Amazon and YouTube: The Hong Kong Protests Mark the Day that Twitch.tv Made Clear the Limitations of YouTube
June 16, 2019
I heard there was a small protest underway in Hong Kong. The time is now 6 30 am US Eastern time. I navigated to YouTube, entered the query “Hong Kong protest”, and I saw links to videos from a day ago (today is June 16, 2019). I navigated to the YouTube “Live” page which provides a limited selection of streaming videos on YouTube. If you have not seen that somewhat incomplete index, navigate to https://www.youtube.com/live. No live stream of the Hong Kong protest.
If it’s not on YouTube, then it doesn’t exist, goes some old times’ catchphrase.
Well, not quite.
Navigate to Amazon’s Twitch.tv. Run a query for Hong Kong. Here’s what I saw before I clicked on the live stream of Unable to Breath.
Amazon Twitch.tv search result. The Unable to Breath stream is not one but an aggregate of eight separate feeds from Hong Kong.
Front and center was a link to Unable to Breath, which presents this streaming image:
This is a screen shot of a single screen which is eight different feeds showing different views of the handful of people who are participating in the event. Note: Handful means more than one million.
Notice that three are eight live streams of this modest protest. This is one live stream with eight separate views of the modest demonstration in Hong Kong. Eight in one stream! No registration required. No in stream pop up ads. Just high value intelligence in pretty good streaming video quality.
The tiny dots in the Twitch.tv screen snap appear to be some people who are protesting.
Now let’s look at what YouTube and the vaunted Google search engine displays on the YouTube Live index page:
This is the YouTube live page. There are both archived (regular YouTube videos) and some live events. Games, news, science shows, music—just no Hong Kong protest feed.
You can see that the first two entries are not live streams. They are archived videos. The other events on the page range from video games, to a science program about planets to hip hop radio.
Now run a query on YouTube itself, using the highly touted Google search system. I ran this query, “Hong Kong protest.” Note: I did this earlier, but the idea of live is to add new streams as they become available. Live streams.
Here’s another view of the Hong Kong live search results. Again: No live stream of the modest event in Hong Kong.
Still no Hong Kong protest live streams.
Observations:
- Amazon Twitch.tv is providing high value information to those who want live, streaming high quality video. None of the low resolution content which YouTube routinely delivers
- The Amazon Twitch.tv search function makes it possible to locate the Hong Kong protest stream. Remember: If one cannot find something on Google, it does not exist. Obviously this SEO truism is incorrect.
- Amazon’s game centric streaming service is poised to become a useful way to keep track of modest world events.
DarkCyber’s view is that Amazon Twitch.tv is not just encroaching on YouTube’s domain. YouTube has some work to do in order to prevent Amazon from becoming one of the primary sources of real time, unfiltered news.
DarkCyber thinks Twitch.tv is important not because it offers content some might consider objectionable, not because hackers post off color content, and not because users exchange interesting information guiding users on the ins and outs of cheating at cards.
Amazon Twitch.tv is delivering real time intelligence.
Here are the links to you need as of 630 am US Eastern to monitor this significant event: The day YouTube was pushed aside by Amazon Twitch.tv.
Twitch.tv chatting search page. Just enter the terms for which you want information; for example, Hong Kong protest: https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/Just%20Chatting
YouTube’s Live video index page. Navigate here and pick a live event, except those that are not: https://www.youtube.com/live
The modest protest in Hong Kong? Meh, what’s a million people objecting to the Chinafication of life? The protest may turn out to be less important than the YouTube Twitch about face.
Keep in mind that streams can be blocked if certain authorities take steps to prevent mobile, WiFi, or landline connections. But for now. It’s Twitch.tv for live streams of what seems to be “real news.”
Stephen E Arnold, June 16, 2019
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2 Responses to “Amazon and YouTube: The Hong Kong Protests Mark the Day that Twitch.tv Made Clear the Limitations of YouTube”
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Wit? havin so m?ch written content d? you ever
r?n into ?ny issues ?f plagorism or c?pyright infringement?
My blog h?s ? lot of exclusive content I’?e either authored myself ?r outsourced b?t ?t appears a ?ot of it is popping it up
?ll ove? the web ?ithout m? permission. ?o yo?
know ?ny solutions t? help sto? content from being stolen? I’d tru?? ?ppreciate it.
You actually make it appear so easy with your presentation however
I to find this topic to be really something that I think
I’d never understand. It seems too complex and very extensive for me.
I am having a look ahead on your next publish,
I will try to get the dangle of it!