Youtube competitor app instead of website?

jasong · 2014-02-16, 21:12

I've been thinking about the pile of feces that is Youtube. It's so damn big that it's impossible for other websites to compete. But what about a website agnostic app that can aggregate videos from any site similar to Youtube, including Youtube? They could make it in such a way that Google won't have a way to be 100% certain it's the app, then it'd be harder for them to ban it if they decided they wanted to.

That way, it'd be easier for people to move themselves off of Youtube. People could start with copies of their videos on the other site, and then we'd encourage them to prefer a more dependable non-Youtube website. Or maybe more than one.

CRGreathouse · 2014-02-16, 21:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasong

I've been thinking about the pile of feces that is Youtube. It's so damn big that it's impossible for other websites to compete. But what about a website agnostic app that can aggregate videos from any site similar to Youtube, including Youtube? They could make it in such a way that Google won't have a way to be 100% certain it's the app, then it'd be harder for them to ban it if they decided they wanted to.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cease_and_desist

retina · 2014-02-16, 22:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasong

They ...

Ah. The mythical "they" that make and do this kind of stuff. Perhaps YOU could become "they" and make this new app? It is easy to complain and it gets no social cred, but making an actual app that people find useful and want ... that is something to be proud of.

TheMawn · 2014-02-17, 01:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasong

I've been thinking about the pile of feces that is Youtube.

YouTube is one of the greatest things in the world, spawned from THE greatest thing in the world and shame on your elitist ass to go and take a dump on it.

Free videos available to watch without accounts.
Free accounts.
Free uploading to people with accounts.

It's all paid for by the occasional 15 or 30 second ad (30 second ads are skippable). At no cost to you, you have access to everything anyone in the world feels the need to say.

Go on and tell me what is so wrong with YouTube. And before you say it's the overwhelming majority of shitty videos, let me tell you right now that this would be an even shittier argument. I can go into Wal-Mart and be sickened by a plastic depiction of two gay unicorns fucking but that doesn't give me any right to then say that Wal-Mart is bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasong

It's so damn big that it's impossible for other websites to compete.

twitch.tv is my best counter example.

Also, when did size ever make it hard to compete. Could it be they're satisfying enough different markets under one model that nobody CAN make a better service?

EDIT: Regarding twitch, I am actually disappointed when a VOD is only available on YouTube because Twitch is better, despite your ~~irrevocable evidence~~ backless claim that nobody can compete.

jasong · 2014-02-17, 02:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by retina

Ah. The mythical "they" that make and do this kind of stuff. Perhaps YOU could become "they" and make this new app? It is easy to complain and it gets no social cred, but making an actual app that people find useful and want ... that is something to be proud of.

Admittedly, there are probably a thousand people that say something should be so and only 1 in a thousand that will actually try to make it so, but with Youtube it's doubly frustrating. They continuously screw up stuff when there's no obvious reason why it would even be a remotely good idea to try to change it at all.

Youtube shouldn't be a continuous beta, but that's what it is.

jasong · 2014-02-17, 03:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRGreathouse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cease_and_desist

Hopefully cease and desist orders wouldn't be legal with the vague concept of Youtube being defended.

The question wouldn't even come up if more people realized the difference between a literal democracy and a vernacular democracy. Nowadays, I don't think even the judges realize the difference.

Case law, destroyer of American liberties. Actually, the concept more than the individual cases.

chappy · 2014-02-17, 03:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMawn

I can go into Wal-Mart and be sickened by a plastic depiction of two gay unicorns fucking but that doesn't give me any right to then say that Wal-Mart is bad.

Just so's we are are on the same page Jasong did not change his avatar to be gay unicorns, and he's been pretty cool about the whole thing. (discussion starts at post 692 and continues past the bump.)

CRGreathouse · 2014-02-17, 03:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasong

Hopefully cease and desist orders wouldn't be legal with the vague concept of Youtube being defended.

You were suggesting that apps should be written which blatantly steal YouTube's content, then cloak themselves so the theft is not noticed. I think this would cause a C&D pretty fast, and I don't think this would be a vague notion.

jasong · 2014-02-18, 10:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRGreathouse

You were suggesting that apps should be written which blatantly steal YouTube's content, then cloak themselves so the theft is not noticed. I think this would cause a C&D pretty fast, and I don't think this would be a vague notion.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. The app wouldn't steal content, it would simply allow people to subscribe to different streams on different websites. So, if you wanted to watch an old twitch.tv video, then switch to a Youtube video, it would be more seamless than if you interacted with the websites directly.

Basically, it would work exactly like an RSS feed. Which now makes me wonder if an RSS-type setup could be done with Youtube content.

CRGreathouse · 2014-02-18, 17:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasong

Sorry if I wasn't clear. The app wouldn't steal content, it would simply allow people to subscribe to different streams on different websites. So, if you wanted to watch an old twitch.tv video, then switch to a Youtube video, it would be more seamless than if you interacted with the websites directly.

At what point are you not stealing YouTube content? (In addition to, e.g., twitch.tv content.)

bsquared · 2014-02-18, 18:02

You mean I gotta interact with *two* different websites. Lame. Can't someone just know what vidz I want to watch and inject them directly into my brain? I'm tired of moving my mouse pointer finger and eyes and stuff.

2014-02-16, 21:12	#1
jasong "Jason Goatcher" Mar 2005 110110110011₂ Posts	Youtube competitor app instead of website? I've been thinking about the pile of feces that is Youtube. It's so damn big that it's impossible for other websites to compete. But what about a website agnostic app that can aggregate videos from any site similar to Youtube, including Youtube? They could make it in such a way that Google won't have a way to be 100% certain it's the app, then it'd be harder for them to ban it if they decided they wanted to. That way, it'd be easier for people to move themselves off of Youtube. People could start with copies of their videos on the other site, and then we'd encourage them to prefer a more dependable non-Youtube website. Or maybe more than one.

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2014-02-18, 18:02	#11
bsquared "Ben" Feb 2007 3,617 Posts	You mean I gotta interact with two different websites. Lame. Can't someone just know what vidz I want to watch and inject them directly into my brain? I'm tired of moving my mouse pointer finger and eyes and stuff.