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The framing here is really weird. The volume of videos increasing isn't 'growth.' Videos are inventory for Youtube. They're only good when people (without adblo

The framing here is really weird. The volume of videos increasing isn't 'growth.' Videos are inventory for Youtube. They're only good when people (without adblocks!) actually watch them.

amelius 9mo ago
^ This.
weird-eye-issue 9mo ago
Growth in this context is that there are a larger volume of videos each year. So each year a single video is exponentially a smaller and smaller percentage of the total.
- raincole 9mo ago
  Yeah and the math doesn't check out. For example, if in year N youtube has f(N) new video. Let assume f(N) = cN^2. It's a crazy rate of growth. It's far better than the real world Youtube, which grew rather linearly. But the rate of "videos that are older than 5 years" is still faster than that, because it would be cubic instead of quadratic. Unless the it's really exponential (it isn't), "videos that are older than 5 years" will always surpass "new videos this year" eventually.
  - weird-eye-issue 9mo ago
    > Unless the it's really exponential (it isn't), "videos that are older than 5 years" will always surpass "new videos this year" eventually. Such a weird strawman argument that you are making up. You've over thought this so much that you are missing the forest from the trees
  - whycombigator 9mo ago
    Video sensors are continuously getting cheaper, better and more more prevalent over time. The trend is towards capturing all angles of everything, everywhere, at increasingly higher resolutions.
UltraSane 9mo ago
Yes. a video no one watches is a waste of storage.
- dotancohen 9mo ago
  Maybe not. Maybe it could be used to train a neutral network. Maybe it contains dirt on a teenager, who might become a politician two decades from now. Maybe it contains an otherwise lost historical event.
- weird-eye-issue 9mo ago
  Or it just helps to cement YouTube as the go-to place for uploading and sharing videos for almost any purpose which has a long-term positive effect for user engagement and retention

The framing here is really weird. The volume of videos increasing isn't 'growth.' Videos are inventory for Youtube. They're only good when people (without adblocks!) actually watch them.

amelius 9mo ago

^ This.

weird-eye-issue 9mo ago

Growth in this context is that there are a larger volume of videos each year. So each year a single video is exponentially a smaller and smaller percentage of the total.

raincole 9mo ago
Yeah and the math doesn't check out. For example, if in year N youtube has f(N) new video. Let assume f(N) = cN^2. It's a crazy rate of growth. It's far better than the real world Youtube, which grew rather linearly. But the rate of "videos that are older than 5 years" is still faster than that, because it would be cubic instead of quadratic. Unless the it's really exponential (it isn't), "videos that are older than 5 years" will always surpass "new videos this year" eventually.
- weird-eye-issue 9mo ago
  > Unless the it's really exponential (it isn't), "videos that are older than 5 years" will always surpass "new videos this year" eventually. Such a weird strawman argument that you are making up. You've over thought this so much that you are missing the forest from the trees
- whycombigator 9mo ago
  Video sensors are continuously getting cheaper, better and more more prevalent over time. The trend is towards capturing all angles of everything, everywhere, at increasingly higher resolutions.

UltraSane 9mo ago

Yes. a video no one watches is a waste of storage.

dotancohen 9mo ago
Maybe not. Maybe it could be used to train a neutral network. Maybe it contains dirt on a teenager, who might become a politician two decades from now. Maybe it contains an otherwise lost historical event.
weird-eye-issue 9mo ago
Or it just helps to cement YouTube as the go-to place for uploading and sharing videos for almost any purpose which has a long-term positive effect for user engagement and retention