Curmudgeonly Monday – A Rant About A Few Ways Youtube Annoys Me

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 23062 – 1088

Here’s the haps:

Okay, so this is not an exhaustive or comprehensive list. There are a number of things that I have left off either purposely or because I have a short memory. But since my calendar said that today is Curmudgeonly Monday (I know today is Wednesday but I started this post on Monday.) I decided I would like to get these few things off my chest. Besides, it could be that, with the high-quality audience that I have that someone might be able to do something about any of it. I doubt it because it’s mostly about people making money and we know, generally speaking, that if someone’s making money on something, they aren’t going to stop out of the goodness of their heart just for me.

Now, these things are not things I get truly angry about or lose sleep over. I often use the saying, “You know, Herb, if that’s the biggest problem you have in life, or even if that’s the biggest problem you face today, you’ve got it good.” Oh, yes, I frequently talk to myself. I also often answer myself. My dad used to say, “If you want to talk to a smart man, talk to yourself.” The thing I’ve been worried about lately is that I often get distracted and have to ask myself to repeat myself.

Let me start off by saying that Youtube does have its useful side. I use it to add a little something entertaining to a blog post once in a while and the grandbabies like certain songs, but for me one of the biggest uses it has is instructional. If I am in a pinch to fix something, perhaps on the car or the washing machine or pretty much anything that might need fixing, an instructional video can be found to help me do it. A couple of days ago I found a nice little pressure washer at the Goodwill store for twelve bucks. It normally retails for about one hundred dollars. I needed a hose and a little instruction since, while I have thought about buying one before, I have no experience with the contraptions. The video I found was about ten minutes long and I frequently listen to them at double speed and find out what I need to know in half the time. Now some people have a good voice and instructional style and you can listen to them easily enough but there are some people out there who have a lot of useful knowledge but they would do better having someone else make the videos for them.

So, when the clip first starts there is a seven-minute infomercial that mercifully only plays for half a minute and then allows you to skip the ad. I clicked “Skip Ad”. Yay, me! Except this leads to another ad that is unskippable. At least it was short. Honestly, I don’t skip ads all the time. I understand that the ads pay for stuff, but if you’re going to post a skippable ad with an unskippable one then make the second one skippable. If there are two ads I will watch one all the way through. Except if they’re in the middle of my video.

I was fortunate in my choice of video this time because the guy on the video appeared to have some knowledge of speaking and getting to the point. He had a good steady voice and I wound up listening to him at regular speed and learned what I needed to know plus enough more to get me started.

Yes, yes, I understand that the ads pay for the stuff. Right. But I can tell you right now, Mr. Advertiser, that if your ad interrupts my video, I am probably just going to hate your product. Especially if I can’t skip it and doubly especially (I know, sorry.) if I have just gotten to the part about attaching the quick disconnect to…”BUY A BRAND-NEW CAR THAT COSTS FOUR TIMES AS MUCH AS YOUR FIRST HOUSE. IT GOES REALLY FAST AND TRAVELS UP THESE RUGGED OFF-ROAD PATHS WITH A LITTLE DISCLAIMER IN 4-POINT FONT THAT SAYS THESE ARE PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS AND YOU SHOULD NOT DO ANY OF THE THINGS SHOWN IN THIS COMMERCIAL!”… See? That’s just annoying. Or worse yet, it is an unskippable movie trailer advertising some ungodly horrible thing I would never have watched back in my days B.C. I’ve quit looking things up when my grandkids are around. I clicked on a version of This Little Light of Mine and the ad was for a “Christian” movie but the scene was intense and dramatic and totally inappropriate and I couldn’t click the “Close Tab” (x) button fast enough.

Anyway, back to the pressure washer clip, you think the clip is done but there’s another ad or two at the end.

I watch the video and think, “Boy, this guy’s really smart. I wonder what else he has?” I click the link to go to his channel and without warning, a video starts playing! Oftentimes the one I just got done watching! This happens on news websites a lot, too. I do not want to hear it and I have to mute it or pause it to make it go away. I just want to read the news article or see what else you have on your channel. Please, turn off the autoplay if you want me to like you. I can see the purpose of having a highlighted video on your YouTube channel. You want to show off your best stuff. I might like it if it didn’t start immediately before I have time to think about it. Many channels have a highlighted video but they don’t all start automatically. If I want to click play, I will.

But here again, in all this, I don’t think the robots are winning. Yet. When I go to a website or a YouTuber’s channel and a video starts playing automatically I can just close the tab and go elsewhere. For now. I am not quite afraid of Artificial Intelligence algorithms just yet. The algorithms ain’t that smart. Yet. I get ads at many of the websites I visit that are for the exact thing I purchased 2 weeks ago. And no, Mr. Smarty Pants Advertiser-Algorithm, now that I’ve gotten a few things off my chest, I don’t need a new bra.