\r\n\r\nAs usual, market leader YouTube can bide its time when copying competitors\’ features. YouTube Annotations allow video creators to add notes and video links to videos. I added a few annotations to this video of Happy Slip joining the Sini Gang.\r\n\r\nThe Bad\r\n\r\nUnlike notes in Viddler, YouTube Annotations are not social; only video creators can annotate videos. Annotations don\’t show up in embeds yet, but YouTube definitely plans to push them out. Annotations could also use more customization options; gray rectangles and speech balloons can get pretty damn boring.\r\n\r\nOne thing that really irks me is the inability to add external links to videos. You cannot, for instance, add links to the personal sites of people in a video. External links are the big selling point of Asterpix. I understand that YouTube wants to deter spammers, but this sort of internal-only linking feels disturbingly like information silo behavior.\r\n\r\nThe Good\r\n\r\nYou can still do some fun stuff with YouTube Annotations, though. With links, for instance, you can create interactive selection points that link to several possible outcome videos. Expect an explosion of choose-your-own-adventure style FMV games on YouTube, like this shell game.\r\n\r\nYes, it\’s another classic game genre resurrected on the Web. Funny how that just keeps happening in the most unexpected ways. \r\n\r\nThe Money\r\n\r\nAmazon\’s video widget shows us one possible future use for YouTube Annotations: AdSense referral ads. YouTube product placements, as hotzones on specific products within a video, could take on a whole new meaning.\r\n\r\nIt\’s the pre-crash dot-com marketer\’s dream: TV with a buy button.\r\n\r\nThe Beta\r\n\r\nYouTube Annotations clearly lack features offered by many other video annotation systems, but I won\’t complain too much yet. After all, it\’s still in beta. History tells us YouTube almost always catches up on features, and always popularizes those features big time. Expect a lot of YouTubers to start making clever VH1-style Pop-Up Videos.\r\n\r\n(Via Ionut Alex Chitu.)

Post from: EveryJoe

YouTube Annotations Review