We humans have a tendency to want to quantify absolutely everything, which is why it’s no surprise that bean counters have fixed their beady little eyes on the world of online video. Where Nielsen dominates broadcast TV metrics, web analytics companies are now carving out a niche in video on the Internet. And the nature of the Web means that analysts aren’t limited to viewer samples; they can pore over the behavior of every single visitor to a video site, collecting data on what, when and how clips are watched.
A few Web video companies have recently announced partnerships that add analytics to their product offerings. Brightcove is partnering with startup Visible Measures, and Maven Networks is collaborating with WebTrends. The theory is that these companies will now be able to measure not just viewership, but viewer “engagement”. Which (again in theory) should tell advertisers down to the penny how well their investments are paying off.
I’m all for analysis, but the need to put a number on everything starts to drive me a little batty. And I fear that the ability to break down everything on the Web into measurable bits will drive all rationality out the window in a quantifying frenzy. Numbers aren’t objective because they’re still interpreted by humans. Humans trying to make money.
Meanwhile, should you be worried about the data companies are collecting on the Web video you watch? Stay away from those bomb-making demos and porn videos and you should be okay. For now. I think.