Comment by layer8
1 year ago
For worse.
The main reason for tech journalism being more sustainable on YouTube is non-skippable ads and the recommendation algorithm.
1 year ago
For worse.
The main reason for tech journalism being more sustainable on YouTube is non-skippable ads and the recommendation algorithm.
Unlike a random blog, I can pay YouTube to remove all the ads. I watch GN videos, and they get paid, but I never see ads other than GN's sponsor message and merch which are trivial to skip.
Compare AnandTech which has always been a user-hostile visual insult. The whole article is covered in ads. You can barely find the words. The articles are needlessly split over 25 pages so you click and load over and over. They really pioneered a lot of bad patterns.
> I can pay YouTube to remove all the ads
Yes, and I do that myself, but most people don’t, and the overall model wouldn’t work without the ads.
I'm more optimistic. Video may be clunky and largely difficult to search within now, but in the near future, with AI transcription and some kind of new UI, will become as easy to access as text is today.