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Since this isn't a defense of Google but of the many clever creators on YouTube, I can comfortably applaud so much of their work. YouTube isn't at all about jus

Since this isn't a defense of Google but of the many clever creators on YouTube, I can comfortably applaud so much of their work. YouTube isn't at all about just garbage content. It has no shortage of that, but it also has absolutely no shortage of truly fantastic, educative, production-worthy videos and channels of all kinds. I mean some truly excellent ones here, that are easily as good as or very often much better than anything I used to see for documentaries on network or cable TV. That so many of them are made at a fraction of those old documentary budgets and by completely independent creators (often just some guy working from his home studio) is an incredible achievement of modern media technology and innovation. The YT algorithm will often promote to you more that's similar to whatever you've already watched, so if you actually start seeking out a certain type of quality content, you'll find more of it being recommended. I carefully pick the things I take the time to view or play in the background while im working on household chores and so far haven't had any shortage of genuinely great things to enjoy. YT has its many flaws, but one of them certainly isn't a shortage of quality vidoes about nearly anything you could want to know about.

ddtaylor 1y ago
There are many great YT creators and content. One major problem I have with YT is that there is no concept of a "time budget" by the creators themselves. They are heavily incentivized to produce a lot of content. In the same way we see market distortions in the gaming space, where whales overshadow the general audience of the game, we basically see that in YT with how time budgeting works. Most creators will succumb to this eventually and start making content longer and less respectful of your time. Contrast that with a movie or TV show that has an actual time budget. In the same way that SponsorBlock has really cut down on the time we watch YT content by skipping the intros, sub reminders, etc. I feel like a lot of YT content that is 25 minutes could be realistically condensed down into 3 minutes if a person wasn't just trying to fill time to pay their bills.
- southernplaces7 1y ago
  >I feel like a lot of YT content that is 25 minutes could be realistically condensed down into 3 minutes if a person wasn't just trying to fill time to pay their bills. Not sure what kind of content you're watching or seeking, or your particular attention span, but I specifically appreciate the channels and videos in which they take their time to give me a meaty, detail rich video on something interesting, and if covering it all takes 25 minutes to an hour, all the better as long as they're delivering quality information (which most do). This is how informational documentaries should be, instead of being presented as moronic, information-barren shorts and reels. I don't deny that what you describe happens, but among good content creators it's rare. I wouldn't want a video that "optimizes" a complex subject down to 3 shitty minutes. Finding out new things shouldn't be condensed into nuance-destroying tiktok reels that reinforce an inability to pay attention for much longer than it takes to have a piss.
  - ryandrake 1y ago
    Totally depends on the type of content. There's a lot of stuff on YouTube that's "Two minutes of interesting content stretched into 10 minutes because of ad revenue."

ddtaylor 1y ago

There are many great YT creators and content. One major problem I have with YT is that there is no concept of a "time budget" by the creators themselves. They are heavily incentivized to produce a lot of content. In the same way we see market distortions in the gaming space, where whales overshadow the general audience of the game, we basically see that in YT with how time budgeting works. Most creators will succumb to this eventually and start making content longer and less respectful of your time. Contrast that with a movie or TV show that has an actual time budget. In the same way that SponsorBlock has really cut down on the time we watch YT content by skipping the intros, sub reminders, etc. I feel like a lot of YT content that is 25 minutes could be realistically condensed down into 3 minutes if a person wasn't just trying to fill time to pay their bills.

southernplaces7 1y ago
>I feel like a lot of YT content that is 25 minutes could be realistically condensed down into 3 minutes if a person wasn't just trying to fill time to pay their bills. Not sure what kind of content you're watching or seeking, or your particular attention span, but I specifically appreciate the channels and videos in which they take their time to give me a meaty, detail rich video on something interesting, and if covering it all takes 25 minutes to an hour, all the better as long as they're delivering quality information (which most do). This is how informational documentaries should be, instead of being presented as moronic, information-barren shorts and reels. I don't deny that what you describe happens, but among good content creators it's rare. I wouldn't want a video that "optimizes" a complex subject down to 3 shitty minutes. Finding out new things shouldn't be condensed into nuance-destroying tiktok reels that reinforce an inability to pay attention for much longer than it takes to have a piss.
- ryandrake 1y ago
  Totally depends on the type of content. There's a lot of stuff on YouTube that's "Two minutes of interesting content stretched into 10 minutes because of ad revenue."