YouTube Preference Poll

[mmorris]

Please vote.

I don't mean to be divisive in asking this question.

Most poll questions seem to want to lead you into a response. To be clear, I am simply trying to understand the large differences between the number of thread views and the number of YouTube views. It makes it look like a lot of people have a problem with this practice.

On the other hand, it could simply be a lot of lighthearted clicks on a thread that don't lead to serious thread involvement.

Curious minds want to know.

In the case of responding "None of the above," please flesh out your response motive to enhance the information gathered by this poll

 

[mmorris]

Irrelevant

 

[Walkalong]

I frown on people who are only interested in drawing traffic to get u-tube hits and are not posting to further THRs interest or benifit members with helpful knowledge etc.

Folks who use a video link as part of a discussion thread is fine.

Per the rules drive by links are out.

Members like to show off cool stuff they did or made via a video and that's all good.

The discussion needs to be focused here, with the video as a sideline helpful to that discussion.

IMHO of course. It's all open to discussion and a judgment call.

I don't think the poll has enough options. Too limiting.

 

[Schwing]

I watch youtube videos almost every day and don't much care who makes them as long as they are instructional. I suffer from an almost laughable condition called Developmental Topographical Disorientation. I can't read maps or blue prints very well so things like diagrams make me feel illiterate.

I know I can read my manuals but it sure is much quicker and easier to grasp how to field strip a particular firearm or perform maintenance on my press by watching someone else do it and follow along. I have also used youtube to become familiar with things like doing trigger jobs on my revolvers.

As a side note, I don't even know how much money I have saved over the years by doing repairs on all kinds of things around the house by watching youtube videos.

 

[Reloadron]

I have to agree with Walkalong. I have no problem with a U-Tube or other video for that matter as long as it serves a purpose. If a member ask "How To" and there is a good video on the subject I have no problem with it. However, that said, the video should be described in detail by the person posting it.

Ron

 

[FireInCairo]

I think videos makes things more interesting. That being said, I like the more general videos that appeal to everyone versus a video about a particular gun unless I'm interested in that gun.

For example, I watch chopinbloc's vids because they're usually general videos showing balistics stuff.

I tried to post a funny "A day in the life of Miculek" video here last week and it was deleted as outside the guidelines.

The stats imply people want videos, so maybe the mods should loosen up their hand on them>?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If a thread starts with, "You just have to see this" no I don't. There are limited times I will look at a video like Walkalong suggested. (very limited)

 

[Walkalong]

I tried to post a funny "A day in the life of Miculek" video here last week and it was deleted as outside the guidelines.

It was deleted as a drive by. Check the rules on that one.

6. Drive-by posting is not allowed. A drive-by is: (1) Starting off a discussion (thread) with the posting of a link, or other copied content, without any meaningful commentary describing what the link or copied content is about or what there is to discuss; or (2) posts with no meaningful or contributory content.

I enjoy a good video on guns as well as I do a good post. As long as the linked to video brings something to the table here at THR, that's generally OK.

Many videos are like badly written posts, which I gloss over, and are hard to watch. Too many videos are 90% BS and 10% good content. And that doesn't even count the ones with obnoxious music drowning everything out.

But there are also some excellent ones out there.

 

[Rule3]

So many many videos are filled with useless junk, jittery cameras, meet the Wife and Dog, take forever to get to the point, have loud music. some guy dropping stuff, smoking, fiddle with the camera etc,trying to be cool or hip.

If they are clean, to the point and don't start off with:

"Hey You Tubers its Mall Ninja here with an episode of blah blah,"

Then I will watch them, if under 10 minutes.

 

[Dudedog]

Some of them are great, a lot of them do make gun owners look bad because (to put it politely) the video poster acting like a moron doing something unsafe or barely legal.

I have seen good info on press setup and other reloading topics on U tube.

 

[Dontkillbill]

I try and do a video every month and hopefully people find them interesting or it makes them interested in something. I just posted something on powder coating and a Smith and Wesson shotgun that is some what under known. I do this because its fun not for money I can prove it If you watch it great if you pass over it cool. I make a few hundred dollars a year but spend 1000s making the videos.

If a video is gun or reloading I want people from the this forum to watch and add to my knowledge in comments. Polite comments LOL. We can pass down a lot of information to people with this media and it will be there forever.

 

[Cheesemaker]

Are we not (well most of us) saying the same thing here? The video needs to be relevant.

I have searched YouTube for videos of a firearm I was thinking of purchasing in the past. It helped me make the call based on ease of take down steps for example. Sure I could read the manual- but seeing it is worth many times simply reading it.

The poll option "I am willing to watch YouTube videos made by, or suggested for viewing by, THR members" is the most popular - to date. This option probably implies it is relevant to the topic - the description could be a bit more explicit?

The issues are the same with or without links. Irrelevant is not permitted.

No one has to click the link. The internet is the internet after all - lot's of opinions (like we see in this thread ) , lots of garbage, some fact.

 

[Rule3]

My "favorite" is 10 minutes of opening the outer box and then the actual product box.

 

[Paddy]

I hate rules.

 

[WelshShooter]

It's all about context. Pictures can say a 1,000 words and video even more so. Sometimes things can be difficult to put into words and a picture/video can help to no end. For example, if you were trying to explain how to take apart a K31 bolt and put back together and you had a handy technique, would it not be invaluable to shoot a video and include it as a thread with a description? I wouldn't see any problem with that.

At the end of the day, if there's a thread just asking you to watch their videos then there's nothing forcing you to do so. If people want to make clickbait threads then they should knock themselves out.

 

[mmorris]

Thank you all for your responses to my poll.

Walkalong, you are absolutely accurate in your comments about the weakness of the poll questions. I should know better than to try to casually develop a poll to answer a question that is better asked directly. Let me just say that the responses I have gotten have served to answer the question I tried to ask.

So, what is the question that was on my mind?

What am I doing wrong to make 80 out of the 100 people who read a thread decide to not look at a video I linked in the thread?

Turns out the answer is that the forum model is more like a mall than a technical seminar. In a mall, people browse around drifting in and out of shops, sometimes stopping in stores of interest. It's not surprising that 80% of the drop-ins aren't interested in your shop. No offense intended... just no interest in your stuff.

In a technical seminar, everyone in the room will participate to some degree in the discussion at hand (if only to point out your errors). In that room, if 8 out of 10 people start yawning and looking at their watches, I feel like I'm doing something wrong. This is my default mode.

So, I share the opinions expressed here that many YouTubes are badly done (incorrect information/poor video technique/personality issues), and I guess I wanted to reassure myself that I am not part of that group.

 

[buck460XVR]

I answered "none of the above", because you were vague about video content. Seems nowadays everyone has a gun video on YouTube from things like how to reload ammo to a hottie getting hot brass down her skimpy tubetop. I wonder how many "looks" the guy shooting the lawnmower with tannerite would have gotten if he hadn't blown off his leg. I guess there are so many tasteless videos out there that I have been turned off for the most part.

 

[GBExpat]

... In a technical seminar, everyone in the room will participate to some degree in the discussion at hand (if only to point out your errors). In that room, if 8 out of 10 people start yawning and looking at their watches, I feel like I'm doing something wrong. This is my default mode. ...

Perhaps the seminars that you front are different, but I have never attended a seminar, technical or otherwise, that wasn't at least 80% fluff (I have another term that I think describes it perfectly, but ... ).

I even suggested to the company where I used to work that all seminars should be offered in 2 formats: the multi-day time-wasting role-playing mad "fun" format & a couple-hour impart-the-information-so-that-we-can-get-back-to-work format.

Not well received. <chuckle>

As Rule3 (among others) mentioned, I have found so-o-o-o-o many videos to be almost worthlessly "unfocused" ... so I hesitate to waste my time even clicking on a link, y'know?

O'course, I am always unhappy watching, for example, the weather segments on TV. I want them to give me the details of the weather so that I can continue with other things and they want to yuck it up with each other, and show me pics of kids playing in snow, and tell me about so much ... stuff ... but the weather forecast. AAaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggggh!

There ... I fell much better now. Thank you.

 

[mmorris]

OK, I picked the wrong term for what I actually did.

Classes would be correct.

Twenty-five years, four hours a day (in class face-to-face), five days a week for eight weeks. Repeat until retirement. Carburetors, fuel injection, emission controls and basic DC electronics. Not much fluff except for the bad jokes I told to emphasize points for better retention. What I did was a little more on-task than seminars, and their interest and participation in my classes was motivated by the pursuit of a diploma. On the other hand, I was motivated by the concern that if they couldn't perform their future jobs, the school would look bad.

It took a while after I retired to recognize that regular people aren't as interested in what you have to say as the students you are about to test.

Now I just stay home and wait for the range to clear out.
These girls don't listen to me, either.

 

[CraigC]

Turns out the answer is that the forum model is more like a mall than a technical seminar. In a mall, people browse around drifting in and out of shops, sometimes stopping in stores of interest. It's not surprising that 80% of the drop-ins aren't interested in your shop. No offense intended... just no interest in your stuff.

Yes but we don't all have the exact same interests. Some overlap, some don't. We also tend to have different opinions and preferences. Let's be honest, not everything posted here is factual. Not everybody is going to read the same thread for the same reason, or get the same thing out of it. What is mouth watering to one may be boring or utter nonsense to another. What may appeal as gospel to some, may raise BS flags to others. That said, I watch YouTube videos all the time. Like anything else, there's a lot of crap to be waded through but there are also gems to be found.

So if a THR member has found a video they thought was worthwhile and it's on a subject in which I have interest, I will watch it.

The discussion needs to be focused here, with the video as a sideline helpful to that discussion.

It would have to be. The comment sections on YouTube are always a disaster.

 

[mdi]

I used to watch you tube videos regarding reloading, but stopped a few years ago. I saw too many that were questionable in content (saw some reel stoopid stuff) some that were very poorly put together, and the author talked waaaay tooooo much. So, why bother?

I'm sure there are some reloading related videos that are worth watching, but if I want good reliable information I just to go "old school" and read a book...

 

[Patocazador]

I don't hit links in posts. No how, No time, Nowhere.

 

[guyfromohio]

The majority of my THR is done when I should be doing something else, so I limit the noise...hence volume...hence video.

 

[Rule3]

mmorrris,

I did not post on your other thread on the Lee Bench Primer, but I did watch the video and it was very good.

Good video, no fluff, and the Joe Friday method (just the facts!)

 

[Double Naught Spy]

What am I doing wrong to make 80 out of the 100 people who read a thread decide to not look at a video I linked in the thread?

You have to understand that just because somebody clicks on the thread doesn't mean that they will read the thread or read it with much interest. I know I click on a lot of threads, do a quick scan, and realize that the thread doesn't hold the information I wanted, doesn't have anything interesting, holds information contrary to my views, doesn't appear to be credible, etc. If any of those things happens, I am not likely to further spend time watching linked videos or reading linked articles.

I just looked at your previous thread. I didn't click on the video. Why?

The thread seemed to start off with an attitude issue and you seem to be responding to comments of "two jerks" in making the video. Not sure what that is about, but no reason to follow through.

You stated no relevance for the video in the opening before posting the video. Why do I need to watch the video?

And I don't understand your issue. You said, "For those who are interested..." Well, not everybody is interested.

You have a new toy. Cool. You don't seem to be saying anything special about it to make anyone necessarily want to watch the video. You described what you did, so why should anyone who isn't interested in doing the same thing necessarily want to watch the video?

The video is about a very specific tool with a specific modification. That limits viewership as well.

After posting the video, you include information expressing your ignorance/inexperience of operation and inattention to the topic, something about a granddaughters and playing with the video gear. These sorts of comments do not instill any sense of wanting to watch the video. In short, you are saying that you made a video showing off something you don't really understand and didn't pay attention to when making the video. That doesn't sound like good reasons for a person to want to watch the video.

Make sense?

As noted above, use of AV tools involves proper integration of the medium into the discussion at hand. To get people to view your video, they should probably need to have a clear understanding of why the video of part of the discussion and why they need to watch the video. This is for both logical reasons and promotional reasons. Like selling a product, if you want someone to watch the video, you have to create some need for them to watch. That need will often be one or more of the points or insights brought out in the video.

Always keep in mind that just because you made a video doesn't mean that it is relevant or necessary, though it may be interesting, but folks won't get that far if they don't have reason to believe that it is relevant, necessary, or interesting. Here, you sunk your own boat in making this come across.