Unrelated videos at the beginning of articles?

1. 92

   Kenna McHughposted 3 years ago

   Now that HP has reformated the niche sites, my articles have unrelated videos at the top of my articles. For example, my "Ten Books on How to Live a Happy Life" has a video on butterflies. That is all you see unless you scroll down.  All I see is the video on butterflies.
   It is unprofessional and confusing. It is non-sequitur—unrelated.
   I thought we had control of our content.
   What if they have a video on a subject matter that is against my ideology?
   What can we do about it?

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      Marie Flintposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      The Internet keeps getting stranger, Kenna. I'm becoming quite frustrated with it myself. More and more ads.
      
      I'm switching to lesser used browsers with ad blockers. It will take some adjusting on my part, but I'm tired of all the changes to accommodate more ads.
      
      Do whatever suits you, Kenna. For you, it may be just going with the flow.

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2. 92

   Kenna McHughposted 3 years ago

   If they want videos before our articles, then they should have us choose the video that fits the article.

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      Kenna McHughposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      It's a mess! I wish the videos would go away.

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3. 93

   Shesabutterflyposted 3 years ago

   This is their newest thing to keep readers on the page. It appears all sites are in different stages. On Tatting the video follows you down the page (in a small box) and you have to close out of it. Some follow ads and others go straight to the video with no ad.
   
   All the Owlcation videos are about butterflies. It was my understanding that they would be related to the article it appeared on. For now all niche sites are showing the same video across all articles. I doubt they can find a way for each article to have its own specific video but the niches and even the subcategories are too broad to have one video across all articles. I wish we could pick our own videos as well if it has to be there.
   
   It would be nice if staff would have a full idea and complete it before rolling out all these features and moving everything to the Maven platform. Videos say Hupbages in the upper right too which I find odd. I thought they wanted everything to be associated with Maven hence the quick move to their platform.

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4. 96

   FatFreddysCatposted 3 years ago

   I've noticed these rogue videos on SpinDitty as well. Every one of my articles there starts with a video about "Top Ten Hardest Songs to Play on Guitar," or some such nonsense.
   
   I don't usually complain about stuff here, but these things are downright irritating and I hope they're done away with.

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5. 96

   EricDockettposted 3 years ago

   I feel like the people making these decisions never used the internet before.
   
   If I clink on a link, and a video shows up that's not what I wanted, and there is no indication whatsoever that the topic I did want to read about is anywhere on the page (because ads and the video have pushed the text of the article off the page) I am going to hit the back button pretty quick.
   
   I think that's what most people would do, but maybe I am wrong. Maybe people like to be surprised by content they didn't ask for.

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6. 92

   Titiaposted 3 years ago

   At least you see videos. This is what I see screen wide when I click on one of my PetHelpful articles (or any other article in the niche sites). I really don't know what they are doing and what their goal is with all these stupid things that will drive visitors away.
   

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   1. 92

      Kenna McHughposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      The staff should speak up and let us know that the videos are being removed. The technology today is not that hard, and if they don't know what they are going, they should leave it alone.

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      1. 93

         Shesabutterflyposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         I doubt they are being removed already. I'm still seeing them.
         
         Titia is from the Netherlands and the new platform still does not show ads/videos for UK based searchers. Theraggededge asked about this again on one of the migration forum posts, but still has not received an answer. Hopefully they will fix the issue for UK viewers soon. That looks worse than the actual ad/video.

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   2. 88

      lobobrandonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I get the same on my Dengarden articles in Germany
      This video cannot be played because of a technical error.
      (Error Code: 102700)

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7. 93

   Dolores Monetposted 3 years ago

   If I was doing a search for a particular topic and a huge video of something unrelated was the first thing I saw, I would leave right off the bat, figuring that it was just some rubbish site. My history of fashion articles all feature a video on body odor - a cheezy, awful video. Oh, except the one on fashions of the early 19th century which shows an exercise bike. Oh and the one about Baltimore which shows a different city.
   
   The ads in the middle of a capsule were bad enough. I don't like to pooh pooh new things on here but these videos are just awful.

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   1. 92

      Kenna McHughposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I agree, Dolores. I believe videos inhibit visitors from not sticking around to read the article.

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   2. 96

      CYong74posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      BO video on fashion articles? How awful!

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8. 96

   CYong74posted 3 years ago

   I remember reading something about an additional revenue opportunity, in the form of videos, for the transferred hubs. Is this huge video banner thingy part of that?

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9. 96

   eugbugposted 3 years ago

   These videos appear on the old sites, even with an adblocker turned on. The whole appearance of pages is really tacky at this stage.
   

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10. 96

    eugbugposted 3 years ago

    According to Maven, this is a HubPages issue, they don't control it.

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       lobobrandonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       Where did you get that info?

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          Shesabutterflyposted 3 years agoin reply to this

          They say Hubpages in the upper right hand corner.
          
          I believe these are the videos that Samantha was talking about (in the previous migration forum post) to keep readers on our pages.

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             lobobrandonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

             I seriously wonder what the IQ of the person making these decisions stands at.
             
             1. Complete top of the page with an ad which was something Google penalized sites for is being implemented.
             2. Unrelated videos on the top would make people bounce back to the search results.
             3. If people want videos they go to Youtube or click on video results

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             1. 93

                Shesabutterflyposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                I completely agree. In my experience all the pages load much slower now too.
                
                It doesn't help all the sites are in varying degrees of the videos.
                
                The videos on Tatring become a small box and scroll down the screen with you. Some have ads and some don't on that site as well.
                
                Hopefully they go away as fast as they came. I was under the impression the video was going to be related to the content. I'm pretty sure that's what Samantha said anyway. I doubt they would be able to specialize videos to every single article though and even trying to do it by subcategory will not work. Those subjects are just as broad as the niche sites in some cases.

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                1. 88

                   lobobrandonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                   The perfect ads are related to the content or the users interests based on browsing history. From what we see, these are neither and therefore should not be that prominent. I can't tell if they become small and scroll down or not as I don't see ads, just like the others based in Europe.
                   
                   The video on Tatring also takes up all the visible space on page load I presume? That is before the user scrolls?

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                   1. 93

                      Shesabutterflyposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                      Yes they do.
                      
                      I was under the impression they would be like a pop up (equally as annoying in my opinion). At least we wouldn't lose the visible space and title for the actual content people were searching for.

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                         lobobrandonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                         This is what I expected as well.

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       2. 96

          eugbugposted 3 years agoin reply to this

          They told me when I asked about them (and suggested they looked tacky, but hey, that's just my opinion).
          
          
          
          Usually they don't reply on Twitter and it's just a one-way broadcast.

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11. 95

    Glimmer Twin Fanposted 3 years ago

    When did they start adding these videos?????  On mobile, they are distracting to say the least, and whose videos are they when they start playing?  On desktop, they are massive and again, who decides what videos play.  I checked a couple of articles, a dog names one had something about cats, and a cookie recipe had something about spices. 
    
    These aren't the little video ads that I see all the time that don't really bother me....these are someone's videos and they dominate the articles. 
    
    I don't often speak out on the forums, but have been on here more in recent days because of the changes. Like I said before, I love the new look, but these videos that take up most of the screen have got to go.

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12. 96

    Rupert Taylorposted 3 years ago

    Yes, the videos are irritating and frequently not relevant to the content that follows. But, aren't they part of the process that makes this platform available to us writers?
    
    I am one of the last people to be an apologist for capitalism, but without advertising revenue there is no HubPages and I would not become a hundredaire every few months.
    
    We are in the shakedown period of migration. My hope is that this issue will be dealt with, and it might take a few months, but we are going to have to live with videos selling stuff. It's the way of the world.

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       lobobrandonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, but they are making the same mistakes that were made in the past. Video Ads taking up all the above the fold space for instance. This was one of the many reasons the old HP lost rankings on Google. You aren't going to make any money if there is no one checking out your ads.
       
       There are smart ways to implement change and then there is what is happening here.

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    2. 95

       Glimmer Twin Fanposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       Don't get me wrong...I'm all for ads, and I've said that before, but these aren't just ads...it's an ad that then turns into a video and, unlike the smaller video ads that pop up all over the place now, these are massive and take up pretty much all of the screen before scrolling down. 
       
       I imagine that most people who go to an article on a certain topic only to get this will go somewhere else pretty quickly.

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    3. 96

       eugbugposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, but don't put them where they're irritating or they won't serve their purpose. With a bit of luck though, most readers will be one time visitors and won't be returning anyway after they get what information they're looking for, so we'll earn from them from the time they spend on site and it doesn't matter what they think of the appearance.

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    4. 92

       Kenna McHughposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       I don't think we can let HP do as they please and hope for a better day. We are a community of writers. We have the right to say they are making a stupid mistake. I consider this sabotage.  This style of ad placement and design is amateur at best.

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13. 96

    eugbugposted 3 years ago

    Something tells me either an intern or Trump is responsible?

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       lobobrandonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       

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14. 92

    Titiaposted 3 years ago

    Just found out that when I click on 'view on Hubpages' I do get to see the video and the ads, but when I click on the title which brings me to the niche site, the video gives a full screen black with the technical error text and then I don't see any ads at all.

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    1. 92

       Kenna McHughposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       Where is the staff reply on this?

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          samanthacubbisonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

          We are still in the early phase of this video project and are actively discussing better ways to present them. We are also working on ways to make the content better align with certain network site categories. All of these site improvements require iteration up iteration. All of these site improvements are also created with the intent of better monetizing your content.
          
          Our long-established team works very hard and puts a lot of thought into these projects. Some of the feedback that is being brought up regarding advertising is not something that the editing or moderation team can address directly but we can and do escalate each item to the appropriate party within Maven.
          
          In addition, I’d like to mention that we have standards for our community forums and forum posts are indeed moderated. If you would like to offer feedback, it must be constructive. Productive conversation is something we encourage. We also expect a level of respect and decency and understanding from our community members.
          
          The site migrations have required a lot of team resources (our editors and moderators have been adapting to the change as well). We are doing our very best to respond in a timely manner to the feedback so that we can address each issue as it comes up. With that said, we ask that you do not direct comments at the team.
          
          This is the best space for providing helpful feedback on the ongoing HubPages-specific changes. Directing your efforts elsewhere (e.g. Maven Twitter) will not receive a timely response. Thank you for your understanding.

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          1. 94

             JerryFisherposted 3 years agoin reply to this

             Here's some more constructive feedback:
             
             Hubpages/Maven rely a lot on your writers for income too, so it's a partnership. So why don't the writers get a say in some of these monstrous changes?
             
             As a writer trying to earn a little more on this site, like many others I've spent a long time improving articles from time to time to get them ranked higher. It's unbelievably disappointing to work hard on an article and watch it slowly rise on Google from say page five to page one and then to check on it as I did the other day and it's completely vanished from the top 20 pages ( and that's the entirety that Google allow you to search - so who knows which page it's on now).
             My improvements were reviewed and accepted by an editor before the crash.
             
             But then looking at the article if I was Google I would have screwed it up and thrown it in the bin too. Why you thought it a great idea to put this huge barely related video at the top beats me.
             Then going through my article which is all about selling cars, I counted 23 ads. Can you tell me please how, tarot card reading, underpants and bad breathe with the most disturbing image of a wide open mouth full of cavities relates to selling cars?
             
             People can now only view past comments and not make one. Google love interaction on a site, so that's sure no improvement, that's a backwards step.
             
             Anyway I've plummeted 15% over the week in traffic. Looking at this article you've pretty much destroyed any reader experience, as they have to carefully not step on an ad and they are so distracting that if I was the reader I'd be going elsewhere pretty quickly.
             
             Prior to Maven this one article was getting 300 plus views a day for at least 18 months or more. Now it has an average of around 80 to 100 and it's been like that for at least a year. Too many changes here trying to make more income and you're taking everyone backwards.

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15. 96

    EricDockettposted 3 years ago

    Here is some constructive feedback:
    
    1. Putting the video first is confusing and I believe it has the potential to harm traffic in the long term. I think it would work better further down in the body of the article. Maybe after the first or second text capsule.
    
    2. The video must be closely related to the topic. In one of my articles where the video was related I felt it worked very well. But again, it needs to be further down the page, not at the top. In cases where the video is not related it is distracting and confusing.
    
    3. Consider not placing these videos in articles where the author has already placed more than one video. It can potentially clutter things up. If the intent is to create engagement, YouTube videos already accomplish that.
    
    4. Please (eventually) come up with a standardized method of placing videos and ads. It is hard for writers to know how to format articles when ads or videos appear all over the place.
    
    I can only speak for myself on all of that. I also can only speak for myself when I say I appreciate the work staff does and believe they are on our side no matter how frustrated I may get, but I think most writers here feel the same way.
    
    However, many of us have also been here a very long time, longer than most of the staff, and we have seen the ups and downs of the site going back to Panda. We care about HubPages, and it hurts to see many of the same mistakes that were corrected in the past cropping up again.
    
    It is hard not to have an emotional response, but I also realize it is not fair to staff who are only doing their best. We should try harder to be respectful.

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       samanthacubbisonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       We have definitely already received all of that feedback and are in the process of finding solutions. Thank you!

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          Kenna McHughposted 3 years agoin reply to this

          Samantha,
          
          This is good to hear and hope the outcome is positive. The earnings have plunged of late. The strictly HP articles are still fairing well, unlike the niche sites in migration.

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       2. 95

          Peggy Wposted 3 years agoin reply to this

          Thank you, Samantha Cubbison, for your reply.  It is nice to know that you and others are reading our concerns and are working to address them.  Like others, I find that video taking up the entire space at the top of an article distracting.  I'm afraid people might think that they clicked on the wrong link when they do not immediately see the title.
          
          Managing a site this large must be a monumental job.  Thanks for all that you and others do to make it a success.  HubPages is one of the longer-lasting sites out there, and we all hope that it is profitable for many years to come.

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             samanthacubbisonposted 3 years agoin reply to this

             Thank you for the kind words, Peggy. Being a large network, it does take time to sort through everything. So we appreciate your patience as we address these issues as fast as possible. I hear you all and agree with most everything that you are saying, so I am just as frustrated. But there is only so much I can do aside from relaying this feedback. The appropriate teams are all aware of what they can/need to do.

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    GetitSceneposted 3 years ago

    Kenna I was surprised and alarmed at these random, unrelated videos at the top of our hub articles as well. It immediately reminded me of when I go to the cinema to watch a movie and the pre-show trailers come on. If the trailers are all cheap, low-grade garbage, I immediately start to think "Uh-oh, is this a telegraph of what the movie I am here to see is going to be like?" And, sadly, more often than not, I am right. Think that I'm wrong? When was the last time you saw a big budget movie like Star Wars that was prefaced with something with a more...modest budget such as Tromeo and Juliet? Kenna, I share your concerns.

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    1. 92

       Kenna McHughposted 3 years agoin reply to this

       Great analogy, and I hope HP does the right thing. CPM is 50% down.

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