Video Blogging Week: The Future of Video Blogging

[MyFunnyBrianShow]

Youtube is neat. I like it because you can make videos for people to enjoy! It is NEAT NEAT! You seem pretty nice too. bye

[MrBWtv]

Your a solutionist - i shall work with you.. ps i was watching for 12+minutes lol..

[TravMcTavish]

In football (Rugby League) in Australia the Maltese Falcon has quite a different meaning.

[PNGNetwork]

I would pay 25 bucks a year for that kind of membership "It's the sutf that dreams are made of". Love your videos Kenrg. I wish I had a partner account lol. anyways great video keep them coming.

[kenrg]

Thanks - The changes here, once the were unveiled, were so minor, I wonder if it's actually helped their revenue. I hope so.

[kenrg]

That's what they've been trying, but they're still losing about a million dollars each day. I'm sure they're trying to sell as much ad space, at the best rate they can get. Hopefully the new changes will help them with that.

[RadicalComedy]

Kenrg, outside of the fact that I feel that vbloggers will always be able to vblog and we will always have a community and that nothing YOutube has done has deterred that...outside of all of that, Google has made no money. If people want to vblog here, I recommend full on support otherwise, Youtube will be gone and we will all miss it here. ~Raven

[kenrg]

As we have just seen, the big hullabaloo was basically for nothing. Of course the changes meant nothing; we can still view our subscriptions, comment to each, etc - all the things that formed the community. Yes, we must support the company that provides all this; including helping to make them profitable (even if it means paying a small membership fee someday).

[Chilldogg]

I don't have a problem with YouTube's redesign. Google owns this hotel and we are guests who get to have a room of our own for free. Not a bad deal. Let's be good guests and support YouTube.

[kenrg]

Seeing the redesign now, frankly, if nobody had told me there were any changes, I doubt I'd notice them. As usual, a huge big deal about nothing much.

[21stCenturyCat]

agreed! I never go past my subscription page (which I assume is the default for most if not all YouTubers?) I've not looked at the most discussed/rated etc pages for a very long time.

[Glassorchids]

(PS) Funny thing that Google was announcing pay-per-view material on YouTube just as I was typing my above comment. "With respect to how it'll get monetized, our first priority is on the advertising side. We do expect over time to see micropayments and other forms of subscription models coming as well," says Eric Schmidt.

Anyway, this particular "end of YouTube" seems to be rather unspectacular.

[kenrg]

I'm greatly unimpressed by the end of the world, if this was truly that. Another big deal over a big yawn is the end result (as usual).

[vnflcards]

I love The Maltese Falcon! That film is a classic and Bogart is the man! The book is also an amazing piece of writing. It's what every who-done-it should be like.

What was the topic again? Oh yeah, Vlogs or something. I would prefer vlogs be in a separate searchable area. I would watch more of them if they were split off from everything else and easier to find.

[kenrg]

Well, I'm taking my first look at the "New YouTube" and frankly, I don't see what the big scare was about.. I have no problem with it at all. But still no easier way to find vloggers...

[Glassorchids]

(1/2) Interesting ideas here (especially the whole falconry concept), but I'm not sure if paying for increased storage is the way to go. Even if amateur content is increasingly marginalised, YouTube will still want to have it, just to assure their dominance in the market. Basic video watching must remain free in any case. I can see them charging for perks, though, that are more removed from the core functionality of the site:

[Glassorchids]

(2/2) They could charge for HD-quality viewing, downloadable videos, profile banners and other visual customisations, custom thumbnail pics, the ability to write longer comments or maintain a written blog on your profile, or maybe just a "no ads" option for the entire site (though this might alienate advertisers). You could tie these up into nice little feature packages, or tiered memberships, or even one-time payments for the better HD content.

[thefrozenghost]

Good vlog, sir. I don't expect to see much of a negative impact on the community here, in fact, I actually think this might be a good thing. Money for YT and maybe make things a little harder for the masses to crash the party.

I would not be opposed to a subscription model. Your pricing is reasonable, maybe a bit low. I thinks it's funny how that's such a deal breaker for people. They spend more than that to see one movie at a theatre for 2 hours of entertainment. (more)

[kenrg]

Right - They spend that (and more) for one evening's entertainment, or on online games, etc., but once something is "free" it's hard to convince folks that nothing is ever *really* free. As to the negative impact, I agree; as long as I have my subscription page, I don't care what happens to the front page and main index.

[thefrozenghost]

So much on the web has been given away for free, that companies are having a hard time breaking through that perceived constant. Newspapers and magazines have always made money through ads, but the vast majority still have a cover price....and you don't get to create and post your own content in them.

[steve5674]

Where did you get the Maltese Falcon? And how much is Makers Mark paying you for sponsorship?

[kenrg]

It was a gift from Bill K, many years ago. And if the kind folks at Maker's want to send a coupon or two my way, it would be much appreciated, but not necessary.

[snapshotofharlech]

not everybody on youtube is a vlogger ?

i myself make slideshows, oh and also not everybody lives in the usa, as makers of slideshows we dont get the subscriber base that some vloggers do, and slideshows have limited appeal, what with youtube having such a large base of topics to choose from, and i feel that if a person is not infront of the camera,

should we be subjected to the same amount say as a vlogger $ 5 , or should we be charged a different amount ?

[kenrg]

True; there's a lot more to "original user content" than just traditional vlogs. As to my made-up membership fees, I don't know... Could be interesting to see if they ever do make such a distinction.

[filemen2]

oh, man, i wish i had some coffee.

lemme go get some ... back in 5.

[filemen2]

did i miss it? aww ... it's over :(

what'd he say?

here's to plain speaking.

and clear understanding.

[kenrg]

You know, you can hit "pause" before running to the kitchen ;^)

[lilkatdevil]

but hulu is not the first of those kinds of sites, I think there were a couple, but joost was the first that I knew of, but there were other smaller ones.

[kenrg]

Very true - So YouTube is really behind the trend on this one ;^)

[TruthWarrior90]

Nah nah nah nah nah. I saw the Maltese Falcon kenrg. Didn't think I would?

[kenrg]

I'm shocked that anybody gets that far!

[Nuolimieli]

Mal..tees/tes falcon? Darn it, I really don't know how it's spelled :/

[kenrg]

And here I thought it was Mall Tease ;^)

[Sinjinator]

"buck buckbuck buckamonth" -sounds like a chicken (falcon) I'm gonna need a whole bottle of bourbon to get over this... I can't even afford thecamera yet! I'll be on VH.

[kenrg]

Cameras are coming down - The Flip ones are about $100, and soon, I'm sure, there'll be imitators for half that. Not to mention video cameras built into most new cell phones, mp3 players... Soon there will be no excuse for not making videos!

[axegrinder01]

My high school team was the falcons.

I like your idea but I think they are more likely to go to a monthly based fee. People don't have a problem paying 15 to 20 dollars a month to play WOW, why would they have a problem paying that for a Youtube account?

I am sorry the free days are behind us, but like a wise person once said All good things come to an end.

[kenrg]

Very true and apt example: the amount people pay for online games. I only suggested a fraction of that for YT and many people are upset. Is the gaming world really that much smaller or different than the vlogging world?

[WolfNinjaLevi]

Nice bird.

[kenrg]

Thanks!

[periurban]

Maltesers are a kind of sweet here in the UK. That's what dreams are made of, huh?

[kenrg]

If you eat too many of them, probably not very good dreams either...

[twister7boy]

the stuff dreams are made of. that was funny. i would pay 25 bucks for that. worth it too me. the thing that scares me is how easy will it be too keep finding new people and the stuff i like here. i don't watch tv much and most the movies that come out these days just stink. i always pay attention to the ads on here. but your right they only got a few good ones. yes i bought stuff from a few ads. man i just hope this place doesn't change too much and doesn't shut down. peace. gregg

[kenrg]

I doubt it will shut down for many years yet, but it will certainly continue to change. JohnReagan (above) has a point that if the vloggers are under a different tab than the movies and TV shows, that it will make it easier to find new vloggers. Here's to hoping he's right!

[twister7boy]

very true. but i seriously think the categories are going to be shrink. and things that we are looking for will be harder too find. some really good stuff i find comes from people who just started. i try to check out the most recent videos in all categories sometimes. people i never sal before. also some people make good stuff but is barred before you can even get too it. some of my friends cant afford this new cost. thats another thing that scares me. peace. gregg

[thizizliz]

Interesting idea. It also might help keep some of the haters off. In return for paying for the site, I'd like to see 2 things - more careful review before pulling videos or channels and more careful review of haters - maybe a place where people can write for help. Sometimes I think YT is indeed the stuff of dreams.

[kenrg]

Yes, payment would absolutely cut down the number of attack channels. Not just for the money itself; but because it would be traceable to a person (by the credit card or paypal account, etc.) who could be held responsible. But, ahh, that's just a dream.

[johnreagannumber1]

I've been screaming for them to to separate us from mainstream media for ages and I think this is actually a good move for us, if they keep it free. As it is, we can't find new vloggers like we did in 06.

If they model their advertising program in exactly the same way Hulu does and are able to get the massively major brands that Hulu gets (Adidas etc.) I don't believe they need to charge us, but I do understand your points.

Thought provoking vlog, I loved it!

[kenrg]

Interesting and true point about the potential upside of "putting us apart" from the pro stuff. I'm frankly not expecting it to change my YT experience at all, just so long as I have my subscription page, and the people I watch occasionally introduce me to new vloggers.

[blackturtleshow]

Falcon? Looks like an owl to me!!! LOL

I'm in favor of a publicly funded site. I'd say government sponsored, if we had a government that protected the rights of citizens rather than pushed censorship (ala Tipper Gore and the right wing fundies).

On the other hand a tiered site as you describe isn't a bad idea. But I'd do it like this:

$0/yr - basic member - text response/rate videos/profile

$10/yr - limited video storage

$20/yr - unlimited video storage

$50/yr - revenue sharing

[kenrg]

I doubt that you'll find many with you on the gov't funded YT idea -- or on doubling the fees I suggested. But then, I might be surprised!

[TooLooseLeTrek]

Are you sure that was coffee in that huge mug from which you were so anxious to sip? What is in that cup?

Stuff that dreams are made of?

[kenrg]

Coffee!!! I swear!!! I was buzzing from it all day.

[channeIreview]

In Japan YT's competetion is a site called niconico video or (ニコニコ動画) you can check it out if your interested. IActually, by certain counts they are bigger than youtube here. They have a two teared membership in which paying members have more bandwidth for uploading & downloading. I think Victor has talked about this in some of his vlogs. I really think YT should give that model consideration.

[kenrg]

Interesting! I wonder how they're doing with that, and if paid membership is profitable for them? Also; would that translate to the U.S./World market, or is it the Japanese culture that is more willing to pay than American?

[juliact]

Maltese Falcon? Great movie!

[kenrg]

A classic!

[SuperSpaceAngelonYT]

I have re-migrated back to YT... from VH, partially... the VH bullroar is annoying me, atm... :)

Love ya Ken! ... Angel =]

[kenrg]

I never left YT for VH - I try to keep up with each, and am fascinated by the evolution of each. Neither one is close to death, regardless of what the critics of each say, and neither one is done evolving. A very interesting time.

[SuperSpaceAngelonYT]

I agree with you completely! It is fascinating to observe the "evolution" and the patterns of the online communities. ... I never really left YT either, however my account was "dormant" because I rarely logged in when visiting. I ended up needing to create a new account (unfortunately) because the "renew pw" feature would not work. O well! ... Take care, Angel =]

[Shadowadler]

The stuff dreams are made of? Fairy dust of course :p

[kenrg]

Dreams are for suckers.

[BGenerous]

Times they are a changin'!

BTW, Maltese Falcon, watch?v=rEg-ZNB3qyI

[kenrg]

The only thing constant is change.

[MyCluein]

a McLuhanesque probe: to measure YT's success is futile using the old paradigm of money, which is now obsolete, if banks cant make money how will YT?

nonetheless, YTs daily viewers are roughly equivalent to the smallest US TV network, but YT pays nothing for content & generates revenue from it, YT runs on Googles server farm (a fixed cost) that wont go away regardless, their variable cost is personnel, if YT is losing money it is a variable cost issue & reflects a poor use of resources

[kenrg]

"if banks cant make money how will YT?" - Comment of the year!

And, you're absolutely right about their variable costs, and our lack of knowledge regarding how it's broken down. A little less sushi and a little more vlogging?

[1DRock37167]

Just so long as I can watch others and post my vlogs for free, I dont care what they do to make money.

[kenrg]

And I think that's what the end result will be. The majority of this site will be the commercial content, but for those of us who make and watch vlogs, it won't make a bit of difference as long as we have our subscription page bookmarked.

[P3rf3ctStorm]

What the hell? So you're testing me now? Was that a Maltese falcon I saw at about 12 minutes in? I ALWAYS watch your vlogs through and through kenrg - because you're actually more fascinating (and even more entertaining) to watch than the likes of Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, amongst other "stars". I'm a devoted fan. I've been with ya a long time now. Remember Koby?

But now you say that you actually want us to pay for this crap? Just let it die & eventually someone else will pick up the reins.

[kenrg]

And others are ready and willing to pick up those reins. Vloggerheads, anybody? It's going to be an interesting period online as we see what form vlogging sites take: whether YT-type mass sites, or small niche communities that contain costs better (or not?).

[TamHickey67]

I kinda agree with Furni on this. What would be the point of being made a partner if it were to cost more per month than you were to recieve from YT? I know there will be changes made, but I'm sure Sydney Greenstreet would roll in his grave were this to come to pass.

[kenrg]

Was Greenstreet a YT partner? I didn't realize!

[savvysymbiont]

Just call it what it really will be Ken.

Youtube tax...

[kenrg]

One way of looking at it...

[reyegnor]

don't bogart that bird,my friend,pass it over to me

[kenrg]

That bird's taking the fall.

[Furnifur]

I did see the movie the Maltese Falcon but it was many moons ago. Like sex, I don't love it enough to pay for it. I know I'm a partner but my checks aren't big enough every month to give back to yt, they are supposed to be giving to me dammit. It's the only consolation I get outta this. lol Times are tough all around and if they want me to pay for it I am done. I don't care where they move me as long as I get to say and do what I say and do.

You can kept my interest for the full 13:34

[kenrg]

You know, when you put it like that... although, guys always pay for it, one way or another...

[Furnifur]

omg I was so busy editing that last line I missed the crucial part. Please don't send me Hooked on Phonics it won't help. lol

Yeah, I make my boyfriend pay for it, I've got a nice little stuffed mattress, in fact he pays better than Google lol

[Moueska]

That is PAINFULLY scary. I don't know... I just don't know.

[kenrg]

What's scary? The proposed changes? My suggestion of tiered membership? Or just having to watch me talk for 13.5 minutes?

[U2bianSynic]

Sam Spade FTW

[kenrg]

Sam Spade could kick Phillip Marlowe's ass any day.

[U2bianSynic]

You had me at "coffee".

"Vlogger-sized" bottle of whiskey, lol

I'd pay.

[kenrg]

If I knew that coffee was all it took... well, that and whiskey ;^)

[JimmerSD]

I think you've made a very coherent argument Mr Cairo.

[kenrg]

Thank you!

[anakin1814]

This video blog is the thing that dreams are made of.

Great vlog...I may need to make a 15 minute response to this one as I indeed have a few thoughts on this topic myself!

[kenrg]

I might need to do a 15 minute response as well, as I realize there are many things I left out!

[speedyconkiwi]

uh yeah i've read an article about the changes.. hm. sigh. not more i can say about that. nice mug! ;D

[kenrg]

The articles have been interesting, but I'm not sure if any of them have accurately predicted what's coming. I like your mug too.

[OhCurt]

Carly Simon recorded a song "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" but I don't think she had it ready in time to be included in that Bogart movie... actually, was she even born yet??!

Anyway...

They'd have to take away my upload button to totally end this for most of us.

And even then it wouldn't end, it would just migrate in a bigger, more permanent way.

I like your tiered memberships idea. Free is always nicer, obviously, but if it came to that, I'd be willing.

[kenrg]

I don't know if they'd actually dare go for asking us to pay, but obviously advertising on "quality content" like this is not paying the bills.

Can enough "Pro content" earn enough to subsidize us? Only Carly Simon knows for sure.

[OhCurt]

Well I don't know if paying is the right thing to do, but that's the way I always heard it should be, and all this anticipation is making me late.

BTW, Ken, you're a legend in your own time. Seriously, nobody does it better.

Now if you'll excuse me, I haven't got time for the song title puns.

[kenrg]

Well, you're so vain, you probably think the references to drinking coffee in vlogs is about you.

[bohogirl1]

i'm wondering if the new model will be available in canada, hulu isn't.

[bohogirl1]

we also have the falcon!

[kenrg]

I can't wait for the reports on whether or not the "NewTube" works beyond the US.

[Zed2six]

I saw the falcon btw :p

[kenrg]

And the falcon saw you!

[Zed2six]

and now I'm suddenly really paranoid.

[Zed2six]

what they could have done is make EVERYONE a 'partner' but only give the user money per 1,000 video views.

[kenrg]

That's kind of what MetaCafe does, and it's not a bad idea. After 13 minutes I didn't want to get into that, but part of the situation is there's too much stuff here that cannot be monetized by YT or the creator. As small as the revenue from some videos might be, at least it's something!

[Furnifur]

Zed, I understand your pov but do you know how man people buy those things to make their views go up. I've seen channels with 40 subscribers, 3 videos and thousands upon thousands of hits, that is the shit that should be cut out not enabled.

[VegetaFH1]

Malteaser Falcon - the stuff dreams are made of

Shameless advertising

Id go power user, just for the sake of having it and paying up my share to keep the servers up an runnin, cus honestly there is ALOT of videos i watch on a daily basis on youtube and id hate to see all those videos ripped down

Id even go as far as paying other peoples subscriptions just to keep here, admitedly i havent been here a long time BUT i love this site, weather its run by google or not

Cheers Kenrg

Respect,

[kenrg]

Thanks for the comment - Power user it is!

[VegetaFH1]

One thing that worries me tho,

If we do all start paying for this service, Youtube/Google will have to step up abit and start suspending accounts that get involved with such things as trolling and hatful remarks and blah blah blah (the list goes on)

at the end of the day they have to set a price that is resonable to both the user base and the company, becuase they will have to hire extra man-power to be able to step up, which means it wont be just 1 or 2 dollars, u know what i mean right?

[DoctorMetropolis]

are you sitting on the toilet in this video? I picture you sitting there with yer pants down waiting for the coffee to kick in...I'm sorry, that was innapropriate.

[kenrg]

Not in the video - But I'm sitting on the toilet now. That much coffee just does not sit still.

[PappyStu]

Dream Falcons what?

[kenrg]

That's the millenium falcon.

[PappyStu]

Beam me up Scotty....

[PappyStu]

Personally I suspect we would have a better environment if we did pay... If we had a Tiered membership they would probably have to do it by data quantity as this corilates directly to server space requirement by User...

[kenrg]

Absolutely - I had another 12 minutes I could have gotten into how payment would deter haters, as well as limit the number of cute puppy videos shot on cell phones with no audio.

[PappyStu]

I was thinking primarily the same thing... Either this means there's truth to these thoughts or you and I suffer from like delusions...

[andymooseman]

Don't Bogart that Falcon.

I'd pay $25 a year. It would be worth that to me. Just to enable me to carry on doing what i'm doing. That means a lot to me.

Like you Ken, i agree that we can't expect a free YT, anymore. Whether that means a Hulu type site (whcih incidentally is not available in the UK), or a subscription type site. I'm fairly okay with that.

I obviously need to get myself a vlogger sized bottle of cognac to keep me going :)

[kenrg]

I hadn't thought about that Hulu-type content might not be licensed for international use. So, it could turn out that in the US, YouTube is dominated by "professional" content, while the international YouTube sites are dominated by user-generated content. Very interesting!

[andymooseman]

Well, i guess that's one of the possible outcomes. We'll just have to wait & see what this week brings.

It could be an interesting week. With, no doubt, a flurry of videos about the changes afterwards :)

[yellowlabrador]

maltese falcon. it's not a bad idea but the admin costs would be crazy.

[kenrg]

True. I don't actually expect them to take me up on my paid membership proposal, just planting a small seed.

[Aaroncast86]

Also, that notion of a tiered payment for YouTube just seems illogical to me. Sites like gmail and facebook don't seem to need to start offering paid memberships to stay afloat. We're giving them free content and the idea of paying them to allow us to give them free content is just illogical.

Is that maltese falcon made of wood or chocolate?

[kenrg]

Concrete. And you may be right. Very few paid subscription models have worked on the web. I'm just tossing the idea out there to test if anybody thinks it's worth paying for. As I said, I would, but I know I'm probably in a small minority of willing buyers.

[Aaroncast86]

I think it'd be good if they kept what they currently offer for free the same. There are other sites (like viddyou) who offer a subscription that's yearly based ($5-$10 for the year) in return for more upload space. That, I could see being reasonable. For partners maybe that subscription fee could be deferred through the profit from monetized videos.

[Fjordgnu]

This coffee is the stuff that dreams are made of.

[kenrg]

Actually, it's running through me pretty strong right now... I think I need to go to the rest room... if that's the dream then I don't wanna go to sleep.

[Aaroncast86]

I really wish people who are part of the community would stop promoting this notion that YouTube or Google don't care about us. If they didn't why would they put a collaboration video on the global front page that was about guidelines for viewers of vlogs? They wouldn't.

Hulu might be amazing if you're in America but here in the rest of the world it may as well not even exist because we can't use it anyway.

[kenrg]

I don't think it's so much that they "don't care about us" as what they need to care about is profitability, and that's what they're working on. That "we" sometimes feel like we're getting lost in that is to be expected, but you're right; they have not abandoned the concept of vlogging entirely yet.

[MyCluein]

if YT really "cared about us" they would have more people dedicated to customer service & less to tweaking the interface, videos & channels disappear without due process or appeal, YT also blocks vids from view in different counties too, not that YT is "bad" but they don't really "care about us," it's a commercial venture designed to milk our content for pennies & in return we use it to express ourselves, quid pro quo

[Aaroncast86]

Kenrg - Exactly, they haven't abandoned the 'vlog' function of their site, though it may not be the core focus. I personally like that the vlogging 'community' is sort of underground.

MyCluein - I'm not sure YouTube is quite as evil as you seem to be making it out to be but they are a corporation and corporations do exist to make profit.

[Zea107]

You have no clue what stuff Chad Hurley's dreams are made of.

Free ride is what made YT in the first place.

[kenrg]

Free rides are nice, but eventually they come to an end. Chad's in my dreams, I'm sure I'm in his.

[PappyStu]

Just uploaded a big VLOG but as it is not topical to yours I will only attach it if you PM me to do so...

[kenrg]

I will look for it.

[EdEditz]

It's a fake! It's a fake! We gotta spend an other year on the quest.

LOL, great vlog Ken. I had no idea YouTube was losing money at THAT rate.

[kenrg]

The figures vary widely, depending on which report you're looking at - and how much is for bandwidth and how much is for sushi is unknown - but they are losing money at a rate usually reserved for governments.

[EdEditz]

Well, that sounds somewhat appropriate since you could look at YT as a little country on the internet. With a community, celebrities and people with things to say (or not as the case may be :) Anyway, I'm glad it's still running. Maybe it's time for a revolution though, if the new setup is gonna suck =]

[joness105639]

I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, it's possible to get another. There's only one Maltese Falcon.

[kenrg]

Well, I could be up for adoption. Is there an inheritance involved?

[joness105639]

"And they probably redesigned the whole sickbay too! I know engineers. They love to change things" - Leonard McCoy