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Then upload it onto their own servers? Nobody is forcing anyone to upload to YouTube?

by bitpush 2y ago

yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago
Their network effects are at least a bit coercive.
- gitaarik 2y ago
  Also YouTube offers unlimited upload space. And their streaming is solid. Something not every video platform can offer.
bjackman 2y ago
Yes you can also just put your video on a DVD and bury it in the garden. But usually the reason they want their videos to be free is that they have a message they want to communicate! If you want people to watch your video you don't have a choice but to upload it to YouTube and let Google make money off your work :(
- j-bos 2y ago
  > don't have a choice but to upload it to YouTube and let Google make money off your work and enjoy the free hosting and streaming architecture youtube provides.
  - alextingle 2y ago
    That's completely irrelevant. YouTube's advantage is its monopoly of user attention. If you want people to receive your message, no amount of money spent on alternative hosting infrastructure will help to get people to actually watch your video.
    - jasode 2y ago
      >That's completely irrelevant. YouTube's advantage is its monopoly of user attention. Free hosting is not completely irrelevant because it's a huge factor in the cause-&-effect of attaining the monopoly of user attention. Counterexample is Vimeo which actually started 3 months in 2004 before Youtube existed. Vimeo had more restrictions on uploads and also charged content creators to host their videos. Those financial penalties are hostile to unknown content creators with no money and prevents a monopoly of user attention. Zero-cost hosting is intertwined with accumulating a global monopoly of the audience because it affects the decisions of content creators on _where_ to upload videos. More content creators in the ecosystem --> more videos --> more users ... creates a flywheel and virtuous feedback loop.
  - yencabulator 2y ago
    MP4s with table of contents need nothing except static file serving that can handle range requests, and bandwidth. Sites like Youtube still exist because of their audience.

Then upload it onto their own servers? Nobody is forcing anyone to upload to YouTube?

yjftsjthsd-h 2y ago

Their network effects are at least a bit coercive.

gitaarik 2y ago
Also YouTube offers unlimited upload space. And their streaming is solid. Something not every video platform can offer.

bjackman 2y ago

Yes you can also just put your video on a DVD and bury it in the garden. But usually the reason they want their videos to be free is that they have a message they want to communicate! If you want people to watch your video you don't have a choice but to upload it to YouTube and let Google make money off your work :(

j-bos 2y ago
> don't have a choice but to upload it to YouTube and let Google make money off your work and enjoy the free hosting and streaming architecture youtube provides.
- alextingle 2y ago
  That's completely irrelevant. YouTube's advantage is its monopoly of user attention. If you want people to receive your message, no amount of money spent on alternative hosting infrastructure will help to get people to actually watch your video.
  - jasode 2y ago
    >That's completely irrelevant. YouTube's advantage is its monopoly of user attention. Free hosting is not completely irrelevant because it's a huge factor in the cause-&-effect of attaining the monopoly of user attention. Counterexample is Vimeo which actually started 3 months in 2004 before Youtube existed. Vimeo had more restrictions on uploads and also charged content creators to host their videos. Those financial penalties are hostile to unknown content creators with no money and prevents a monopoly of user attention. Zero-cost hosting is intertwined with accumulating a global monopoly of the audience because it affects the decisions of content creators on _where_ to upload videos. More content creators in the ecosystem --> more videos --> more users ... creates a flywheel and virtuous feedback loop.
- yencabulator 2y ago
  MP4s with table of contents need nothing except static file serving that can handle range requests, and bandwidth. Sites like Youtube still exist because of their audience.