Scott Kirsner from Cinematech brings up a very good discussion point for this online-video world that we live in. There seems to be a one-minute barrier when it comes to people watching online content. Why is it that people have a hard time getting past that one minute point? Scott has 4 points:

• Most are bad and worth abandoning
• Poorly described (not the video you thought it was going to be)
• No way to link within a video (you can do it with Flash, but it takes a lot of extra work) so people lose patience searching for what they are looking for
• People don't have time

Now if viewers are seeking out your video specifically then you will probably get more of their attention as they expect you to help them with their problem. Think instructional videos. But when it comes to entertainment, people are extremely fickle with what they will put up with. It's no wonder when there is so much free content out there competing for attention that a viewer can easily skip over your video if they aren't hooked within the first 30 seconds. And where do people watch video longer? In the living room on the TV.

The web has two big mindsets attached to it: 1) Everything is free and 2) the faster the better. Alex Lindsay from This Week in Media frequently talks about how iTunes was successful because they broke away from the web browser, releasing the mentality that everything is free. How well do you think iTunes would do if it were merely a website? Do you think they would sell 1 billion songs? And we are always craving more speed on the web from faster broadband access to the way sites are designed -- all to optimize the efficiency of the delivery of information. That is why YouTube was such a big hit. Flash video takes no time load and there are no pre-roll ads to get in the way of the video you want to see. This get-it-quick mentality combined with the ease of use are what make YouTube such a positive experience causing others to gravitate to the site is substantial numbers.

Now how can you break the one minute barrier?

• Accurately describe your video so people will know if it is what they are looking for when they arrive.
• If you are into making your own Flash player and you have a pretty long video add in chapter points or merely break it up into parts.
• Charge for it.

I know many of you won't like that last one but if a viewer gives up something of value (like money) than they will be more committed to watching it all the way through. Until there is a simple way to send video to another device, like a TV in the living room, the one-minute barrier is something we will just have to learn to live with.