Why Video Comments Will Fail

What are people saying?

1. Larry M said on May 25th, 2008 at 10:12 pm

   If you had a video commenting system on this blog, I could tell you and show that you are wrong!!! LOLOL

   Beyond that… man, you are brilliant!

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2. Mark Forman said on May 25th, 2008 at 10:18 pm

   Basically agree with you for all the reasons you gave. Still waiting for the punchline though…

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3. Matt said on May 25th, 2008 at 10:38 pm

   But TechCrunch has got to keep their video comments so we can get little bits of 1938 media to enhance the mindless drivel (mine included) that litters everything AFTER the post [the post itself is always brilliant! I must say this as I believe Mike Arrington could come up behind you at any second and the last thing someone like me needs for his career is to piss that guy off.. lol, but truth be told I generally agree with just about everything he says.]…

   Video comments are good as often as text comments… which is barely ever. So you could really continue on to say “Comments in general are fucking stupid and nobody gives a shit what any of you have to say… so why the fuck would they actually *watch* you saying it?!” … Something like that anyway… but all the same, I like video comments… But I’d rather see live chat under blog posts… that would be a freaking carnival… better than video, much better than video.

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4. Daniel said on May 25th, 2008 at 10:44 pm

   What if you are “too tired to type?” Video/audio is better…. sometimes…. but its just my opinion.

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5. Vinny said on May 25th, 2008 at 11:15 pm

   If you’re too tired to type, you’re probably not going to babble anything any more coherent anyway.

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6. nozobinjob said on May 25th, 2008 at 11:42 pm

   Some other reasons why Seesmic will NEVER take off :

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   1) Poor video quality (but that can be easily fixed

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   2) SPAM : anyone will be now able to advertise his products, ideas, website, whatever, all of course totally unrelated to the post’s topic. Or contextually, and then it’s an even better marketing tool for the spammer.

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   3) Impossible to use automatic moderation. If someone wants to says “FVCK YOU” on your blog, now he can. This will be particularly a big issue small to mid-size blogs who can’t afford to hire moderators. For example: is 1938Media moderated? I think Feldman has better things to do than this shit.

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   4) Seesmic is boring: it could also be easily fixed though by limiting for example the video length, say to 90 seconds max. At least it should for users to keep the video entertaining, if that’s even possible, given most people have nothing to say but show their belly button.

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   5) A blog post becomes pointless if you don’t have speaker/head phones to listen to the video. In an office context (especially in an open-space), it’s quite inappropriate to turn on your speakers, and most bosses don’t tolerate that. Therefore the seesmic comment poster may find it faster to create a video than typing, but on the other hand he will loose a large audience to make his point.

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   6) Youtube offers the very same service, and that for at least 2 years. It is called VIDEO RESPONSES. Yep, you heard me: VIDEO responses. Come on, hello, anyone? It’s just like LeMeur didn’t pay attention of the section just above text comments on any Youtube video page. Pathetic. Like my grandma used to say: the first with a boner gets the fvck. Yep, in business it’s all about being THE first to come up with an idea. Seesmic is basically trying to reinvent the wheel here.

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   7) It doesn’t work, even on the world’s most read blog: TechCrunch. Not only Arrington is an investor in Seesmic, but 95% of TC are nerds. What were the odds of Seesmic’s API integration to fail on TC? Still, i NEVER see ANY video comment on TechCrunch. Ok, fair enough, maybe 1 or 2, but only when LeMeur himself initiates the video conversation, and only followed by his ‘community’ of core Seesmic’s aficionados.

   Let’s face it: all these accented Seesmic’s core members have ego issues. They’re craving for their 15 minutes of fame, trying to defy the odds of viewer’s interest. I takes talent to speak in front of a camera. It takes work and writing skills too. Not to mention eventually humor and purpose. Feldman has this talent. Arrington or Scoble know how to write an article, but I’d better fvck Hillary Clinton than watch any of their videos. These 2 guys look terrible on camera (not that Feldman is in any way more attractive, especially lately. Boy you’d better stop drinking beer, you look pregnant). Bottom line: I will NEVER use it, even though most of my dates compare me physically to Collin Farrell. And you know why? Because of the ancient arabic saying I like to quote: “if what you have to say is less beautiful than silence, then shut the fvck up!”

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   Less relevant but pathetic enough to mention, Seesmic’s logo is waaaay too big on the player (but probably designed proportionate to LeMeur’s ego), plus it’s hideous and childish. What’s a raccoon has to do with conversations or videos anyway ? Sorry, i don’t get it. In US, raccoons are associated with stealing, thieves, and diseases. Not a very smart idea when trying to establish a legit reputation, with any perspective to monetize the concept soon.

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   CONCLUSION :

   Overall I think blog video comments is not a good move from Le Meur, but does he know? This guy is so full of himself he will never accept the truth: he has not fvcking business plan whatsoever. Ok, yeah, maybe it’ll go viral, no doubt about it, especially given the large in-your-face logo.

   But it’ll have the opposite effect in the long run, as users will realize how pointless the whole thing is. The seesmic name will be associated with boredom, while conversation on seesmic’s website might well be (or become) interesting. I don’t know, never been there.

   But I know destination websites are not “trendy” anymore (hello ? facebook, anyone ?), but that proves again, if need be, that Loic had absolutely no plan whatsoever when he had this stupid idea. This whole venture looks like a big improv to me.

   And the worse thing is that yet another schmuck from Facebook tech team could (and probably will soon) implement a similar feature within facebook itself or through an app. And that’ll work, because you’ll be posting to your friends/network and not to a whole crowd who doesn’t give a shit about your tirade.

   Anyway, just my 2 cents (out of a deadpool-bound $6Million).

   Reply
7. Larry M said on May 26th, 2008 at 12:27 am

   uh… dude…. nozobinjob… obviously you wrote you comment a bit to soon…. check out: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/25/twitter-2/

   Reply
8. nozobinjob said on May 26th, 2008 at 12:35 am

   @Larry M
   actually - if need be - it DOES prove my point better than any of my previous examples. the post you’re referring to demonstrates people have nothing to say. and, btw, i despise Twitter.

   Reply
9. Larry M said on May 26th, 2008 at 12:41 am

   @nozobinjob i totally agree… however, if people are so bored and caught up with this twitter thing, and obviously don’t have anything better to do than post on a blog about nothing… wouldn’t think that is a market you should be leveraging?? i know if i was an investor, i would be all over this market just my 2c

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10. nozobinjob said on May 26th, 2008 at 12:51 am

    Vacuity as a market … hum … interesting. I’m afraid though - as explained by Loren - that it’s a niche population that won’t ever generate sufficient traffic to monetize such a venture. Not to mention their hippie “i-want-everything-for-free” lifestyle. Just take Arrington’s position about ‘Free’ Music for example.

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11. Loic said on May 26th, 2008 at 2:01 am

    thanks Loren. If you’re saying they will fail, it means they will work. You rock, dude.

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12. Loren Feldman said on May 26th, 2008 at 2:29 am

    Loic, Im not talking about seesmic per se. Im talking about video comments by any brand, and you will quickly see that I am correct. Doesn’t matter how many blogs they are on, they will never matter or reach any critical mass. You’ll see. The only reason techcrunch happened tonight was because I started it, and the puppets. Look at the other posts. A tiny amount of comments compared to readers and the novelty will die soon enough.

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13. nozobinjob said on May 26th, 2008 at 2:46 am

    haha, Loic can’t take criticism, who knew? Loren, NEVER apologize to a french ass.

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14. Loren Feldman said on May 26th, 2008 at 2:48 am

    Oh I wasn’t apologizing.

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15. DJ said on May 26th, 2008 at 3:17 am

    The video phone isn’t a household item for the same reason. As you note: People are vain, people are stupid, people are ugly, and no one wants to sit around watching vain, stupid, ugly people arguing about which is better PC’s or Macs.

    Especially went fake people with button eyes are so much better.

    There’s an idea: translate text comments into a puppet video. You get to choose your puppet, it’s voice, choose eyes, hair, etc, and an utterz like voice recog proggie spews out the dialog. You could use video loops for the puppets, timed to the text. Like interactive avatars. But, better.

    Go forth and multiply.

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16. Bob S. said on May 26th, 2008 at 3:31 am

    Let me get this straight. You post a video comment to say that video comments will fail? However, all this noise does seem to drive traffic to your site. Hell, it got me here didn’t it. Is that your point? I even made a comment (but no video…I must be fat and ugly or bald and needing a shave or all of the above).

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17. nozobinjob said on May 26th, 2008 at 3:46 am

    @Bob Loren is not posting any ‘COMMENT’ here. This is his website and his show. Some sort of nerd Dave Chappelle. You seem to confuse comments from viewers/readers, and a POST from a professional. If you want to express your opinion, open your own blog and show your face to the world.

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18. Andrew Eglinton said on May 26th, 2008 at 4:18 am

    Twitter, we know it’s gonna work.
    Seesmic, we know it’s gonna work.
    Arrington, we know it works a lot.
    Feldman, we hope it’s gonna work.
    Calacanis, we’re not sure that it’s working.
    Lemur, we know it never works.
    Scoble, we know it works but we underestimate it.

    Reply
19. ian said on May 26th, 2008 at 4:42 am

    It would not matter if less than 1% of comments were video comments, if it was adopted on a large number of sites, it could be huge.
    I think the real areas of concern are whether youtube implement something similar, which would destroy seesmic. The other area of concern is monetization of the service, which may not even be on the agenda if they are hoping for an acquisition.

    Reply
20. kosmar said on May 26th, 2008 at 4:52 am

    also i wonder how spam would change if we all had video comments … geez

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21. damian said on May 26th, 2008 at 5:27 am

    Look at some random page on MYSPACE

    Thousands and thousands of poorly constructed vanity pages, with pictures of pornstars and meaningless conversations (”thanks for the add”, “you’re hot!”).

    You’ll see that video comments are gonna be BIG.

    Loic shouldnt focus on IT people. He should give his crap to teenagers asap.

    Reply
22. Snarky said on May 26th, 2008 at 5:29 am

    Video comments haven’t been around long enough to judge. This post = fail.

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23. Fred Grott said on May 26th, 2008 at 7:31 am

    A question VLogging, is that not Sessmic just done better with better pruduction and etc?

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24. Frank said on May 26th, 2008 at 8:09 am

    I agree that video comments won’t work. How many people use their Macs to have video chats right now WITH THEIR FRIENDS? Very, very few. As Loren says, people don’t look that good on video, and they don’t want to put their face on camera.

    And the commenter who talked about the moderation…that’s a huge point. Plus, people like anonymity. In fact, the majority of people who commented here are anon — even though they used a “name,” who knows?

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25. Scott Purdie said on May 26th, 2008 at 8:54 am

    Loren, posting a video comment added to what you wanted to communicate in your post. Its better than a text post.

    Video comments have a great chance, for the same reason we dont just read text on tv, we watch it, its more dramatic, honest and real.

    We are just gonna have to wait and see maman.

    Scott

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26. Simon Brocklehurst said on May 26th, 2008 at 9:14 am

    Bang on the money, Loren. Your point about the numbers is really well-made. The truth is: even good-looking people aren’t going to want to leave video comments on blogs. As you say, it’s just not interesting.

    Maybe the entrepreneurs that want to take advantage of the wide-spread availability of low-cost video cameras should take a look at what people are *actually* using their webcams and camcorders for. Hint: it’s nothing to do with conversations…

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27. Dick said on May 26th, 2008 at 12:13 pm

    Top three reasons why video comments won’t work for me.

    -I enjoy taking the laptop to the can.

    -I’m fat.

    -I like sitting in my underwear and scratching my balls.

    Reply
28. PragueBob said on May 26th, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Do I detect just a bit of sour grapes here? Maybe you wish you had dreamed up video comments before Loic Lemeur made them an everyday reality with Seesmic? I think you are wrong, video comments will get “traction”… you overuse this word, by the way. It’s true. Otherwise, I like your peculiar, crazy-assed approach to video.

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29. AlK said on May 26th, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    Video comment just makes it less convenient, longer to shot and listen to, less precise, less interesting and more boring, that’s why they cannot succeed.
    Right now I’m writing half naked on my chair, I’m scratching my balls, I have a 2 weeks long beard and oily hair. Who wants to see me?

    Reply
30. Jim Kukral said on May 26th, 2008 at 5:58 pm

    Yeah, it’s too early.

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31. Uplink said on May 27th, 2008 at 12:34 am

    ROFL..We know who the 1st to say that was…

    Hey Loren ..Here Comes Another Bubble:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6IQ_FOCE6I

    Reply
32. Michael Arrington said on May 27th, 2008 at 4:23 am

    spactactular.

    is that a word? I don’t think that’s a word.

    Reply
33. Dave Johnston said on May 27th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    @nozobinjob - 810 word comment.

    You just made the case for video comments.

    Hey Loic, I’m gonna send you $50,000, what’s your PayPal?

    Reply
34. nozobinjob said on May 27th, 2008 at 2:33 pm

    @Dave Johnson
    Thanks for counting. Man, you have way too much time on your hands.
    My comment makes one point: you read it. Now, if I had said this all in a video, with poor lighting, bad breath and boring voice, it would be at least a 6-7 minutes video. Would you have watched it all the way through? You, maybe… most, absolutely not.

    Reply
35. peter said on May 29th, 2008 at 10:20 am

    no-one reads comments so who is ever going to watch them?

    Remember Fran Leibowitz:

    “the opposite of talking isn’t listening, it’s waiting”

    Reply
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