youtube is the north star for video player ux but not shortform video ux

🪖 product @ grayscale • elder millennial 👴🏼

youtube longform has:
- double tap to 2x
- hold to 2x
- watch up to 4x on mobile
- lift and scrub to get precise point
- clip sharing
- miniplayer + theater mode

youtube shorts has:
- no hold edge to 2x
- settings jammed in a list
- option to link to longform vid (this is actually nice for creators)

just seems like for the amount of effort they put into the video player they could come up with a decently better shorts interface? as it is, seems like table stake features only

tiktok and reels have way more features for interactivity, remixing, sharing, etc. that ig im just surprised it isn't more feature rich to compete

smth smth stated vs revealed pref lol

– tiktok's player came from bytedance buying musically 
– ig reels was meta's attempt at capturing gen z mindshare 
– yt shorts = better content algo for long, more ad inventory 

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they're def doing something right! :)

@chsh.eth these are great points, but I think they are optimizing for different kinds of user behaviors and different interactivity goals

– Faster load time and lower maintenance overhead 
– YT shorts only needs to have parity w tiktok / instagram reels
– Limited interactivity reduces friction, barrier to infinite scroll
– Passive vs Active engagement = lower cognitive load swipe up / down
– Feature light approach may optimize for watchtime / retention 
– Focus on discovery and algorithm recommendation training is key