Southwest Virginia Blogs

A recent report says YouTube is losing more than a million dollars a day. Even for Google, that eventually adds up to a lot of money. Since Google acquired YouTube, the advertising giant has begun including advertisements on YouTube pages as well as embedding ads in some videos. But the huge cost of dishing out video to the world is still much higher than the ad revenue earned.

I think there is a longer term problem that will eventually force YouTube to change direction or even fade away: YouTube fatigue.

Remember when email first became really popular in the late nineties? Everyone you knew was busily forwarding every stupid joke they had heard, and you happily forwarded the jokes on to everyone you knew. Eventually we all tired of that and went back to work. Well, sort of. Instead of reading recycled jokes and forwarding them on, many of us are busily watching YouTube and forwarding links with "Watch this one...really funny! Ha ha!" to all our friends and family.

Here is the problem. If the average YouTube video runs 5 to 7 minutes, and you get an average of 10 "Watch this Ha ha" messages a day, you are easily spending an hour a day watching really stupid videos that you won't even recall an hour later. And you've wasted a perfectly good hour of your time--time you will never get back.

There is just not enough time in the day to watch all the video that's out there.

YouTube fatigue. Do you find yourself clicking the pause button on a five minute video 30 seconds into the video? If so, you probably have YouTube fatigue. There is only so much time in the day we want to spend watching really stupid time-wasting video. Over the past fifteen years, I've seen this "newbie" phenomenon over and over again as some new service (email, IM, chat, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) catches on and everybody rushes to try it out. Facebook fatigue is kicking in as people realize there is more to life than getting messages from hundreds of "friends" about the most inconsequential information ("...brushing my teeth, out of Crest so had to use Gleem...").

Online video is going to grow, and it will continue to grow until it completely replaces cable TV and to a large extent, satellite TV. But alternatives like Hulu and iTunes, with better content and paid, ad-free content will eat away at YouTube.

After being well represented for over a decade by the former Commonwealth’s Attorney, Mike Bush, Russell County has a new top prosecutor. Mike Bush was recently tapped by the Virginia General Assembly to serve as Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judge.

On Thursday, April 2, 2009, Brian K. Patton was sworn in as Russell County’s new Commonwealth’s Attorney and will serve in that role until a Special Election is held on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

Brian has announced his candidacy to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination and hopes to continue in his role as the Commonwealth’s Attorney of Russell County. “Brian is unopposed for the Democratic nomination and will be our candidate in November for the Special Election,” said Steve Banner, Chairman of Russell County’s Democratic Committee. Banner stated, “Brian’s continued service as Commonwealth’s Attorney is a great asset to Russell County and its citizens.”

Brian has worked under Mike Bush in the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office since July, 2007. Prior to that, Brian was engaged in the private practice of law. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Emory & Henry College, in Emory, Virginia, and attended law school at the Ohio Northern University, in Ada, Ohio. Brian grew up in Dickenson County and his parents still reside there. He and his wife, Jayne, live in Lebanon.

Brian said that, “prescription drug abuse continues to be a serious issue facing Russell County and affecting so many lives of our citizens.” Brian continued, “I am going to make tackling our county’s prescription drug problem a top priority.” He stated, “the drug problem has become an epidemic, spanning generations, that we have to aggressively fight.”

Members of law enforcement are eager to continue working with Brian as the new Commonwealth’s Attorney.

Russell County’s Sheriff, Steve Dye said, “Brian will bring the same high-standards to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office that we have grown accustomed to with Mike Bush. Law Enforcement officers and the citizens of Russell County will continue to be well represented by someone that is always accessible and determined to make Russell County a great place to live.”

The Town of Lebanon’s Chief of Police, Mark Mitchell said, “Brian is a perfect fit for Commonwealth’s Attorney and received excellent training under Mike Bush. He brings his own innovative approach and zeal to the prosecution of crimes, which serves to maintain the safety and security of the citizens of the Town of Lebanon and Russell County.”

Brian says he “is looking forward to continuing the excellent partnerships between his office and local law enforcement agencies, and working as a team to keep Russell County safe and known for being tough on crime.”

Brian was recently selected to serve as the March of Dimes‘ Honorary Chairman. Nikki Hicks, the March of Dimes Community Director for the Greater Blue Ridge Division, said “over the years, Brian has fought hard for children’s rights in the courtroom. What better person to have on the side of the March of Dimes, fighting for the heath of all babies.”

Brian said, ‘he is proud to be a part of an organization and event that are so important and historic.’ The organization was originally formed in 1938, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and its primary work was the crusade against the nationwide epidemic known as poliomyelitis, which is commonly referred to as polio. . . . ‘As a child, I remember discussing the March of Dimes organization in school and the historic service it provided to so many with the help of President Roosevelt. One of my fondest childhood memories is going around bumming for dimes to turn in for the March of Dimes,’ said Patton.

See the Lebanon News article for the full story.