This homework assignment could not have come at a more perfect time. With the end of the semester near I have been so consumed with studying, papers and presentations I haven't had time to watch all of my favorite shows. Being able to take a break and watch some YouTube and Hulu and not feel guilty about it was a great feeling. I typically use YouTube frequently for two major reasons. 1) I watch it to watch the latest music videos or to listen to songs that just came out that I haven't added to my Itunes yet or 2) watch choreography with my friends who own a dance studio for the latest moves. Today while studying I decided to listen to my latest addiction on YouTube which are two guys who play the piano, sing and have something funny going on in the background while doing so. Their names are Justin Robinett and Michael Henry and they do covers of popular songs of now. (They are amazing I highly recommend them.) Since this is not a music video by a famous star their videos aren't directed to Vevo which means there are no commercials or advertisements before I'm allowed to watch their videos. While I understand the point of Vevo it can be somewhat of an annoyance when say you want to play a song at a party that isn't on the playlist only to have an ad play first. In regards to my experience though however it is nice to be able to see the artist in action rather than to just hear them sing. Especially with these videos, part of their character are the ridiculous antics their friends are doing in the background while they are singing with no distraction in the forefront. Without YouTube I would have never known of these guys because they are not a signed artist yet they are put at the same level of those who are on YouTube because everyone is searchable.
Next, I chose to catch up on the Office since I have fallen so behind on it. That is something nice about Hulu in that they have the five most recent episodes of the show that you are interested in watching. They typically have most television shows but I know in some cases, like the show Gossip Girl, they will direct you to the website of the network the show is on that has full episodes to watch. Anyways, watching Office was a quicker experience than watching it on tv. There were only 4 commercial breaks that weren't any longer than 30 seconds which is a lot more bearable than on television. Additionally, while the advertisements were playing in the top right corner it asks if it is relevant to you. Once you click yes or no it says that they will make the ads more relevant for the viewer. I'm not sure how well this works but it is nice to know that hopefully an ad that isn't relevant to me won't be played again. Overall the quality of Hulu was very clear and I didn't have any complaints about my experience.
Overall, I think the two sites have different purposes with YouTube being for shorter entertainment while Hulu is for full length shows. Both are going in the direction of having advertisement prior to or in the middle of the video. While it is annoying at times it is understandable that they need to be paid somehow. Like I said before YouTube is my go to for music because it has everything and Hulu is my go to for prime time television that I need to catch up on. Both are very handy for what they do and I would recommend them to anyone who was unsure.
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