Free Newsletters
InfoWorld Daily

InfoWorld
Log-in | Register

YouTube fans rant, threaten to leave over new ads

Most YouTube users say they would rather find another video sharing Web site than be forced to watch the new InVideo overlay ads


YouTube might need to rethink their new InVideo advertising scheme based on initial feedback to the popular video sharing Web site.

Most users responding to a YouTube blog post asking for feedback gave the idea a resounding thumbs down, and one even made a video to share his displeasure.

The responses, a total of 132 as of this writing, may best be summarized by the first post: "Yuck" wrote user 'quepasakoolj18', of Oro Valley, Arizona.

The new InVideo ads, launched by Google's YouTube division on Wednesday, start as an overlay on the bottom 20 percent of a video, and people can click and watch the advertisement if they want to. If the user does not click on the overlay, the ad will simply disappear. They are designed to interfere as little as possible with viewing. If a user clicks on the advertisement, the video they were watching pauses while the ad plays.

One responder to the YouTube blog post, bdc2005, was disappointed about an apparent lack of creativity in the advertising scheme. "You guys ripped off VideoEgg. What happened to innovation?" the posting says.

And a banner on VideoEgg's home page says in bold letters: "Welcome YouTube, Seriously. We invented the video overlay ad about a year ago. We are delighted that the market is finally catching on to a vital new approach to video advertising."

YouTube could not be reached for comment. The company did not claim to invent the idea, merely that it would launch the overlays.

Mostly, users expressed dissatisfaction over the new ad scheme, and a number said they would turn to other Web sites that host videos in response to the move.

"Please don't ruin the YouTube experience. I really don't want to have to upload all my videos to a different site. But I will," wrote drivin98.

Several users did not like the intrusion on creativity. "These videos are made by us, for us, and should not see the creative content impeded," wrote video maker EloiCasali.

Cenzo74 said the advertisements will taint the videos, and could contain content the video owner personally dislikes or is against.

"Video is art. Film is art. And for you to paint over their artwork is a complete atrocity. Place your ads somewhere else," he wrote.

Placing advertisements elsewhere or finding other ways to make money were another major theme of the responses. Mainyard48 prefers pre-roll ads, while other users asked for advertisements beside videos, above or below, "but not in the video," wrote user Tupisuis. Several people even asked to be charged for a premium service that did not include advertising.

Some people came to YouTube's defense, with user Avum pointing out it is spending a lot of money to host all of the videos on its Web site and needs to make money to pay for that.

There were also signs that other users might come around to the idea. Some of the postings indicated the user had not actually seen the new video overlays, but had merely heard about them. User glennrr wrote that it was "not as bad as it sounded. Good job."

To be sure, the idea is new and some people could get used to it over time. But the overall tenor of the responses was negative, and indicate most YouTube users would rather find another video sharing Web site than be forced to watch advertisements.


Talkback:

commentPost a Comment

 

MOST COMMENTS

 
 





VIRTUAL MACHINES: SUN'S XVM VIRTUALIZATION PORTFOLIO
This Webinar discusses how software companies and IT organizations can leverage virtualization and management technologies from Sun and VMLogix to consolidate lab infrastructure and automate build and test processes so that software can be delivered more quickly, cost-effectively and reliably. Sponsored by Sun

»  Click here to view this Webcast
  Enterprise Data Security Solutions Guide
Data security used to be about outside threats. These days the biggest challenge for data-driven organizations is the management of secure information from the inside out. Data is available on laptops, your network and even USB devices, but not always secure. Read this Solutions Guide to learn the best ways to keep it safe. Sponsored by ISC2

»  Click here to download now

- Special Advertising Partners -
WHITE PAPERS
 

» Technology White Papers Library

Technology White Papers by Topic

Technology White Papers E-mail Alert

Find out when the latest white paper is available:
 
 
INFOWORLD MARKETPLACE
 
» BUY A LINK NOW
 
 

Video

 
 
 

Podcasts

 
IFW Daily 11/21/2008

A look at the week that was: Yahoo's Yang steps down, Adobe shows off ...

 
 
 

Columnists

 
 
 

Resource Center


Ads by techwords beta  [See your link here]
 




Sponsored Technology Links

 
 
 HOME  NEWS  BLOGS  PODCASTS  VIDEOS  TECHNOLOGIES  TEST CENTER  EVENTS   About | Advertise | Awards | RSS | Contact Us 

Copyright © 2008, Reprints, Permissions, Licensing, IDG Network, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service.
All Rights reserved. InfoWorld is a leading publisher of technology information and product reviews on topics including viruses,
phishing, worms, firewalls, security, servers, storage, networking, wireless, databases, and web services.

CIO :: ComputerWorld :: CSO :: Demo :: GamePro :: Games.net :: IDG Connect :: IDG World Expo
Industry Standard :: IT World :: JavaWorld :: LinuxWorld :: MacUser :: Macworld :: Network World :: PC World :: Playlist