HotForWords Forums » Topic: YouTube's Most Popular Category

HotForWords Forums » Topic: YouTube's Most Popular Category http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ A place to discuss all kinds of stuff! en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:35:29 +0000 Chemikal on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/7#post-9046 Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:58:28 +0000 Chemikal 9046@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ It's working just fine now. HotForWords on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/7#post-9044 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:26:36 +0000 HotForWords 9044@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Hmmmm... (just posting this as my latest discussion widget seems to be messing up with the links). pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-9040 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:30:50 +0000 pedanticKarl 9040@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Update: June 30, 2009 5:22 AM Regarding the YouTube Most Viewed board. I got home two hours ago and as I compared the data from yesterday morning after it looked like things were going back to normal, I see things that are very much wrong that I need to share with you. In view of a certain, err, ummm, something, I'll send you the information privately within about two hours. It'll be very concise and short. pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-8963 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:37:52 +0000 pedanticKarl 8963@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Update: June 16, 2009 1:38 PM PDT Regarding the above foreign videos invasion on YT's Most Viewed board: The YT Most Viewed Honors board was blanketed on June 15 after midnight with Japanese sports videos. Every page of that honors board was occupied by a Japanese video of some sports event such as boxing and as can be seen in the screen capture above. Those videos occupied the Most Viewed board for only seven hours instead of the normal 48 hours. Either YouTube's algorithm messed up or it was hacked or YT was doing an experiment. To have more than 80% of the Most Viewed board all of a sudden be occupied by Japanese language videos of course didn't make sense, especially since most of those videos had huge views to start with. Despite a momentary set back for the HotForWords <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3bqi068dL4">"Give me the chills!"</a> (Goosebumps) video, that video has skyrocketed to the #2 spot on the Most Viewed board and is now on the 2nd page of the Popular board and should be on page #1 shortly. Wow!!! 339,713 views in two days and the day isn't over yet. pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-8945 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:01:49 +0000 pedanticKarl 8945@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ EDIT: June 15, 2009 2:10 AM I just noticed that YouTube has pulled all of those foreign videos now, and I see some more on the other pages. Clearly, YouTube is doing some manual tweaking. I was under the impression that only videos in the language of the designated country would be shown, other than videos that would be relevant such as subtitled films and so on. As I continue to watch the Most Viewed board, I see the foregin videos returning, so it seems YouTube is in some adjustment mode. --------------------------------------------------- The YouTube Most Viewed board is still very important for getting HotForWords videos exposed to new YT visitors. Not as important as the Popular board or being on the YT Home page, but nevertheless, still important. This morning shortly after midnight, I noticed a huge invasion of foreign videos that displaced the HotForWords video by 18 positions backwards. Take a look at the following graphic which shows the hour by hour progress of the "Give me the chills!" video. Notice the nice progression from the entry position #93 to position #49 in 4 hours. Then, after midnight, the video lost ground due to the large number of videos with huge 600,000 views mostly entering on page 1. <img src="http://i42.tinypic.com/2ezjk9x.jpg"> Here is a screen shot of page 1 of the Most Viewed board. User "AWbmnWEGA3" had six videos placed on page 1 and page 2 upon entry of the MV board while user "kimidori3takoyaki" had three videos placed on the board upon entry. <img src="http://i40.tinypic.com/eq199t.jpg"> Greatest Potential on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-8841 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:58:43 +0000 Greatest Potential 8841@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Don't mind me, just busy hitting the refresh button [*] pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7987 Fri, 01 May 2009 21:47:00 +0000 pedanticKarl 7987@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ May 1, 2009 9:44 PM PDT Update! Another Update to the comments immediately above The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KIYFRhkA54">"She is all about cleav*ge"</a> video also known as Poindexter, just slid by the "Sleep with me" video by 4 views. pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7976 Fri, 01 May 2009 01:28:00 +0000 pedanticKarl 7976@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ May 1, 2009 1:30 AM Update! To the commentary immediately above. The HotForWords <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KIYFRhkA54">"She is all about cleav*ge"</a> video continuously fought it's way originally at the #99 spot to the #23 position on page 1, then fought it's way again from the #56 spot all the way back to the Popular page 1 at #23 -- and while I was adding this commentary, the video jumped up to #18, where it is at the moment. Phew!, that was exciting to see. What is interesting to note is that there was some heavy competition along the way. The video was published six days ago on Apr 25, 2009. Here is a cropped screen shot of the HotForWords video at the Popular #18 spot. <a href="http://i41.tinypic.com/2u4lzra.jpg"> Click the image to see the #18 spot in context. <img src="http://i44.tinypic.com/15xpdhf.jpg"> </a> <a href="http://i42.tinypic.com/2i92umh.jpg"> Click the image to see the larger view <img src="http://i44.tinypic.com/2e3crut.jpg"> </a> It also looks like the cleavage video is trying to outrun the sleep with me video. <img src="http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> Wow, and the sexting video is making an attack on 600K views. pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7952 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:25:40 +0000 pedanticKarl 7952@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Here is an interesting graph to show how the recent HotForWords video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KIYFRhkA54">"She is all about cleav*ge"</a> fought its way from the last page to the first page on the YouTube Popular board. The video was published on Apr 25, and on Apr 26th, the video appeared on the Popular board at position #99 (page 5, #7). For those of you who are not familiar with the Popular board or who have not kept up with the recent changes, the YouTube Honors boards now have 23 videos per page instead of the usual 20 videos per page. The line graphs show the position of the video for each day. The maroon line shows the maximum position and the blue line shows the lowest position on the Popular board. At the far left of the graph is shown the equivalent page number. As you can see, the video traveled from the last page to the first page in three days. The video appeared on the first page last night at about 11 PM PDT and was on the page 1 Popular board for two hours. The video does not stay on the Popular board continuously, but is rotated in and out of the board. In my previous comments on previous pages, I called that process "modulation". As I type this, I see that the video has been rotated back on to the board at position #56, where it will have to fight its way back to the first page again. <a href="http://i39.tinypic.com/2ec26ud.jpg"> Click on the image to see the clearer and larger view <img src="http://i40.tinypic.com/153p449.jpg"></a> For those not familiar with the Honors boards: When you visit YouTube, and then click the Videos link in the upper left hand corner, you will see the first page of the Popular board. There are additional Honors boards such as "Most Viewed", "HD" and so on. Each of these boards shows the top 100 videos in that category. Not only is it an honor to be on one of these boards, but ideally one wishes to be on the first page of any of these boards as that affords the most exposure to one's video to new YouTube visitors. Since the Popular board is the default Honors board, the most cherished position is to be on page 1 of that board for the greatest exposure to new visitors. pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7892 Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:58:38 +0000 pedanticKarl 7892@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ The "Sleep with me" video's views is skyrocketing. An hour ago, I would have said it might reach 200K after midnight, but is it only 11:00 PM and the views are already at 201,842. The first graph shows that the video entitled "Sleep with me" has had the fastest rate of rise of any of the videos since I have been tracking them since last month. I was tracking the YT boards one month earlier. This is also very interesting since the "Sleep with me video" came off of the Most Viewed board yesterday (i.e. 48 hour period) and this video is still going gang busters. Also, what is interesting, I think this is the first video where there have been more comments about the title than any other video than I remember. Click the graphs to see the full screen view. <a href="http://i44.tinypic.com/2mo2kd0.jpg"> <img src="http://i41.tinypic.com/27zyset.jpg"></a> <a href="http://i44.tinypic.com/aa9i0h.jpg"> <img src="http://i43.tinypic.com/6s53dw.jpg"></a> Hs4Mm on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7579 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:25:25 +0000 Hs4Mm 7579@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ As of March 25, 09: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=AD43znU32YE">Spotlight Videos, Promoted Videos and Featured Videos</a> fatax on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7576 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:12:04 +0000 fatax 7576@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Hi Marina. Can u follow me on twitter please? My twitter is <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fatax" rel="nofollow">http://www.twitter.com/fatax</a> Kissess Captain Jack on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7554 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:27:44 +0000 Captain Jack 7554@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ <a href="http://newteevee.com/2009/04/08/youtube-sells-ads-on-hundreds-of-millions-of-video-views-per-month-adds-adsense-to-content-id/#more-22241">YouTube Sells Ads on “Hundreds of Millions of Video Views” Per Month; Adds AdSense to Content ID</a> "YouTube made an attempt to amp up partner revenues from “claimed content.” To date, partners could use YouTube’s Content ID program to find unauthorized uploads of their content, and then they could elect to show banner and display ads alongside the uploads rather than taking them down. As of today, as TechCrunch reported, YouTube is now also rolling out contextually targeted text ad overlays (a.k.a. AdSense for Video) on those videos (see the YouTube-provided screenshot above)." - Liz Gannes This part really concerns me > "The AdSense for Video ads are targeted based on user-inputed text and metadata about each video. My concern would be that user uploads don’t necessarily have great metadata, especially since users sometimes try to obfuscate titles to keep them from being taken down. A YouTube spokesperson said he thought users were more interested in having their content found than keeping it away from the copyright police." Marina obfuscated her Donkey Punch video. Doing so just shoot ones foot. You either live with your title or don't put it up. Obfuscating your title just takes way from your adsense revenue. Captain Jack on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7553 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:09:49 +0000 Captain Jack 7553@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ YouTube's current business model has failed! <a href="http://newteevee.com/2009/04/03/analyst-youtube-could-lose-470m-this-year/">YouTube Could Lose $470M This Year. </a>What you have to understand is all about the money. If you follow the money you will find an answer to about every possible question you would ever asked about how and why a business moves way it does. Just pretend for a moment that you are google and you paid $1.65 billion for YT. Now you have to make it profitable. If you stay in that mindset as you look at the changes going on at YT it will be come clear why they are doing what they are doing. Hulu is in a position to kick YT butt. <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2008/06/16/hulu-is-kicking-youtubes-ass/">Hulu is kicking Youtube’s Ass</a>. "The company projects that both web video companies with generate the same amount of revenue by the end of 2009, even though Hulu has just a fraction of the audience of YouTube." ><a href="http://jayyarow.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/hulu-about-to-generate-the-same-revenue-as-youtube/">Hulu About To Generate The Same Revenue As YouTube</a> Also read: <a href="http://jayyarow.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/hulu-already-more-profitable-than-youtube/">Hulu Already More Profitable Than YouTube?</a> "A recent Credit Suisse report projected that YouTube would generate $240 million in revenue this year, but those revenues would be overshadowed by an expected $711 million in expenses. Screen Digest predicted YouTube would only take in $120 million in revenue this year." - Liz Gannes Here is how the game works. Advertisers don't want their ads next to people like Chris Crockers and SxePhils. It connects a bad image to their brand. Imagine you are Mercedes-Benz. Would you want to be associated with Chris Crocker & SxePhil? Do you think the people who watch Chris and Phil would have the funds to buy a Merc? No major brand wants to pay top dollars in content such as this. The days of UGC are numbered unless UGC improves the quality of their product. Many people are tired of the crap on TV and YT is on the opposite end of the spectrum if UGC crap. What is left is in the middle. This is the most profitable upcoming market of online entertainment. "As if on cue, YouTube recently signed a clip distribution deal with Disney and is reportedly in the midst of a drastic redesign of its site that emphasizes premium content over UGC; it’s due to be unveiled April 16."- Chris Albrecht YouTube partners need to read the above quote and really think about how their product will fair with Premium Content. They are ahead of the game of other YTers since they are partners but how long will it last for them? The PC could dwarf partners since they will no longer be on the front pages. Users will have to dig to get to them. I hope everyone understands when I say YouTube is becoming ThemTube I mean it's all about the money for them and not for UGC. If you look at Hulu's business model you will see clearly why YT is wanting to duplicate there efforts. The only issue I see with Hulu's product is they only accept premium content. If they offered high quality UGC then they would have a very good chance of taking a large percentage of YT market share. "This is the end of YouTube as we known it, but we are living in a new economic reality. YouTube built its business without ever having any viable way to become profitable in the short term, and it cannot continue to lose money just because its users are accustomed to receiving free entertainment. That just does not cut it anymore– shareholders won’t tolerate white elephants forever. Even Google shareholders." - David Worthington leonard on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7507 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:09:04 +0000 leonard 7507@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Hula is winning in cash flow-airation. Cash flow(april 15) will make the tax texted!!!like twitter, like you-tube....depended on a "sugar-daddy"....i know nothing pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7506 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:04:27 +0000 pedanticKarl 7506@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ @logischabbaubar Thank you for that link. The rumors or speculations about YouTube has been prolific since before Google bought them and has intensified thereafter. They are a big enough target for everyone to take a swipe at them. There have been a ton of blogs that have talked about profit issues and what Google is going to do about it. Some of the speculation that I have read is that the media companies like Times Warner, Sony and others would like to own YouTube instead of pretending that YouTube is just another ISP, when in fact YouTube is already a huge search engine and YouTube will perhaps continue to morph into the largest entertainment company ever. logischabbaubar on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7504 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:36:10 +0000 logischabbaubar 7504@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Have you heard about the rumours that Google is planning a <a href="http://www.clickz.com/3633218">major redesign</a> of Youtube? This article is dated March 30th so it can't be an April Fool's joke. Google managers have repeatedly complained that Youtube isn't profitable enough and that they will address this issue now, so I'm expecting a lot of major changes to come in the next months. pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7502 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:59:26 +0000 pedanticKarl 7502@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Thoughts about the YouTube Popular board. Isn't it amazing that as soon as I point out a "skewed" or strange occurrence on the YouTube Popular board, then, that which I am referring to with a jaundiced eye, gets suspended. Above, in <a href="http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7354">one of my comments (ref: first paragraph)</a>, I said: "... misfortune of others such as "failblog" (he's got a ton of videos on both boards right now)" At this moment, (Apr 2, 5:32 AM PDT), the user failblog's YouTube account is suspended. I don't know why he is suspended, but, my bet is, with that many videos being uploaded whose content is clearly owned by others, my guess is that he was in violation of some copyright issues. Now, I never characterized 'failblog' as "spamming" the Popular board as I have done with others, whose accounts were also suspended. But, it begs the question; should YouTube restrict the number of times a user can appear on the Popular board at any given time frame? Of course it isn't the fault of the user. If YouTube has no policy regarding the number of uploads in a given time frame, then I suppose a user could possibly occupy all 100 positions at one time, which would go against the spirit of what I believe the Popular board represents. Sounds like something that YouTube should take into consideration. For example, in Feb., 'AssociatedPress' was all over the Popular board and was the leader in taking up numerous positions at any given time, but not in March. In fact, it appears to me that YouTube has done an excellent job of cleaning up the Popular board from what it was prior to Feb 19, and I'm sure that there is always room for more improvements. And so, might I want to speculate that if there are 5-10 spots on the Popular board that are now not occupied by 'failblog', perhaps those spots can now be occupied by HotForWords? <img src="http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> Lots more info coming in the near future. Captain Jack on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7479 Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:31:33 +0000 Captain Jack 7479@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ @PK, they are on to your work of watching the matrix. I have a feeling they are not really tweeking the system but this tweek is part of the plan that is now in effect. What your are doing will be duplicated by other Youtube producers in to finding ways to game the system. What they are doing is as they walk they are sweeping up their trail as they go. You're lucky you got the data that you did. gismith on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7463 Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:24:34 +0000 gismith 7463@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ @PK - Check with the survivors of the ULTRA teams that broke the ENIGMA codes. They had secrecy on their side. We don't. Like the dog that caught the car -- once the code is broken, what can be done to relieve Marina's dilemma? pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7462 Sat, 28 Mar 2009 18:57:22 +0000 pedanticKarl 7462@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ @gismith - you are correct, YouTube is ever so slightly, and occasionally making large changes. I'm sure that optimized or self-adjusting parts of the algorithm are part of their automation. In fact, I've had to add some feedback loops to my code to stay ahead of their tweaks. <img src="http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":-)" class="bb_smilies" /> In the last few days, You Tube has made some changes to the aesthetics in terms of link colors, fonts, placement and most importantly, how many videos are being placed on one page. It used to be that there were 20 videos placed on one page in a 4 by 5 matrix and with 5 pages that gives you the top 100 videos for that category. Now, the videos are placed in a 5 x odd matrix where there are now 23 videos per page from pages 1 - 4 and 8 videos on the last page. At least, there are now 3 more videos that can be presented on the first page. gismith on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7437 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:31:18 +0000 gismith 7437@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ All very interesting and civil! My guess is that Google/YT is experimenting, so the algorithm de jour will certainly be changed. It might even contain self-adjusting components. Marina should follow her own advice: Be sure you are doing what you like, as that may be your only reward. pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7419 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:48:45 +0000 pedanticKarl 7419@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Hello Captain Jack, to answer your questions: 1. "... predict when a video will show up?" 2. "... good time to upload the next video?" The answer is yes to both, but with the follow caveats. I will demonstrate the caveats using the following comparisons. Regarding question #1, as an analog, if I'm going to get on to the freeway at 6 AM, there may be 100 cars ahead of me, so it may take me an hour to get on to the freeway. If my constraint is to be able to get on to the freeway within that one hour or don't get on it at all, then you can see the problem in the types of variables that I cannot control that will affect me. What if I change the hour from 6 AM to 2 PM to get on to the freeway. I may get on to the freeway within 1 minute, but everybody is now working and won't see my video. In other words, the fierce competition at 6 AM indicated that every body and their brother wants to be seen. So, you can see that there is a balancing act of give and take, pros and cons. In terms of getting to my destination, which wasn't part of your question, but an important one, the caveat might go like this; if I live 60 miles from LA and I get into my car and travel 60 mph, can I guarantee that I will be in LA in one hour? Nope. Only in a world without people. <img src="http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":-)" class="bb_smilies" /> The variables that will slow me down or stop me are accidents, road closures due to maintenance all of which are not predictable. One of the unknowns is the number of cars on the road which will slow me down. I can have an idea from experience which time of day will get me there the quickest, but it still is no guarantee. This is analogous to the aggregate number of views of the Popular board. The competition is represented by both the number of videos one is competing against, and most importantly, how large the video views are of the competition. I touched on that in the previous pages. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think it makes that much difference when a video is uploaded. Some blogs have suggested that 11 AM or 8 PM is the best time. Personally, I believe it is 5-6 AM ET, and the local 11 AM and 8 PM hours are also good. But, again, there is the problem of unknown variables (randomness) that will thwart the best deterministic approach. For example, what happens when another user uploads 10-20 videos and most of those videos get on to the Most Viewed and Popular board like what is happening with "failblog" right now and what happened with "AssociatedPress" and last month. Those user's multiple videos displace other videos. So, you can see, that the algorithm does not work in a vacuum. In summary, the first key is to understand the variables that one cannot control, the ones that will thwart the best efforts of a YouTuber. (i.e. Grammy award videos, airplane disaster videos, multiple video uploads by other users) and the second part of the key is to understand the variables that one can control. Look at the previous pages of posts and look at Marina's comments which point to that. Consider this. I only started to capture data in early February. All of that time was used to identify the constituent parts, not of the algorithm, but the operation of the Most Viewed and Popular boards. In other words, to identify patterns and signatures of the board's operation. Right now I am focusing on specific videos that make the front pages of the boards. In other words, I am trying to identify variables that Marina can have control of, such as the selection of the type of video (e.g. Comedy vs Entertainment). pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7418 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:54:36 +0000 pedanticKarl 7418@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Hello Captain Jack, I think this is now the perfect opportunity to talk about language, context and definitions. As you know, words can be loaded with all kinds of biases and colored meanings. As you know, in the military, when using technology, there is a very precise set of phrases that can only be used at certain times to identify something. In other words the three levels of identification; probable, possible, definite. A radar operator cannot claim to have an airplane on the radar, but he can only claim to have a blip, or contact. As more data is collected, such as elevation and speed of the contact, then a possible identification of a plane can be made. And lastly, when a person has visual contact with object, one if finally able to identify the contact as a plane, helicopter, balloon or whatever. Additionally, you are probably familiar with the four levels of knowledge which goes something like this; 1. There are things I don't know that I don't know. (oblivious, ignorant) 2. There are things that I do know that I don't know. (awareness of lacking) 3. There are things that I know. (facts that I am conscious of) 4. Auto-pilot. Things I intuit, presume, take for granted (breathing, sunrise, etc) In your comment above when you say, "...if you crack this..." what do you mean by "crack" and what do you mean by "this". Since you and I have talked about this for a while, you and I know what we mean. I'm sure by "this" you mean the so called YT algorithm and crack may refer to knowing what that the constituent parts of that algorithm is. In the next few posts I will expand on that topic and will demonstrate that the so called algorithm is not the key, because focusing on it misses something entirely different -- which by the way, you have already mentioned countless times. They key is to understand the objective of the various boards (Popular, Most Viewed, HD, etc) and in what context can it help HotForWords. The real question is based on the old saying, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg" or "Who is wagging the tail?" In terms of the Popular board; is a video on the board because one is popular, or does a video become popular when one is on the Popular board. The answer is a little bit of both. If you follow my previous comments on the previous pages and follow the "No Doubt" (Gwen Stefani) videos, then you'll see that I provided a good example of that. More important concepts to follow. Captain Jack on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7416 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:07:25 +0000 Captain Jack 7416@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ @GP. That was funny! @PK, you know if you crack this and post it one the web your going to get YT producers attention like you wouldn't believe. <img src="http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/bb-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> So are you any closer of being able to predict when a video will show up? Also are you able to suggest when it would be a good time to upload the next video? pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7411 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:44:19 +0000 pedanticKarl 7411@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Marina, I thought you might find this interesting when I compare the TubeMogul graph with my webgraph, which will be released to you soon. I've got more tweaks to make. Both graphs track your videos, but do it in a different way. The TubeMogul graph tracks all of your videos in the aggregate on a daily calendar basis. I only track the last 20 videos on an individual chronological, non calendar basis. Notice how the character of both graphs is very similar. At the moment, I am more interested in very short term tracking. I know YouTube "Insight" and other companies have similar graphs, but what is not shown (yet) on mine is the many other factors that I monitor <a href="http://i40.tinypic.com/30ws509.jpg"> Click here to view the larger graph <img src="http://i43.tinypic.com/8x1m2v.jpg"> </a> Greatest Potential on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7401 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:05:27 +0000 Greatest Potential 7401@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ <blockquote>I can sell anything on the planet (even other planets).</blockquote> <img src="http://x2b.xanga.com/c00b462a4243340845442/z27837569.jpg"> "Now you've peaked my interest!" Captain Jack on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7400 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:24:18 +0000 Captain Jack 7400@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ Wow! Much has been discussed here. It's take me a few to read the comments here for the subject content here is really thought provoking. I keep forgetting to check this page. I wish there was a response email sent out. That's how I view the site most of the time now. I also wish I could comment on a past post. Too much time goes by and its too late to comment on something that is on page 2 when your on page 6. Pk, I see you've been busy. Your really into figuring out this algorithm hu? Good for you. You know once you figure it out YT (if they are smart, humm never mind) will change the algorithm. I have a simple answer to game the system. One has to follow time tested marketing. Content is King and sexy sells! 22 years in the biz I know what I'm talking about. I can sell anything on the planet (even other planets). Not only could I sell a freezer to an Eskimo, I can sell it to an Eskimo that has no electricity in his house. I've done half of this claim already. I love all your little graphics. I'll have to take a look at them in detail. Oh and I learned of something that may shock some people. YouTube to vanish into obscurity. Yeah I didn't believe it either, but I seen the writing on the wall.. YouTube needs to adapt or die! Google could feed $$ them but if they don't get on the band wagon they will be just like a library of video but not the place to get for the hot items with this new media coming out. I'm so excited!!!! pedanticKarl on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7354 Sun, 22 Mar 2009 05:32:04 +0000 pedanticKarl 7354@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ First a quick recap: As I mentioned above, most people will click on a video when it contains something of a feminine nature and it includes the color red. I failed to re-iterate that point above, but the color red is certainly dominant in advertising for many reasons which has been documented profusely. Additional thumbnails that get attention is when it involves animals, specifically cats, misfortune of others such as "failblog" (he's got a ton of videos on both boards right now) and news items from AP and CBS and others and comedic videos and not to be understated is the Asian influence as can be seen by the many videos that take the spotlight due to that audience. Review of HotForWords Videos As I mentioned early on, I am attacking the problem of understanding the Popular board from many angles. Below is a table and graph combination of the most recent 29 videos from HotForWords. Click the image to see the larger image. Notice on the far right hand side there are four columns which track the HFW video positions for the Most Viewed board and the Popular board. I had not been tracking the Most Viewed board, that's why that column is mostly gray and the positions 7 and 12 have been grayed out as those numbers were captured in mid stream. I did not think that the Most Viewed board was important in relation to the Popular board, but from my early indications, I think the two are very related, at least in what it says about the placement of a video in relation to all of the others. Notice the "Pop" column which is the HFW's Popular board positions. Notice that the first set of numbers were recorded in very early Feb and I started my development in late Jan as YouTube had just switched the default board from Most Viewed to Popular, hence this forum. <a href="http://i42.tinypic.com/2ujjp21.jpg">Click to view larger image <img src="http://i39.tinypic.com/121z71l.jpg"></a> Notice the orange cells in the Popular columns. Those cells represent the opportunity for a HFW video to have been placed on the Popular board, but it did not make the threshold. That threshold was very high, that is why you will also see that prior to Feb 19, all of the HFW videos were on Pg5. Remember, I talked about <a href="http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/5#post-7103">Feb 19 before, here.</a> Notice that the Average Views for all 29 videos is 160,862 views and the Popular board was about 200,000 views, and those videos with the orange cells have very low views. To get on the board, one not only has to be withing the threshold, but, most importantly what other videos is YT throwing on the board as competition. I talked about that on the prior page. Keep in mind, the threshold is not a fixed number. It keeps moving with the number of views of the competition. Notice that after Feb 19, all HFW videos have gotten on the board, but most importantly, they have been placed in higher valued pages. The highes valued position so far has been #23 with the "Sexting" video. The reason for the HFW videos appearing on the board more often and in more valued positions is because the Popular board views average has dropped from the high 200K views down to 129K views as I pointed that out on the earlier page. On my desktop of course, I have a ton more stats that I could talk about for many days. For Marina, I'll send you a link in a few days whereby you can track those stats of that graph above, live. originalistrick on "YouTube's Most Popular Category" http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/topic/youtubes-most-popular-category-now-official/page/6#post-7335 Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:00:49 +0000 originalistrick 7335@http://www.hotforwords.com/forums/ What a great observation/point. Thanks, PK.