YouTube, TV and Google

Is there any question that youtube is now a major broadcasting company? How long before CBS, NBC and ABC pale in comparison? As readwriteweb put it:

YouTube used to be known for its weirdos and amateurs, and while they're still abundant on the site, maybe more popular than ever, YouTube is becoming something other than a social network. It's now a mass medium.

YouTube, mature as it seems to be after 6 years, is still growing at a 50% rate with 3,000,000 views per day. Where will it be in 5 years?

YouTube and Usability, Again

As a follow-up to an earlier post I read the following in Google User Groups:

YouTube's "product team" is not about functionality.

In fact, their prime directive seems to be to remove as much function as possible, while making every remaining operation as non-intuitive, cumbersome, and fugly as possible.

Their complete destruction of the video watch page is the latest prime example.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Google has an amazing product line (YouTube) but every action it seems to take baffles me.

End Users in Action

I was working with a client setting up a YouTube channel and had an interesting learning experience. The client wanted to change the name of one of his newly created playlists and was unable to do so.

He tried clicking on the list on the left, then right clicked on the name in that list[1]; clicked on the name of playlist [2]; then searched the buttons above the videos -- with the mouse moving back and forth [red box], left and right over the buttons; then clicked the drop-down arrow next to the ADD TO [3]; went to change screen icons on the right [4]; went back up to his Channel Name and chose the dropdown from there. [5] Came back this screen and gave up.

A co-worker spent at least 15 minutes looking around the Google YouTube help pages without able to find it. Both the client and the co-worker are experienced "expert" computer users. Both missed where they were supposed to go. Both assumed -- because of YouTubes low functionality -- that they would have to delete their playlist and create a new one.

Both couldn't believe it when I showed them the link.

How illuminating it is to watch users in action.

So, how does one edit the name of the playlist?

If you're on your "My Channel" screen (not on this screen) you have to:

1. Select the drop down by your channel name
2. Select Favorites
3. On the left column select "Playlists"

You are then at "this" screen.

4. Select the drop down by "Edit Playlist Info"
5. Edit the title (should be clear at this point)

YouTube and Usability

There are many UX issues with YouTube. I've mentioned them before.

Here is a quote from a Google Employee responding to the frustration of YouTube users.

Here are a few ways your input has influenced the page's current design...

** YOU SAID:
The "Like" button (which initially not only rated videos, but also saved the video to your Favorites) was confusing. It didn't feel right to rate and add a video to favorites at the same time.

*** HOW YOUR INPUT INFLUENCED THE NEW DESIGN:
By redefining what “Liking” a video means and adding a “save to” button in the actions bar, rating a video ("Liking" it) and saving a video (Favoriting it or adding it to a playlist) are now totally separate actions. So when you want to rate something, use the “Like” button. When you want to Favorite something, use the “save to” button.

This is 2010 and Google still does not employ UX professionals? Who would, who could, possibly think to have one link do two such completely different tasks. Just because you may like a video in the context of general browsing doesn't mean that you want to add it to your playlist.

As an example I may *like* a video of a friends baby but that doesn't mean I want to save it to a site dedicated to Information Architecture.

What separates Blogs from other Social Media?

The taxonomy of social media is complex. Social media usually refers to Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and other sites. But in its widest sense social media can be any site that networks of people, including newsgroups, listservs and sites such as YouTube. YouTube is still primarily a file sharing site but with the addition of comments they are now more social media than file sharing sites.

Blogs are also part of on-line social networks but are different from the other social media sites in two ways. One person may have several blogs, each focusing upon a different topic but it rarely makes sense to have multiple Facebook or LinkedIn accounts. The second is the concept of time. In social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, it is the NOW that matters. Businesses may care to keep a record for legal purposes but most users rarely care about what was communicated 24 hours ago (if not 24 minutes ago). Whereas, with blogs, the continuity of posts matters. They are not focused upon the here and now.

All strategies used in attracting clients and consumers must focus first and foremost upon these two aspects, especially the concept of time.