Yes, Facebook is desperate to promote and push it’s live streaming services. Live video was introduced back in December 2015. At first, it did fairly well. Then struggles came, and plenty of them.
Facebook even asks Hollywood celebrities to promote themselves on their live streaming services. They might even pay the rich and the famous to do so. Their COO, Sheryl Sandberg, is in LA pitching this idea to talent agencies. She’s looking for a handful of subjects (some believe it’s more like 100) to live stream regularly, and be paid modest amounts to do so. Eventually, this is supposed to generate more ad revenue for Facebook and the streamers through sponsors, sales and donations, sort of like how many You Tube stars get paid. Facebook doesn’t have ads to back up this live streaming…not yet. If successful, it could rise to that. But for now, Facebook hopes simple payment to live streamers will get the ball rolling. Payment could be in the six-figure range. That’s not modest at all for people like you and me, but these are celebrities we’re talking about here. And these don’t have to be A-List Oscar and Emmy winners either. Facebook could just as well go after B-Listers who know how to network social media.
Is Facebook trying to overtake You Tube? It looks like it. If they are going to use celebrities, they should use stars who could use the work. Frankly, I’m tired of A-listers having all the fun and glory and other good stars being left out in the cold. Plus, You Tube stars use Facebook for promotion all the time. Why not ask some of the most popular You Tube channel owners to help promote it and pay them to do so? Or should Facebook use a combination of everybody, including the not famous, to promote their live streaming services? Do you think Facebook ?live streaming will compare to You Tube?
Is it safe to say traditional TV is dying? I say this because not only is streaming taking over, but the streaming field is getting crowded. There’s You Tube, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Go, and that’s just to name a few.
Netflix is winning the streaming war, but barely. In the last year, Netflix and You Tube have been neck and neck in competing for the hearts and wallets for a hungry streaming public. By November 2015, Netflix had a slight edge. But both Netflix and You Tube had a huge edge over competitors Amazon, Hulu and HBO Go. In the past year, 51% of Americans say they used Netflix. You Tube placed slightly lower. Less than 30% polled say they ever used Hulu or Amazon for streaming. HBO Go placed last. Around 15% of Americans polled said they haven’t used this service in the past year. The survey is conducted by RBC Capital Markets. Many credit Netflix’s top rise due to it’s original shows. Recently, You Tube announced it’s ad-free service called You Tube Red. For $9.99 a month, viewers can watch all the You Tube shows they want with no ads. Will it be worth it? I guess only time will tell.
Both Netflix and You Tube have unique things to offer. Yes, Netflix offers great shows like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. These shows have won big time awards. But You Tube offers something even greater: the opportunity for anybody to be a star! It offers the housewife with two crazy kids and crazier husband to become a household name. It offers gaming experts to teach the whole world that craft. You Tube has introduced us to many rising stars over the years. But then again, we watch shows by the season and catch up with Netflix; we also see really great new shows there. So who will win this streaming battle? Can’t we have both?
I hate to say it. I even hate to type it. Pretty soon, we’ll have to pay for some of YouTube’s videos.
As I write this, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and other You Tube leaders are preparing the way for paid subscription only programming. On October 21, they will announce some of this programming at their studio in Los Angeles. They really are going Hollywood with this one. Don’t think you can slap some mediocre video of your backyard wrestling or singing really bad karaoke and expect to make it on their You Tube subscription page. They’re looking for new content from top creators. They may not use major A-list celebrities like they tried to back in 2011. They invested $100 million on that venture, which turned out to be a miserable failure. Some sources say YouTube will use their own stars who attract a young audience. Don’t worry! YouTube will still offer it’s free advertising backed service. Nonetheless, all videos on the free site will be available on the paid site. And video makers need to listen good to this one. You Tube wants all video producers making money from ads to participate in subscription services. Nobody knows when the You Tube pay service will be available, but the best guess sometime in 2016.
First and foremost, we should all be breathing collective sighs of relief that the free YouTube service will still be going strong. Never again will I take for granted ads before YouTube videos, no matter how pesky they may get. But I anticipate what will be offered on their pay site. If they want to compete with Netflix and Hulu, they better make it good. I’d say they should try to get some TV shows to stream. But don’t get too crazy with that. They should still stick to their bread and butter, which is everyday people creating quality videos for everyone to enjoy. How do they walk that fine line?
For a decade, You Tube has been the premier social media video site. For almost that long, Facebook has been the premier social media interaction site. These two worlds have been clashing for years. The clash seems to be approaching a climax.
This rivalry played out at last week’s VidCon conference, as Facebook, You Tube, and smaller competitors didn’t hold back trying to lure Internet celebrities and vloggers to their side. For years, You Tube held a virtual monopoly on video blogs. But lately, Facebook has been on a campaign to become one of the major, if not the major social media video source for producers and advertisers alike. At VidCon, Facebook showed off it’s visible management tools for video producers. They showed off a ‘spotlight showcase’. This highlights top Facebook video ads and teaches others to make great ads directly aimed at their customer base. According to the Wall Street Journal, increased competition makes You Tube have better relationships with their most popular You Tube vloggers. Facebook isn’t the only rising competitor. Up to 82% of Twitter users watched video content on Twitter in May 2015, mostly on mobile devices.
This increased video competition between You Tube, Twitter, Facebook and others is good. It’s good for the video producers. It’s good for advertisers. It’s good for fans like you and me. You read it yourself. Competition is forcing You Tube to do better by channel producers and advertisers. Remember, when a corporation is too big to fail, they’re too big to care. The social media video race keeps You Tube in check. Plus, this could open up the door for more vloggers. Let’s say you’re starting an Internet show, but You Tube is too crowded. But there’s opportunities on Facebook to start your videos. And there’s advertisers to cater to your audience. And there’s a hungry audience, including your Facebook friends, waiting to hear it. Where would you start your video blog channel?
June 26, 2015 will go down a very bad day in terrorism. Within hours, terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait left over 60 dead. Terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for two of these attacks on Twitter.
To say this puts social media sites in a torn, uncomfortable position is the big understatement. A few days before, ISIS put a You Tube video of themselves carrying out several acts of mass murder. One hideous act included locking men up in a cage and lowering them in a swimming pool to drown to death. On one hand, versions of such monstrous acts would remain on You Tube. On the other hand, You Tube leaders declared they wouldn’t allow their medium to be a ?”distribution channel for this horrible, but very newsworthy, terrorist propaganda”. That’s the catch 22 facing social media executives today, and terrorist groups like ISIS know it. They even put up a You Tube video of themselves serving ice cream to children in Syria, as a recruiting tool. How do you walk the fine line between preventing terrorist from using social media as a recruitment tool and keeping the right to free speech Americans and many others around the world cherish?
This problem is by no means limited to the USA. In Europe, some countries order social media sites to block terrorist propaganda. In America, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved a bill requiring social media to report terrorist propaganda to federal authorities. I rarely say this, but I agree with the Senate. Like anything, free speech can be abused. Free speech should never be used as an excuse to glorify or promote murder, brutality, or torture of other human beings. And look at these guys who are exploiting free speech. ISIS and other terrorists don’t believe in freedom for anybody. Look at the way they treat anybody who doesn’t think or act like them. Why should we allow some psychopaths to hijack free speech from the rest of us?
Happy 10th anniversary, You Tube. Here are my Top Ten You Tube moments. My moments are based on entertainment value, number of hits, and/or impact on the nation and world.
10. 2015 State of the Union: It’s true You Tube delivered this annual address since 2011. But 2015 was the first year interactive features were used to break down President Obama‘s speech. These features are a great step in getting the next generation interested in the political system.
9. Little Girl Is Tired: During the 2012 Presidential Election, a 4-year-old girl cries because she was tired of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney’s campaigning. She said what many adults felt. May God help us all come 2016.
8. Ted Williams Golden Voice: In 2011, this homeless man was discovered on You Tube. He shot up national super-stardom almost instantly, and was given a new life. There’s been some trials along the way. We wish him the very best.
7. 2015 Super Bowl Ads: Now you can see Super Bowl ads on You Tube…before the Super Bowl! This was the first Super Bowl I could fast forward through the commercials and hardly miss a thing!
6. Susan Boyle Discovered: On a 2009 episode of Britain’s Got Talent, 47-year-old Susan Boyle blew Britain away with her singing. This went viral on You Tube, and she blew the world away! This moment turned her into an international icon. Boyle challenged our perceptions, stereotypes, and how we evaluate beauty.
5. Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That: In 2012, Sweet Brown was interviewed after surviving a fire. Who knew this interview would turn into a pop culture phrase and a popular song?
4. Gangnam Style : Since summer 2012, this video has been viewed over 2.3 billion times! Need I say more?
3. Micheal Richards Rant: In November 2006, Micheal ‘Kramer’ Richards went on a racist tirade while performing at a Los Angeles comedy club. The tirade was caught on You Tube and went worldwide, shaming Richards so bad he went on a TV/radio tour to apologize. Richards was the first celebrity disgraced by something caught on You Tube.
2. Justin Beiber discovered: Let me explain this one: In the late 2000s, his mother put up videos of him singing, playing guitar, even playing drums. By late 2009, Hollywood noticed, signed him, and the rest is history. Love him or hate him, the mere fact he was an unknown teenager discovered on You Tube proves this is a new source of discovering talent.
1. Iranian Green Movement: In 2009, then Iranian president?Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won his reelection. Many suspected corruption and took to the streets in protest. Police used batons, sticks, pepper spray, and guns on them. A bystander named Neda Agha-Soltan was shot to death, and it was caught on You Tube and other social media. So were other protests that ended in violence. Thanks to You Tube, the whole world knew the real story of such oppression and injustice in Iran, as renegade journalists and citizens used social media to expose the Iranian government. The Iranian Green Movement proved You Tube can be a voice for the voiceless and a catalyst for change.
