Evolution of Internet Videos

                In the recent months, it seems that the average social media user is being exposed to more videos and I’d guess that they may actually be consuming more videos as well.  We are well past the days where videos were confined to YouTube.  Since those ancient days, we have seen developments such as Facebook and Instagram video.  The most recent changes to videos on these platforms are the auto-play feature and the emergence of the fifteen second clips. 

                Auto-play is a feature that runs on two, generally accurate assumptions: 1) Users enjoy the ease in which they can watch videos without having to take any action other than scrolling through their feeds & 2) Users that don’t like the auto-play feature are too lazy to turn it off.  In a society where the average attention span is comparable to that of a goldfish, it is important for marketers to utilize quickness and simplicity when trying to reach their intended audiences.  It is getting harder and harder to get consumers to jump through hoops.  Auto-play, especially when showing great and personalized content, can be highly effective in getting more people to view videos.  It is clear that at least some people are willing to give a video a chance if they don’t have to take any further action.  Personally, I am one of the folks that doesn’t much enjoy auto-play and I have been meaning to turn it off for months now.  See the problem there?  It would take me thirty seconds to change my preferences, but I’d be willing to bet that auto-play will still be enabled on my accounts tomorrow. 

                Auto-play has been complemented by the continued rise in popularity of Vines and Vine-like videos.  These shortened videos have really become the user-generated commercials of the internet.  There are businesses popping up that specialize in these fifteen and thirty second clips; sports generated content is one of the driving industries involved.  Businesses have certainly taken notice of this new fad and they have begun incorporating user-generated content as well as trimming the lengths of the videos so that they match those around them.  The popularity of these short clips should reaffirm businesses that sometimes less is more.

                Auto-play, combined with a user-generated Vine, actually paved the way for Deez Nuts to be a “potential” candidate in the 2016 US election.  The original, prank video has made its way through the feeds of all platforms and led to Deez Nuts becoming a household name. The video inspired a teenage boy to prank the nation. This should show businesses that with the right amount of creativity, humor, and timing, fifteen second clips can have content going viral.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34005135/voters-back-teenager-deez-nuts-to-be-next-us-president