I’m not looking to Hulu for what I want from YouTube. On Hulu I want to be able to watch tv shows that I can’t access either because of schedule or a lack of a tv at all (which is actually our situation), or just to browse their movies. And I love it because it’s not only less annoying than traditional broadcast (fewer commercials), or that it’s higher quality than rabbit ears, but because I hope it discourages people from uploading mainstream things onto YouTube so much. Why trudge through a ton of mildly related search results for the right cut of the right clip from some tv show when you can go to the source directly? And if people stop trudging, maybe people will eventually stop posting.

Now, as to whether or not it’s really profitable, I have no idea. But I do like that it gives people on the internet what they want (free access to content) while still distributing royalties where they are due and protecting the original content creators. If it discourages people from filming their tvs and putting it on YouTube a dream has come true.

I suppose it was a pretty long time ago when Ze started kicking ass in online video (three whole years) but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t still possible, if you provide the kind of quality, quantity and consistency that ze had.

And zefrank.com still gets huge amounts of traffic. The thing that Nalts hits right on the head in this post is that The Show wasn’t really a show, it was Ze doing all kinds of things. “without a proficiency in one creative discipline, but rather a “mix” of many.”

WTG Nalts…

He was an individual with his own destination site. It worked quite well, but only because the individual videos were so strong. John and I considered going this route with vlogbrothers, but decided that the community of youtube was too huge an asset to pass up.

Kevin, agree agree agree agree agree agree agree
it’s vulnerability and connecting directly with the audience

theory 1 – science and it’s the economy stupid!
People want to escape their workaday lives, but they can’t smoke, drink or have fly by night unprotected sex anymore, and with the current economy they can’t even afford to go out.

theory 2 – public cynicism and are you talkin’ to me?!
I harken back to the, why should we listen to Matt Damon bitch fest blog. There’s no connection to these people, no interaction, that breeds resentment. People long for community, tribalism, comradery, you can’t get that from TV. Online communities allow you to connect (Michael Buckley is probably the most successful tuber and online “personality” in this area to date), but at the same time flip the switch when someone pisses you off or put you on hold til later. Not sure this is all good, but it seems to be the way we are headed; have to work out some of the bugs as it develops. Like everything else there’s a balance that needs to be found. Regardless, there’s so much more to explore in this area, it’s really brand new, but at the same time has some very old traditions attached.

If one is savvy enough they could actually build an empire online; or a cult. A little charm, some charisma and a lot of dedication are what’s needed to succeed and a staff, a staff always helps, but you gotta want it. Surprisingly, not that many people want it.

Hulu is my favorite site other than YouTube. And I watch both way more than I should.