a random video, and didn't see a single ad or anything. How were they generating revenue? I agree with you that these new ads are going to suck, and I would have preferred something non-intrusive like Google Adwords, but they have to make money somehow. Better this than start charging the users monthly subscription fees or something.

[Burninator]

All good things must come to an end.

There was a couple of similar video sites that I use to go to, and shortly after they started showing ads before their videos, I stopped going.

I thought I remember reading when Google bought youtube, that it was kind of risky, considering the selling price, because they site hadn't shown any ways to make a revenue yet.

[Barnes]

I'm sure Bingo would be happy to hear that people are blocking ads on CP.
You have two choices here. Put up with ads or pay a subscription. There is no other business model.

[Flashpoint]

Originally Posted by Barnes

I'm sure Bingo would be happy to hear that people are blocking ads on CP.
You have two choices here. Put up with ads or pay a subscription. There is no other business model.

I don't block ads on the site, only on my browser. I also tend to occasionally open CP in Explorer just so I can click on the ads and earn Bingo a few clams.

Do you do the same?

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

I don't block ads on the site, only on my browser. I also tend to occasionally open CP in Explorer just so I can click on the ads and earn Bingo a few clams.

Do you do the same?

I only block the siezure inducing ads and click often on others. I hate everything to do with the subscription model so I support ad revenue generated sites. Popunders excluded.

[Joborule]

I still be going. Ads are needed these days to make revenue to keep the site up and free for users.

All sites that I went to that didn't have ads in the past now do...

[Azure]

I click on the ads too.

I'm pretty sure YouTube was making money without commercials. Read an article a while back...can't find it now.

[HOOT]

So CP gets paid just for people clkcing on ads not actually buying any of the product....well if I knew that I would have been doing a lot more clicking.

[BlackArcher101]

I'm not so sure ad revenue comes purely from click throughs. I thought it was also each time it is displayed. That's the way it works outside of the internet.

Most websites, such as youtube, are sold based on the potential viewings of each ad. The ad companies pay based on that rate. It all depends on the supplier of the ads and how they have it setup, either viewing or click throughs.

[Barnes]

The ads will not appear on user generated content either.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Azure

I click on the ads too.

I'm pretty sure YouTube was making money without commercials. Read an article a while back...can't find it now.

Revenue was never a problem, profit or return on investment was. The reports was that when Google puchased it, it had never had a profitable year.

On the other hand, myspace which was purcahsed by NewsCorp was profitable the year before the purchase, and one of my most hated sites, FaceBook is reportedly profitable (their reported asking price is utterly ridiculous IMO - 8-11 billion )

MYK

[Bobblehead]

I have CP whitelisted. The adblocking software won't block anything when it is at forum.calgarypuck.com/*

The actual rule is @@|http://forum.calgarypuck.com/ and apparently, since I had to rebuild my profile last month, I have rendered 85719 ads which would have otherwise been blocked (and that is just on this computer).

Back on topic, reading a bit more, it sounds like this is just going to be an overlay on the botom of the picture that isn't going to pause the video. It will sit there for 10 seconds then disappear if it isn't clicked.

The ads are only going to be put on specified videos (a number of commercial and independent video makers have been secured), and Google is going to split the ad revenue with the content creators.

http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/...tion-tele.html

I think this could be a great idea. This may allow independant producers to create content and profit from it without needing to get on a TV channel. Think of it like being able to put Arrested Development on a channel where you could watch it whenever you wanted, the only commercials would be on the bottom 20% of the screen for 10 seconds at a time, and NO NETWORK COULD EVER CANCEL THEM. As long as enough people watched and enough ad revenue was generated, the show could produce any number of episodes as long as they want.

If you have an idea for a TV show, you could produce it and post it and let it succeed or fail without needing an OK from a TV buyer.

La Flames Fan's "Fuddy TV" would have a place where he could post his videos and make money (beyond directing them to his website for the ad revenue).

Done well, this could be the wave of the future.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Revenue was never a problem, profit or return on investment was. The reports was that when Google puchased it, it had never had a profitable year.

On the other hand, myspace which was purcahsed by NewsCorp was profitable the year before the purchase, and one of my most hated sites, FaceBook is reportedly profitable (their reported asking price is utterly ridiculous IMO - 8-11 billion )

MYK

Utterly rediculous?

I don't think so.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

and one of my most hated sites, FaceBook is reportedly profitable (their reported asking price is utterly ridiculous IMO - 8-11 billion )

MYK

Sorry to go OT, but speaking about facebook I've always wondered something.

Each day they have a different "gift" that costs $1 and usually have 100,000 available. That's $100,000 USD each day! What suckers we all are.

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by Muta

There is if you're willing to eat grass and tree bark

Oh, and soil

Whoa whoa, that's my soil. And it's $7.99/lb. That will be $7.99, plus GST $0.48, Gratuities, $1.60, and re-soil tax, $2.00.

$12.07 Please.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Sorry to go OT, but speaking about facebook I've always wondered something.

Each day they have a different "gift" that costs $1 and usually have 100,000 available. That's $100,000 USD each day! What suckers we all are.

You're only a sucker if you actually pay.

[Azure]

And each time we render an ad....CP gets money?