CHAPTER 10: MOST INTERESTING

I absolutely love YouTube. It is the social media site that I use the most. I think it is because I get fascinated and invested in other people's lives. It's borderline toxic. Does anyone else relate? I find myself going on YouTube when I am bored. My screen time isn’t typically too high compared to my friends. However, YouTube is the app that a majority of my screen time comes from. I often get into a mindless hole of endless scrolling. Without even realizing, I spent an hour on YouTube. It's so dangerous! 

I really liked reading section three. It is so interesting how much video marketing has taken the world by storm. I have never thought about it until now. Reading this section challenged me to think of the last time I watched a video. It was literally 15 minutes ago! That makes me feel bad but also proves the book's point. I think YouTube is the perfect site for advertising. We talked in class about how much video advertising increases sales. I think that having a visual for a product might increase sales because it shows exactly what a customer will be getting. I think that YouTube’s algotherm is just like all the other social media algotherms. If you watch a video, like it and share it with your friends, YouTube’s algotherm will automatically keep showing you those videos. YouTube’s goal is to keep you coming back to the app. If I keep seeing cute dog shorts, of course I will come back! Something I learned was the three categories to personalize recommendations. Which are personalization, performance and external factors. I think that personalization is the most important factor in the algorithm. If YouTube’s main goal is to get users to come back, personalization is key. 

Another section that I enjoyed reading was section seven. One thing I thought was interesting was that 67% of online shoppers play a video to make a purchase decision. I thought that number would be higher. When I watch ads, especially items that the algorithm knows I have searched for, it makes me want the item more. I agree with the book when it says, “Shoppers are great viewers!”