YouTube could have good ads but their interface is horrible.
The ad interrupts the video, and I don't just mean it cuts in the middle of something. The problem is two timelines, the video and the ad. The ads make jumping around difficult because you switch between these timelines. Sometimes you always trigger an ad at around the same point. And you can't forward over the ads so if you're jumping forward and backward in the video, looking for something, the whole experience is choppy.
Obviously, the video creator could be asked to set N points in the video where ads would fit more naturally. Maybe they already do this, I don't know, but definitely a lot or most of video creators don't use that feature.
YouTube ads might be all right if they were just part of the video timeline, just like a tv episode with ads recorded on VHS.
I might not bother to j/l and left/right over short ads but watch them instead. And if I were seeking back and forth looking for interesting bits of the video I would spend time seeking back and forth over the ads as well which would be a point of contact to make me stop for a while and finish watching the ad too, if it seemed good.
Magazine ads don't force me to watch them for 5 seconds either, and they're worth paying money for. YouTube could very well do the same and I'd welcome a more streamlined, linear watching experience instead.
The ad interrupts the video, and I don't just mean it cuts in the middle of something. The problem is two timelines, the video and the ad. The ads make jumping around difficult because you switch between these timelines. Sometimes you always trigger an ad at around the same point. And you can't forward over the ads so if you're jumping forward and backward in the video, looking for something, the whole experience is choppy.
Obviously, the video creator could be asked to set N points in the video where ads would fit more naturally. Maybe they already do this, I don't know, but definitely a lot or most of video creators don't use that feature.
YouTube ads might be all right if they were just part of the video timeline, just like a tv episode with ads recorded on VHS.
I might not bother to j/l and left/right over short ads but watch them instead. And if I were seeking back and forth looking for interesting bits of the video I would spend time seeking back and forth over the ads as well which would be a point of contact to make me stop for a while and finish watching the ad too, if it seemed good.
Magazine ads don't force me to watch them for 5 seconds either, and they're worth paying money for. YouTube could very well do the same and I'd welcome a more streamlined, linear watching experience instead.