YouTube Annotation “Feature”
YouTube has recently added a new “feature” to its product. You can see it on this blog – it looks like graffiti to me. On any video posted, the title of the video and the star rating of that video is superimposed on the picture that you see. When you click on the start arrow, that superimposed graffiti goes away, but I find it so visually repelling that I created a YouTube account specifically to post a comment on their blog registering my objections. I will no longer post YouTube videos on my blog until this “feature” is turned off by default. I know that I am just a tiny voice in the Internet wilderness, but perhaps others will pick up on this post and create enough pressure to get YouTube to come to its senses.
On this post, you see this superimposed on the video:
STAND! Amy Carol Webb
*****
Just because it is technically possible doesn’t mean that it should be done.
Boycott YouTube!!
If you have a YouTube account, login and go to Help>Blog>Annotations Made Easier and register your complaint.
Update 2/8/2009: Are there any virus writers out there who can “tag” the YouTube site?
Update 4/20/2009: I finally discovered how to disable the title and star rating garbage on the video. You need to add “&showinfo=0” to the embed code. Mike Abundo gives the instructions on his website.
What looked like this before:
www.youtube.com/v/s5vHnVg6iT0&hl=en&fs=1?
becomes:
youtube.com/v/s5vHnVg6iT0&hl=en&fs=1&showinfo=0“
Note that the URL for YouTube appears twice in the embed code, so you must modify it in both places. There is a WordPress Plugin called Smart YouTube, but I was unable to get it to work on my blog, thus, I have to hand code. But that’s O.K. Anything to get rid of that garbage cluttering up the video!
I just posted a movie there last night and noticed the stars and ‘junk’ on my movie… looks really bad and I hope they get enough complaints that they get rid of it. Sometimes less is better in my opinion.
Spread the word! Twitter it, link to my post, whatever it takes! Refuse to post any more YouTube videos. Complain to the people who post the videos. Scream until the graffiti is gone!!
I’m not sure why they felt compelled to do this. I don’t like it either…any of it…but I think it’s the star rating that really takes it over the top as annoying.