YouTube pursuing an aggressive advertising program

YouTube is definitely turning up the heat in the advertising inventory it offers. For example, there is now a very conspicuous post-roll advert on many videos, and even when you play a video in full-screen mode, adverts are displayed at the bottom (although, surprisingly, you can turn them off).

This is all good news, because it means that YouTube is making real progress towards turning a profit. If you find the ads annoying and intrusive, remember that you are being entertained for free. YouTube deserves to make a profit for the service it provides, and the owners of the content it displays deserve to make money, too. When a huge ad appeared at the end of a video a couple of nights ago, it was a heartwarming feeling: we’re getting there, YouTube will soon be profitable, which is great news for both content creators and those who produce ads.

It’s a pity that the morale of U.S. consumers is so low, because if it wasn’t for that, I’m willing to bet that YouTube would be making handsome profits right about now. Advertisers cannot splurge on huge quantities of ads if they do not have a reasonable expectation that consumers will be willing to buy their products. That definitely rains on the parade, but one hopes the wetness will go away at some point. Check out the YouTube video ideas.