Posted on Monday, October 11th, 2010 by Annat Katz
YouTube Instant – If you like losing control every now and then, or if you like to let someone else take the Wheel for you, YouTube Instant is for you. As you may know, Google recently came out with the instant search feature. This sparked computer science student Feross Aboukhadijeh from Stanford University, CA to create a YouTube-based site built on the ‘instant’ concept of Google’s.
Finding videos on YouTube Instant is easy. Simply type in the name of the artist, song or any other key word, and the site will automatically start playing the first (and probably the highest rated/most viewed related) video. I feel this instant project is a bit too aggressive, as it leaves very little to no control over the selected videos in the hands of the user. To give an example, see what happens when you type in just one letter in the search box (I typed in ‘J’ – see screen shot below). In addition, the number of related videos on the right seems too limited in my opinion.
Although the design aims for a light and informal look and feel, it’s a nice try, nothing more. I’m a bit annoyed by the thought I don’t really have much say over the videos someone else is selecting for me. Since I’d like to remain in control in terms of the content I consume, I’ll continue exploring videos on the good old formal YouTube.com, and on the All My Faves Video page, thank you very much. On the other hand, I realize I am a bit conservative in my views; try YouTube Instant for yourself and see if you enjoy it more than I did.
