I’m sat in front of my computer, trying to figure out why everywhere I turn, there are multiple ads trying to sell me goods, or an idea that I do not want or need. I don’t have a problem with advertising as such; in fact some adverts are legendary (look at all the ads that aired during the super-bowl!)
I can deal with the ads that air at the cinema before the movie begins; in fact I look forward to them. I can deal with the ads on TV; I have grown accustomed to them. I can deal with the ads on Facebook, twitter and all the other social networking sites. I can deal with the ads on blogs and news publication websites. I can deal with advertising. Advertising offers me a service, as a consumer, I need advertising, but I do believe that there are boundaries, and I believe that YouTube has crossed them!
YouTube, you and I used to be friends, great friends. You saw me through some difficult times. When I was bored and lonely, you were there for me. You cheered me up with videos of fat people falling over, of people with strange talents, or cat videos, or dog videos, even videos of people squeezing their spots! YouTube, you and I used to have a good thing!
Then the advertising came along, well it became more in your face. I didn’t mind them then. I didn’t mind having to watch at least five whole seconds of an advert, before I could skip, and watch the video I wanted to watch. I didn’t mind the promotional featured videos on the sidebar, I didn’t even mind the tiny Google ads bannered across the bottom of the video. What I do mind however, Mr YouTube, and I have a feeling that I am not alone, are the ads with audio that play whilst I’m trying to watch a video!
When I’m watching a video of a woman giving birth to her baby in a moving car, or a video of a girl who can dance with her eyebrows, or of a man singing his takeaway order at a drive-thru, the last thing I want to hear, is an advert telling me about the great wonders of a cleaning product, or some new stupid expensive app, that will lose it appeal ten minutes after purchase.
Yes I can turn the audio of the advert off, but this action is then made redundant seconds later, when another advert begins to play further down the screen.
Now I love YouTube, I’ve loved it from the very beginning. I loved the fact that it gave people a platform to express themselves. It gave people an opportunity to make a living out of their creativity.
Without YouTube, there would be no SB.tv, or Justin Bieber (although I wish there wasn’t a Justin Bieber), or Rebecca Black (again not really a fan), or Karmin, or Shaytards, or Vlogbrothers and all the other talented individuals that started off making videos on YouTube.
Now like Facebook, twitter and other social networking sites that thrive on our human desire for attention, YouTube was created with a simple formula that worked! I mean, I wish I thought of it. I love YouTube so much that I bought the domain name called: youtubeisawesome.com (don’t log on though, there’s literally nothing on there).
YouTube, please I don’t want to break up, but you have to see things from my point of view. I understand capitalism. I’ve grown up in capitalism. I agree with capitalism, because as much as I would love this world to be a little more socialist, capitalism is the only system that seems to work.
Now I don’t know or understand what happens in the offices of YouTube. I don’t know what pressing agendas are brought up in cooperate meetings. What I do know is that those adverts are annoying, really annoying! What I also do know is that consumers like myself are fickle, once we get annoyed enough, we will find a replacement.
I know that it’s a competitive market out there, we all have to make a living, but can you please stop ruining this fantastic product with what I am now assuming is pure unadulterated greed?!
Images reproduced from learning.hubspot.com and geohot.us