New Media Blog # 5

Courtney Cooper
Jenna Condit
Sarah Crowe
Natalie Couling

1. We decided to pick an episode on http://www.hulu.com called ER, which is from NBC. This particular website features a full length episode called Heal Thyself. Before you begin to watch the show, commercials appear. Throughout the actual episode there are commercials as well, such as campaign ads, business ads, and more. Also, around the actual clip itself, there are different viewing options such as full screen, lighting, etc. Toward the bottom of the page, there are different options like discussion, reviews, and other related videos.The discussion boards allow you and other viewers to discuss what you liked and didn't like about the show and the reviews give you a perspective about what others liked about the show. You can rate the videos as well.

2. One of the shows we found on http://www.youtube.com was Family Guy. The site offers all different kinds of clips of the show as well as episodes broken up into several different parts. You can maximize the size of the clip to fit your screen and you have control of going back or forwarding through it. You can also leave comments and reply to other users about the clip. A lot of the Family Guy videos found were posted by KTLA, which is a video website out of Los Angeles, or http://www.hulu.com



3. Having looked at both Hulu and YouTube, it is evident why YouTube’s transformation may be necessary for it to stay with its competition. The most obvious advantage or “perk” to the Hulu website is its ability to show whole movies and entire seasons/episodes of television shows. YouTube only has the ability to show clips of a movie or television episode that may or may not have already been tampered with by whoever posted it. However, YouTube has a uniqueness to its website that Hulu doesn’t compare too. YouTubes motto, (found underneath the logo), is “Broadcast Yourself”. Around the globe individuals and their friends have the ability to make one of a kind videos and post them on YouTube for the rest of the world to see. It is here where classic videos such as the “Evolution of Dance” are found made into classics. YouTube also provides music videos or still videos that play music, so if there is a song you want to hear and you are not ready to buy the CD, you can hear it on YouTube. A major disadvantage to YouTube that Hulu has mastered, however, is its organization of content. Yes, YouTube has genres for its videos and ways to “narrow” your search, but it’s that feeling of “how many videos are on here” that Hulu seems to answer. Let’s give an example. I want to watch the movie “Raising Arizona”. Hulu has a feature that alphabetizes all of the movies it has available. Not to mention if it’s just a clip of the movie or the feature film itself. Knowing what movies are available to watch narrows my search and ultimately makes it easier to find what I’m looking for, in no time. YouTube, on the other hand, doesn’t tell me if the movie is available, or if it’s the movie at all. Often times it’s the trailer or a clip, and sometimes it’s someone’s video that they may have named “Raising Arizona” that has no relevance to the movie whatsoever. Hulu also has a feature called “lower lights or raise lights”. When watching a movie or television episode, you have the ability to lower the lights that may be present on the rest of the webpage that may be distracting. As mentioned above, it is evident why Hulu remains on top in popularity over YouTube. YouTube’s decision to become more like Hulu has both positive perks and negative ones. An overall “cleanup” of YouTube would be the most important factor. To sift through videos and properly categorize them would make a world of difference to its users. Also, if there are movies or movie clips that can be found, they should be put into a movie category, again, in a more organized, professional manner. However, becoming more like Hulu could take away the uniqueness of YouTube. As stated earlier, YouTube gives its users the ability to post homemade video of whatever they want. If this right were to be taken away then what would be the point of “Broadcasting Yourself?” You wouldn’t be able to. If and when YouTube decides to make movies available, along with featuring homemade videos, then YouTube would not only keep its unique feature to “Broadcast Yourself”, but it would have the movie features that make Hulu unique and in the end, could very well come out on top.