If you are one of those who like to view popular videos early, then “301+.views" is something you definitely are familiar with.
For others, 301+ is the view count for popular videos at which YouTube pauses to distinguish the spam bots from real viewers.
So when a video goes viral and scores thousands of plays, the counter would be stopped at 301 while an authenticity check is being done.
But all that is history now.
Google GOOGL has finally gotten rid of the “301+” static play count in favor of more up-to-date view counts.
Why 301+ Had to Go
This news came via a Twitter TWTR post stating that the video play count will henceforth show real-time views that YouTube is convinced are authentic. However, it will not include plays by bots, which will go through further verification.
Eliminating the irksome and rather uninformative “301+” is an indication that YouTube is more certain about its ability to differentiate between human views and those from automated systems.
This distinction is critical for YouTube as selling ads is its main business.
This may not mean much for viewers, but creators will not have to wait to see how popular the most recent upload really is.
Another thing to remember is that YouTube is losing ground to Facebook FB. In fact, as reported by CNBC, Jason Calacanis predicted that Facebook will catch up to YouTube in about 4 to 5 years.
This could be a major reason why YouTube decided to get rid of 301+.
Facebook displays big video view numbers, while YouTube stands still due to its vetting policy.
As the website Reelseo puts it, “Retention and watch time appear to be noticeably lower on Facebook than on YouTube, especially after the initial native video upload, big the video view counts on the social networking site are making Facebook look like the absolute gods of video right now.”
Going Forward
With the competition heating up between Facebook and YouTube, it seems that the latter is going to finally make some changes that are long overdue.
Google currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Investors may also consider Amazon.com Inc AMZN currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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