by Chris Banescu –
YouTube, currently the largest video platform in the world, does not provide search functionality for your liked or saved videos. You’re allowed to search all YouTube videos for specific key words and terms, but you cannot search solely within your own lists of liked or saved videos.
Google, the owner of YouTube—who fancies itself as an innovative company and a leader in web search technology—did not bother to provide users with basic search ability on its own video platform. This simple functionality should have been a no-brainer. Ask any user with more than a few dozen liked or saved videos, and you’ll find near-universal agreement that searching these videos should be a given.
This search failure is especially annoying to long-term and active users of YouTube, who help the company be successful and profitable. These frequent users help increase total views and grow viewership since they constantly view and share video clips.
YouTube’s revenue model depends on selling ads and monetizing approximately five billion daily views that its platform now handles. Google is insuring these valuable users are continually frustrated. The more videos they like and save, the harder it is for them to locate a specific video, then view or share it.
Google executives are doing the opposite of what they should be doing. Rather than making it more convenient to use its platform, YouTube is making it more difficult. They are annoying and alienating loyal and active users, instead of supporting and encouraging them to use YouTube even more.
Given what we’ve experienced with several Google platforms and applications in the last few years (more on that in future posts), it seems the end-user’s needs and concerns are last on the list of priorities for company executives. Ignoring existing customers’ feedback and recommendations has become a pervasive attitude from Google management.
Hopefully new and existing competitors are paying attention. Alternative video platforms have been given a great opportunity to entice users away from YouTube, by offering them similar video streaming and sharing capabilities, and also giving them basic search, save, and share functionality.
Free-market competition is always best in delivering better value and improved quality, and helping consumers have real choices. It’s time for Google and YouTube management to learn this lesson.
(Photo credit Pixabay)
