During some of my 'tech-focused' admin updates, I've complained about ads on Youtube. Not original, but that's my life, just as it is for many others. But I don't want to create the wrong impression as I generally take a dim view of such complaints. To me, the so-called 'issue' of ads at the start and end of videos is a case of privileged people whining about their non-problems, and those who can't accept a business model that allows us to watch important videos for FREE should start (and eventually mind) their own business.
But I have a big problem with the mid-video ad. If you want to complain about the mid-video ad, I'm all ears. For those who don't know, or can't comprehend my prior sentence, I'll spell it out - it's when the video starts, you watch for a bit, then an ad comes in and tells you to buy CAR INSURANCE, because you know, some algorithm figured out I love going full speed into yellow lights. This is bad enough when I'm watching and listening, but at least I'll see a little warning come up on the screen ("Ad in 5"). The problem becomes twice as bad when I'm only listening, as I am right now, as I type this sentence, because one moment I'll be humming along, and the next... well, I don't need to buy flowers for Mother's Day, so that's another edit for the algorithm.
I've previously referenced my problems watching John Mayer reach his destiny, but I can live with it. My problems with Youtube start and end with U2, in particular my favorite three minutes in the band's history, which comes in around halfway through this clip. It was small consolation to see in the comments section that my positive and negative feelings were echoed by others.
But is there anything here beyond a lonely complaint, a powerless voice railing into the void of the quarantined emptiness? Yes, I think so. With this example, I think we can all understand a little better why some businesses fail, whether it be when a new idea withers on the vine or when an established winner loses its top spot. As a comment in the above link points out, placing an ad in the middle of the clip demonstrates a lack of pride in the platform. I agree, and add that such a small detail sometimes can be the first sign of a much larger problem. Would you read a book if paragraphs were occasionally interrupted to describe a skin care product? How about a podcast where the host stopped in mid-sentence to peddle running shoes?
Most people accept the truism that today's top businesses will be tomorrow's fallen giants. But who do you know that predicts Youtube will be internet rubble by 2040? The challenge of putting the truism into practice is that what often propels a company to the top isn't very closely related to what keeps the crown on the head. In fact, to me it seems like the ascent can be powered by an endless list of factors - accessibility, ease of use, low price, first-mover advantage, and so on. But a company that stays at the top has one thing to consider - quality. Business skirmishes will break out along the border of all those ascendant factors, but the final battle is always the same - which company is better?
If you had told me five years ago that short-form mobile videos would be a big deal today, I would have said the same thing as 99% of the world - wow, sounds good for Youtube. If you were one of those smart folks, you might have offered a rebuttal - well, actually, it's good news for Tik Tok. And I would have done the same thing as 99% of the world, I would have brushed it off with a clever little quip - wow, sounds good for Kesha. And if you insisted that I was a fool, that Youtube didn't have enough pride in its quality to fend off a competitor, I would have done the same thing as 99% of the world, and ended the debate with an indisputable fact - look, Vine already tried, and failed.
This isn't to say I have a prediction about the future, at least in terms of who might be the best. I don't know much about most things, and Tik Tok is no exception. It's possible that if I look into the platform, I would see the same problems, the same lack of quality, that makes me unwilling to bet long-term on Youtube. But honestly, these ads, it makes me wonder why Youtube is an exception to what I consider a golden rule - no commercial interruptions in the middle of a performance. My guess is that it isn't, most things aren't the exception, and the leaders who think otherwise are doomed to see the limits of their rule.
