YouTube Doldrums?

February 20, 2012

Can YouTube break out of its doldrums? GigaOM examines the question in “YouTube & Its Content Discovery Paradox.” The site recently invested big bucks on 100 channels of professionally produced video content that it hopes will improve its image. However, improved content is no good if people don’t know it’s there.

YouTube acknowledged this problem, and has implemented a redesign that serves relevant content to users who have selected channels in the past. However, that approach still limits discovery to channels users already know they like. Channel suggestions are on the page, but are not featured prominently. Highlighting those recommendations would be a start, but more innovative discovery tools would be even better.

Writer Ryan Lawler summarizes:

YouTube is the second-biggest search engine in the world, behind parent Google. But it’s one thing to serve up the right video when a viewer searches for it. It’s a whole other thing to anticipate what a viewer wants to see and help them find it. That’s something YouTube will need to get better at, especially as it tries to increase the average session time that users are staying online for.

Our view is that Google is the cat’s pajamas when it comes to easily findable video and an enhanced Google TV experience.

Cynthia Murrell, February 20, 2012

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.