Another way Steemit/STEEM can rule the Internet. Go after 1 Billion+ Youtube users
Background
With nearly one-third of the Internet population already on Youtube and as Internet infrastructure continues to improve globally, video content will be the primary way people consume content. In fact recently angel investor Jason Calacanis said there is a chance Youtube could be more valuable than Google's search division. (CNBC Interview Here)
Here are some Youtube statitics:
- YouTube has over a billion users — almost one-third of all people on the Internet — and every day people watch hundreds of millions of hours on YouTube and generate billions of views.
- YouTube overall, and even YouTube on mobile alone, reaches more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S.
- Growth in watch time on YouTube has accelerated and is up at least 50% year over year for three straight years.
- The number of people watching YouTube per day is up 40% y/y since March 2014.
- The number of users coming to YouTube who start at the YouTube homepage, similar to the way they might turn on their TV, is up more than 3x y/y.
Description
It would be great to put resources in a Steemit version of Youtube. It doesn't mean we need to recreate an entire Youtube from scratch although years down the road that could be a consideration. Steemit or a STEEM startup can create a video-only platform that serves up Youtube content where people can get paid the Steemit way: for voting, producing original content, and curating. In the beginning curators could just search for any good Youtube videos on SteemTube from a searchbar using a Youtube API, click a button to tag it as a post and let others comment & vote. There are probably other alternative user interfaces & user experiences we can consider (UI/UX).
It would probably be more of a natural fit for Steemit Inc. to produce such a platform with the experience they already have on Steemit. It may not take too much additional time and resources compared to the value of such a project. However if not Steemit Inc., a STEEM startup can develop this platform on the STEEM blockchain.
Youtube Problems:
- Content may overemphasize superficial popularity
- Navigation is stale & too busy
- Discovery may be time-consuming
- Comments are superficial and not constructive
Solution:
- Allow STEEM value-based voting to allow people to distinguish between popularity & value for comments, content & discovery
- Create an alternative UI/UX to increase stickiness (I prefer minimalism, but whatever works works.)
Developer Requirements
- Great UI/UX to be able to vastly improve on Youtube's current website
- Understanding of Youtube APIs
- Features: Search, Post to Steemit/STEEM On Click, Voting, Commenting
- Additional: Chrome Plugin - click on external video to share to SteemTube.
- Recommended: ReactJS/Javascript developers - I believe this is the frontend & universal stack of the future. However any stack will work.. if it works it works.
Note: There is actually a popular ReactJS/Redux tutorial on Udemy from Stephen Grider that teaches you how to build a Youtube search website using the Youtube API! I went through it and it was a fun project and great way to learn ReactJS. I always thought that his project tutorial could be the beginning of a great startup. He gives you the boilerplate and all you have to do is tweak the UI/UX and add the Steemit blockchain features. This would be a great project for a Steemian!
There are various ways this can happen:
- Steemit Inc. can just integrate this in its roadmap.
- It can be a community funded project like this post: "Reducing friction for critical mass adoption of steemit"
(BTW I'm really excited about the potential of the Reddit cross-posting bot) - We have the basis for an RFP similar to this fantastic Wordpress Plugin effort on this post: "Request for Proposal: STEEM Wordpress Plugin"
So what do you all think about this idea? Any other thoughts? Would you like to see this happen? Would you like to contribute?