The "Hulufacation" of YouTube - It's all about the money Yo!
Before I get into the real "meat" of the reason behind this post I would like to make a related announcement, the potatoes if you will, that I forgot to make here on Tuesday... WICCY IS NOW OFFICALLY A FIVEDOTNERD!!!!!
So, if you haven't already (and why not?!) go comment, rate and subscribe to the channel!
Now, on to the meat!
So, if you haven't already heard about this, YouTube has decided to move to a far less "user content" focused site and a far MORE hulu-esque "professional" content site as modeled after Hulu. The new design will offer four tabs: Movies, Music, Shows, and Videos. This change over is scheduled to go into effect on April 16th.
To read more about the known details you can refer to these articles YouTube Plans Redesign to Highlight Premium Content & Google Redesigns YouTube, Copies Hulu
My thoughts on the matter, as a long time YouTube user and content generator:
I think that YouTube/Google is going to come to regret this move. They ARE going to lose users not gain them. People who want "hulu" are going to continue to go to hulu and user who are angry about YOUtube becoming TVtube will simply leave, take their content with them and find somewhere else to turn into the new YouTube (4shared, Vimeo, etc). That's how the internet works.
I think that this change CAN work if they don't make any changes to the user content section as far as how it works and DON'T "hide" it (the user content) but, with them bringing the greed-mongers in that is HIGHLY unlikely. The first things to go will be ANYTHING that has copyrighted or vaguely copyrighted materials in it (music videos, reviews that use clips, etc).
The best thing for YouTube to have done in NOT to go "hulu" and to have taken a far more LiveJournal direction. What do I mean? I mean making the site a semi-pay site, with levels;
Sponsored/free - lots of ads everywhere you go and lots of ads on your page when people watch your content with a content length limit that is lowish but reasonable (like 5 or 6 minutes) and limited to no more than 2 or 3 uploads a day/week.
Plus/Minimum Fee - Fewer ads but only on YOUR content page(s) - Your content length upload limit goes up to 10 minutes, your daily/weekly upload limit goes up to 5 or 6.
Premium/Reasonable Fee - No ads anywhere, user content length upload limit goes to 15 minutes, no daily/weekly upload limit and HD uploads option.
Partner/Commercial/Highest Fee - These members would share the same things as the Premium members with added benefits of being allowed to use their channel as a commercial use product, upload length limit of 30 minutes, and advertisement space for their product and/or channel on other non-premium/Partner areas in the YouTube site.
They could even do special "a la cart" things for plus and premium members like buying up the upload length limit time and letting premium members opt into a Banner advertisement to reduce their monthly fee. There could also be layout and other user created content control options and benefits for each level as well.
This plan works because it doesn't exclude or seriously screw those folks that want to keep using the service free of charge or who are unable to pay to use the site and give nice benefits to those who choose to help the site stay operational by selecting a pay-level membership.
I would totally go plus or premium on my YouTube channel if the fee was reasonable (assuming I had money of course) and I'd be willing to bet lots of other folks would too.
Perhaps once this "hulufaction" fails epically (which I REALLY think it will because they just aren't going to to it right) they will take a real look at this type of option.
Click to viewSo, if you haven't already (and why not?!) go comment, rate and subscribe to the channel!
Now, on to the meat!
So, if you haven't already heard about this, YouTube has decided to move to a far less "user content" focused site and a far MORE hulu-esque "professional" content site as modeled after Hulu. The new design will offer four tabs: Movies, Music, Shows, and Videos. This change over is scheduled to go into effect on April 16th.
To read more about the known details you can refer to these articles YouTube Plans Redesign to Highlight Premium Content & Google Redesigns YouTube, Copies Hulu
My thoughts on the matter, as a long time YouTube user and content generator:
I think that YouTube/Google is going to come to regret this move. They ARE going to lose users not gain them. People who want "hulu" are going to continue to go to hulu and user who are angry about YOUtube becoming TVtube will simply leave, take their content with them and find somewhere else to turn into the new YouTube (4shared, Vimeo, etc). That's how the internet works.
I think that this change CAN work if they don't make any changes to the user content section as far as how it works and DON'T "hide" it (the user content) but, with them bringing the greed-mongers in that is HIGHLY unlikely. The first things to go will be ANYTHING that has copyrighted or vaguely copyrighted materials in it (music videos, reviews that use clips, etc).
The best thing for YouTube to have done in NOT to go "hulu" and to have taken a far more LiveJournal direction. What do I mean? I mean making the site a semi-pay site, with levels;
Sponsored/free - lots of ads everywhere you go and lots of ads on your page when people watch your content with a content length limit that is lowish but reasonable (like 5 or 6 minutes) and limited to no more than 2 or 3 uploads a day/week.
Plus/Minimum Fee - Fewer ads but only on YOUR content page(s) - Your content length upload limit goes up to 10 minutes, your daily/weekly upload limit goes up to 5 or 6.
Premium/Reasonable Fee - No ads anywhere, user content length upload limit goes to 15 minutes, no daily/weekly upload limit and HD uploads option.
Partner/Commercial/Highest Fee - These members would share the same things as the Premium members with added benefits of being allowed to use their channel as a commercial use product, upload length limit of 30 minutes, and advertisement space for their product and/or channel on other non-premium/Partner areas in the YouTube site.
They could even do special "a la cart" things for plus and premium members like buying up the upload length limit time and letting premium members opt into a Banner advertisement to reduce their monthly fee. There could also be layout and other user created content control options and benefits for each level as well.
This plan works because it doesn't exclude or seriously screw those folks that want to keep using the service free of charge or who are unable to pay to use the site and give nice benefits to those who choose to help the site stay operational by selecting a pay-level membership.
I would totally go plus or premium on my YouTube channel if the fee was reasonable (assuming I had money of course) and I'd be willing to bet lots of other folks would too.
Perhaps once this "hulufaction" fails epically (which I REALLY think it will because they just aren't going to to it right) they will take a real look at this type of option.