When It Comes to Online Video, Speed Thrills

We are an impatient society.  We are impatient people.  We also love our video (after all, we are visual creatures and nothing engages more than video).

That's why speed matters ... a lot ... when it comes to online video.  Speed matters when it comes to the online video reporting of news and sporting events.  Speed matters in the preparation of video for online distribution (think encoding).  And, speed certainly matters when it comes to the playback of that video.  We start losing interest once we see the loading "spinning wheel of death" after clicking "play."  We want it now!  Hey, we don't just want it, we deserve it!  (Louis C.K. would have a field day on that topic).

More hard proof on that point.  A new study reported by Gigaom ("Online viewers start leaving if video doesn't start playing in two seconds") concludes that 2 SECONDS is the point where many online viewers simply can't take it anymore and move on.  And, 6% more viewers abandon ship every second after that. 

Speed certainly does not kill when it comes to online video.  Speed is absolutely essential for online video services to survive and thrive.