Meet the YouTubers...

[Pekka]

I excluded myself from the losers of youtube, and gave me the right to do the same, but still be a winner.

Clever move, I'd say..

[Sirotnikov]

Pekka, you b*tch!

[Solver]

I don't know what's the most sad about YouTube. And blogs in general. Giving people an easy means of publishing themselves seems a great idea, but once done, it really shows that most people will publish boring or plain sad stuff.

On the other had, YouTube does have some real quality videos .

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Dis
There is no perfect friend that will connect with them and understand them and be ever loyal.

A month ago I would have disagreed with you. ****.

[Sirotnikov]

Care to talk to us about it?

Come'on, we know you want to

[reds4ever]

YouTube is there to host MMA/ Boxing and football highlights. Anything else is mis-use.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Sirotnikov
Care to talk to us about it?

Come'on, we know you want to

Nah, I think I'll post a video blog about it.

[Aeson]

Originally posted by Solver
I don't know what's the most sad about YouTube. And blogs in general. Giving people an easy means of publishing themselves seems a great idea, but once done, it really shows that most people will publish boring or plain sad stuff.

The world doesn't revolve around any of us. Everyone has their own interests, and when you open up publishing to everyone, obviously there will be segments which any given person will enjoy, and those they won't be interested in. I think what's saddest about YouTube is that people think that just because something doesn't interest them, or is sad (or any X), that it's worthless.

For instance, the very first girl in this clip is sensualwhirl. She suffers from a mental illness that leaves her often unable to leave the house, or in a state of panic whenever she does go out. I think her videos are brilliant and virtually everyone who watches them consistantly seems to agree. (Probably why they watch them consistantly eh?) But I know if you put it on the front page for all the "most viewed" crowd they'd think it's boring, because there's no sex, jokes, or explosions, and they'd mock and deride her for not entertaining them. Just as they mock and deride anything that doesn't pander to them personally. It's just a real person sharing her not-so-common experience, making friends, sharing advice with others who are going through similar experiences, and inspiring a lot of others. There are thousands and thousands of people on YouTube like that, with their own circles of friends, sharing their interests and lives together. How is that sad?

There are those I've watched who haven't been interesting to me, but I'm not so egotistical to think that that really matters. I can look at their comments, video responses, subscribers, and see that there are people who find those videos interesting as well. They can watch it, I don't have to. That's the strength of YouTube, something for everyone, and you're free to pick and choose. (Though the tools for doing so are a bit sad still.)

It's not sad that everything doesn't fit your interests. What's sad would be if it did, because that means you've cut out most of the choices, and created a legion of sheep who need to be force-fed entertainment because they can't decide for themselves what they think is interesting.

[Bkeela]

I want to know who that first girl is.

I wasted my entire afternoon flicking through the search facilities of YouTube, and I can tell you it is not a place any sane person wants to go. There be spam in there - a lot of spam. There's so much spam, it makes you wonder there is room left for legitimate content.

[Bkeela]

How's that, I waste the entire afternoon looking for the first girl in the video, and just as I am typing a post here to bemoan the fact, Aeson is posting the reply. Phew.

[Solver]

Aeson, I'm all for the good points. I don't know what upsets me about it all - maybe it's the signal-to-noise ratio. I see why videos of real people with unusual experiences are interesting. In my years on the Internet, I've learned that just about everything is interesting to someone.

My impression, at least from regular blogs, is however that the vast majority of those is interesting to a very small circle of people.

I haven't done a whole ton of YouTube browsing, but most of what I've seen is stuff that won't appeal to many people. These genuinely interesting videos that tell a story and are interesting to many get lost too easily. You give everyone an ability to publish themselves, but the quality pieces are heckuva hard to pick out.

[Solly]

I have one word to say: bunch of freaks!

[Aeson]

You missed the point. If it's interesting to just a small circle, it's still of value, still a good thing to have. Just let it pass if you aren't of that circle, find your own.

Most of us belong to various small circles ourselves. In a lot of ways small circles are much more important than larger ones. That allows a person to not just find someone interesting, but to actually interact with them as well. For example, how many people really would want to watch you and your friends hang out? Maybe every once in a while there'd be something that happens the general public would find interesting, but by and large outside your circle no one really cares. But it's important to you and your friends. Same with family... perhaps some hobbies too...

(Civ demogames come to mind. How many people in this world play them? 1 in every few million? Yet they're still fun to those who play them.)

---------------

As for finding what interests you, there's a method to the madness on YouTube. If you can find a few videos/posters that interest you, you can find more. When you find a video you like, look at the person's profile who uploaded it. They might have more videos of that sort. Even if not, check their favorites and who they're subscribed to. Also you can check the profiles of people who comment on the videos in the same manner you do (or would).

I do this from time to time to find new people to watch. It's interesting in it's own right, as you start to recognize people who's interests are similar to your own. When I find someone new that I like, invariably I see people who I watch, who comment on the people I watch, or even who subscribed to me, posting there already.

Of course, YouTube could use an (opt-in) automated system which use similar criteria to recommend videos... that's one of the areas they still have a lot of room for improvement in.

[Gibsie]

I feel a little bit more retarded for having watched that. Maybe I wouldn't have found it so pathetic without the "HAY GUYS THIS IS SO LIKE HART-WRENCHING" music in the background.

[Solver]

As for finding what interests you, there's a method to the madness on YouTube. If you can find a few videos/posters that interest you, you can find more. When you find a video you like, look at the person's profile who uploaded it. They might have more videos of that sort. Even if not, check their favorites and who they're subscribed to. Also you can check the profiles of people who comment on the videos in the same manner you do (or would).

That's quite useful, I should try that . There are some videos I liked, but the site's scope left me feeling overwhelmed when trying to find more stuff that I'd like.