I Don’t Understand the Amazon Video Algorithm

I have no idea how Amazon Video chooses what videos to show people.

I mean, I know that you can impact things by having more reviews, or sharing the links to the video and generating more traffic. But when that’s not happening, what makes Amazon Video show content to people?

Recently I saw a spike in older content that’s on Amazon Video, which I placed their through Amazon Video Direct. I’ve done zero promotion for this in the last year. It just sits there.

I assumed that people who are searching for religious video content on Amazon might stumble across it. And I’ve seen a steady trickle of payments that reflect that. I’m getting enough to pay for my lunch once a month. Not bad for content that was just sitting on a hard drive. AVD payments are always more than my similar content on Youtube. Always.

Then October happens. Suddenly there is a spike in minutes viewed and number of individual streams. And almost all of it is for the series. And based the a couple of reviews, the people seeing it aren’t looking for religious content. (It’s always a fun adventure to see how a non Christian reviewer sees content that is meant specifically for a Christian audience.)

So I don’t get how Amazon is populating the series to viewers. I search through Google to see if the link had been shared somewhere, but didn’t find anything other than the normal listings. Its actually easier to find the series on Youtube or Parables TV if you search on Google.

Overall the numbers of views aren’t huge, but its about 5 times what I normally get. Now, in November, the views have dropped back to the normal rate. I wish I understood this better so I can capitalize on it more when my doc film releases next year.

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Technically Superior Internet Syndrome

There’s a virus infecting the internet. Really, it’s infecting internet users. Luckily there are steps you can take to protect yourself.

Symptoms of this infection are most easily seen in the comment sections of popular sites like Youtube or social media platforms. While it may show up anywhere, it’s rampant in tech communities.

The affliction comes on you like this: You do a Youtube search to find out more about a piece of gear, maybe a drone or camera. You watch a video, and realize that the video didn’t include some very critical information. So you have the overwhelming urge to comment, to share you’re superior understanding of the issue.

Maybe someone has asked a question in a group you frequent. But you know that the question, at it’s base level is fundamentally flawed. So, rather than answer the simple question, you proceed to explain why the original post is wrong headed and tell the world the correct approach, provide the correct information. At no time do you even consider answering the question as asked.

It can strike at any time, on any issue.

Here’s an example about van graphics:

Original post is looking for design inspiration. The two commenters were stricken with the need to share vital information, unrelated to the original question. One even correcting the 1st commenter.

I recently saw a comment on a professional videographer’s video about a drone flight. The commenter was quick to point out that the video has been taken illegally, since the location required a permit to fly drones. At no point did the commenter consider that the person flying the drone may have actually acquired a permit, and been flying with permission.

Once a member of a FB group posted an innocent questions about showing videos in their church. Rather than answer that question, several responders pointed out that showing the clips would be illegal without the proper licensing. At no time did the infected consider that the person asking the question might already know that. They assumed they knew better, and told everyone so.

Technically Superior Internet Syndrome (or T-SIS) is rampant.

There is at this time, no cure. But you can fight the symptoms by being aware of them, and taking a moment before you answer a question to make sue you’re actually answering a question. Pause before you tell the world how wrong someone is to make sure you know all the facts. Generally, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything. If you aren’t answering the question, don’t post.