YouTube Crackdown On Sexy Videos Sweeps Up Illumistream in GOOG
By Silicon el 05-Sep-2008
New York-based FullTurn Media, maker of racy sex-ed videos under the illumistream brand, was once one of YouTube's (GOOG) most-watched producers. Now it's struggling to get a tenth of its traffic on the site.
Earlier this summer, the company was flying high -- averaging a million views a day. But that ended in June when, in one fell swoop, YouTube classified most of its popular videos as "adult" -- which requires YouTube viewers to register to watch them. It also took the videos out of contention for advertising spots in YouTube's partner program, and removed them from all of YouTube's leaderboards.
Why? FullTurn's videos address sexual health themes with porn-like images and production values, and used to dominate YouTube's leaderboard with suggestive thumbnails and click-friendly titles such as "Get Friendly With the G-Spot, " "Handling Too Much Man," and "Micropenis." (The videos are available in original form on one of the company's sites, sexhealthguru.com.)
YouTube's forcing people to register to watch FullTurn's videos reduced their video views from a million a day to about 100,000. Before the removals, YouTube accounted for 80% of FullTurn's video views and 20% of revenue.
YouTube's move appears to have been part of a broader crackdown on partner videos deemed advertising-unfriendly. YouTube, of course, is under pressure to increase ad revenue. At the same time, it is also by far the biggest venue for online video, and any small change causes major tremors in the small but growing Web economy of Web video.
The company didn't respond to a query about its standards for partner videos. Other producers that spent time in YouTube's penalty box included FordModels, SportsIllustratedSwimwear, and NoGoodTV.
Technically, FullTurn was suspended from YouTube for "thumbnail gaming," or using images for video that don't accurately reflect the content. It's a practice that annoys some YouTube partners, and can litter the leaderboards with deceptive videos. Among the offending thumbnails: a woman suggestively eating a banana on a video about nutrition, and a picture of two turtles in flagrante for a video about pheromones.
In its attempts to earn its way back into YouTube's good graces, FullTurn has gone through and re-edited its catalog. But while suspension from YouTube is quick, getting reinstated can be an arduous, opaque process. Producers complain there are no clear definitions of what crosses the line or specific standards. Instead, YouTube has a committee that reviews each case and can accept or reject videos for any reason.
See Also: YouTube Payola: Is Anyone Paying For Views? Experts Agree: YouTube Dominates. But By How Much? YouTube Finally Figures Out How To Make Money: Big Ads On Its Homepage YouTube Exec: We're Selling Advertising Against 'Less Than 3%' Of Our Videos
Conventional wisdom on YouTube: Eyeballs go in, but no money comes out. Google can't figure out how to sell ads against the videos it shows, so the people who make YouTube's videos a [..] Read complete article
Published 27-Jul-2008 by Silicon in General Read 0 times. More hits in
Google today announced that it has launched YouTube Insight - a tool for giving insight into who is watching your videos.
So today I logged into YouTube to see what information I could glean about the viewers of my videos. from the new stats. Here’s what I learned about who is watching my videos:
Across my Channel [...] [..] Read complete article
Published 15-May-2008 by Darren Rowse in Miscellaneous Blog Tips Read 16 times. More hits in
Everyone knows that YouTube is a great place to find videos featuring dogs on skateboards, or Avril Lavigne, or other hehheh lookit that! stuff. Also available on Google's site: An inside look at exactl [..] Read complete article
Published 10-Oct-2008 by Silicon in General Read 0 times. More hits in
AP - Two teenagers who drove to Oniontown after a series of YouTube videos portrayed the hamlet as a run-down, backwoods dump were pelted with rocks by an angry group of young residents, authorities said. YahooTechNews [..] Read complete article
Published 05-Jul-2008 by Nerdblog in General Read 6 times. More hits in
XBOX 360 Gamers Weblog
Gossip, news and leaks for obsessive gamers Kotaku As if you don't waste enough of your time in a gamer's haze, here's Kotaku: a gamer's guide that goes beyond the press release. Gossip, cheats, criticism, design, nostalgia, pred
Crackdown fans, all hope is not lost. You do have a reason to get out of bed, clear the room of Taco Bell wrappers, put on a smile and face the world. Crackdown 2? It could still happen, says Colin Macdonal [..] Read complete article
Published 07-Aug-2008 by Michael McWhertor in Realtime Worlds apb Crackdown Xbox 360 Read 0 times. More hits in
Big announcement from the weekend: YouTube (GOOG) will allow creators of videos to sell their own ads on the site, rather than accept whatever ads YouTube is able to sell.
In theory, [..] Read complete article
Published 10-Jun-2008 by Silicon in GOOG Read 0 times. More hits in
XBOX 360 Gamers Weblog
Gossip, news and leaks for obsessive gamers Kotaku As if you don't waste enough of your time in a gamer's haze, here's Kotaku: a gamer's guide that goes beyond the press release. Gossip, cheats, criticism, design, nostalgia, pred
Yup, Google (who own YouTube) want some more money. They've today announced a new feature to be implemented on YouTube that will let you buy games. And proper, real games to boot. They'll be rolling out Amazon buttons underneath certain game videos. Like, you watch a [..] Read complete article
Published 08-Oct-2008 by Luke Plunkett in Google Retail YouTube Read 1 times. More hits in
Video-sharing and storage site Motionbox is now offering some users an HD option. The NY-based service's premium members, who pay $30 a year, will be able to upload and play HD videos; the company promises that the site's free users will also see a noticable upgrade in the quality of their standard-def videos.
We don't think conventional video-sharing sites like YouTube and the YouTube-w [..] Read complete article
Published 31-Mar-2008 by Silicon in General Read 10 times. More hits in
The most popular videos on the Web are usually music videos, low-brow jokes and faux porn. But occasionally something more weighty bubbles up: Last month it was Barack Obama's speech [..] Read complete article
Published 16-Apr-2008 by Silicon in GOOG Read 0 times. More hits in
Reuters - Just what the television
industry needs, increased competition from those wacky YouTube
videos that 68 million people watch every month. YahooTechNews [..] Read complete article
Published 17-Jul-2008 by Nerdblog in General Read 4 times. More hits in
YouTube's newest feature: "video annotations" that let producers add chat bubbles and links to their videos.
Like the video on YouTube, the chat bubbles could either [..] Read complete article
Published 04-Jun-2008 by Silicon in GOOG Read 7 times. More hits in
Warning We are not responsible of information posted from external feeds. Use this website at your own risk.
Notice: We will not be liable for any direct or indirect loss or damage arising under this disclaimer or in connection with our website, whether arising in tort, contract, or otherwise.