Bloggers may want to think carefully about YouTube’s new “InVideo” advertising system, currently being tested with a few “select partners”, given that initial feedback from a small group of vocal users has been pretty negative.
Though the number of responses is fairly small (around 150 at present), and negative comments usually make it far further than positive ones, feedback to YouTube’s own blog post on the subject was pretty clear: “Yuck” was the first response.
“Please don’t ruin the YouTube experience. I really don’t want to have to upload all my videos to a different site. But I will,” wrote drivin98.
Many of those commenting were concerned about the videos being obscured by advertising, and the fact that the content owners may not agree with the ads being displayed. Some even called for a premium YouTube service where ads weren’t displayed, or simply that ads were displayed elsewhere, rather than over the top of the video.
Of course, advertising pays the bills, both for YouTube’s colossal hosting, and for anyone who chooses to take part in the scheme. It sounds as if only those video makers willing to take part in the scheme will have ads placed on their videos at present, with no obvious mention that this is going to roll out site-wide and be placed on every video without warning.
How will this affect bloggers? Firstly, it’s not likely to affect a huge number at present, as the proportion of bloggers currently making their own video content is fairly low. However, in a bid to monetise their content further, it could prove to be a contentious issue, just as some other forms of online advertising, particularly those placed directly within content, currently are.
This could be an interesting one to watch.