4 ms·

It's a little bit more complicated than that. Every smart person I know browses Youtube. Youtube isn't like a TV network; most videos are only a few minutes lon

It's a little bit more complicated than that. Every smart person I know browses Youtube. Youtube isn't like a TV network; most videos are only a few minutes long, so it's not inherently a timesuck the way that watching an hour long drama is. The difference is that because Youtube has no moderation in its comments, smart people look at the comments and immediately decide that it's not worth their time. So, the only people who comment are the idiots who just like to see their words on the Internet.

mercutio2 14y ago
Really? Why in the world would they do that? Effectively zero of the smart people I know browse YouTube. Most of my programmer friends listen to podcasts, but I honestly have no idea what smart people do with YouTube.
- DanBC 14y ago
  Some of the smart people I've heard of are on YouTube. (http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/02/provos/ http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/02/provos/) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyUkYJeZtW4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyUkYJeZtW4)
  - mercutio2 14y ago
    Wow. That article was awesome. The video was cool, too, although it didn't hold my interest like the story did. The thing is, I don't doubt there's lots of interesting content on YouTube. I just can't conceive of browsing through it for fun. There's too much good stuff to read.
- philwelch 14y ago
  It's still a decently authoritative source for music.
tomkarlo 14y ago
Unfortunately, everyone browses YouTube. And there's a lot more not-smart people than smart people. (And teenagers have a lot more time on their hands than adults.) I'd argue the root problem of YouTube comments is that they're not associated with any real community at all, in most cases. There's almost no benefit to posting a good comment, and no penalty to posting a stupid one. Imagine how stupid the comments would be if everyone watching a TV show with you could post to the same wall.
- omegaham 14y ago
  This is definitely true. The smart people will be on a community like this, Reddit, or forum, post a link to the video, and discuss it within their own community. Only the idiots will post comments directly onto the video's page.
philwelch 14y ago
Right, but every dumb person you know browses YouTube as well, and comment quality is pulled down by dumb people more easily than it can be pulled up by smart people. Anything that requires actual reading already has a barrier to entry to the dumbest of the dumb.

mercutio2 14y ago

Really? Why in the world would they do that? Effectively zero of the smart people I know browse YouTube. Most of my programmer friends listen to podcasts, but I honestly have no idea what smart people do with YouTube.

DanBC 14y ago
Some of the smart people I've heard of are on YouTube. (http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/02/provos/ http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/02/provos/) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyUkYJeZtW4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyUkYJeZtW4)
- mercutio2 14y ago
  Wow. That article was awesome. The video was cool, too, although it didn't hold my interest like the story did. The thing is, I don't doubt there's lots of interesting content on YouTube. I just can't conceive of browsing through it for fun. There's too much good stuff to read.
philwelch 14y ago
It's still a decently authoritative source for music.

tomkarlo 14y ago

Unfortunately, everyone browses YouTube. And there's a lot more not-smart people than smart people. (And teenagers have a lot more time on their hands than adults.) I'd argue the root problem of YouTube comments is that they're not associated with any real community at all, in most cases. There's almost no benefit to posting a good comment, and no penalty to posting a stupid one. Imagine how stupid the comments would be if everyone watching a TV show with you could post to the same wall.

omegaham 14y ago
This is definitely true. The smart people will be on a community like this, Reddit, or forum, post a link to the video, and discuss it within their own community. Only the idiots will post comments directly onto the video's page.

philwelch 14y ago

Right, but every dumb person you know browses YouTube as well, and comment quality is pulled down by dumb people more easily than it can be pulled up by smart people. Anything that requires actual reading already has a barrier to entry to the dumbest of the dumb.