BitTube: the easiest way to earn crypto on a video hosting platform?

TUBE will have caught the attention of anyone using Bittrex this month for it has doubled its value in 3 weeks, despite the bear market.

Intrigued by its success, I investigated this add free video sharing platform for the first time yesterday to learn what it was all about and ultimately decide if I want to join it.

Check out the site for yourself here: https://bit.tube

First impression

The sign up process is simple and fast. All you need is an email address. Designed with the same layout as YouTube it immediately feels familiar and easy to use.

Further to this, they have made it super simple to import all your existing YouTube films into BitTube with one click. Clever.

This is a really effective way to encourage newcomers into the crypto space.

Earn while you watch

Like DTube they use IPFS for hosting but unlike DTube they don't use the STEEM blockchain or an upvote reward system.

Before their last hardfork they simply turned your computer into a mini mining rig by activating spare processing power, generating new coins while you are watching films. The rewards for your mining would be split between the uploader and the viewer, paid on a weekly basis directly into your wallet, accessible through your account.

However, this did not appear to work due to too many people having computers with insufficient power to compete with the main group of miners.

Now the mining is left to the miners and the users simply split the rewards generated by the blockchain.

Of the blockchain’s total block reward, 70% goes to the miners and 30% is reserved for Airtime distribution, of which 70% will go to publishers, 20% to viewers and 10% to the developers.

To clarify, if I upload a film, the rate at which I make TUBE is dictated by the number of hours other users spend watching it. And I make further TUBE based on the number of hours I spend watching other peoples' films.

Other ways to earn

There is a mechanism for tipping your favourite content creators with the TUBE in your wallet.

There is also an option to set a price for your films, meaning that people must pay you directly to see them, though am guessing there is not much point in this for the less established users.

Evidence of manipulation?

I was confused at first why so many of the 'films' were actually just a single image (or stock footage) set to music... all of them around 3 hours long.

In a world where making crypto is more important to the average user than producing quality content this becomes nothing more than a numbers game. Look at the third film in the above list:

Vivid Colours - a sea of flowers (3h)

It has been watched 1827 time in just 4 days. When we actually watch it, we can be sure it is not popular because of its content but more likely because it is 3 hours long.

Somehow the uploader has been able to get multiple hits on his 'film' in the first few days, putting it at the top of the trending feed and from here it is likely to get a bunch more hits because all people have to do is endlessly play 3h films (with the autoplay on) to maximise their TUBE earnings.

What about Newcomers?

If we take a look at the Newcomer feed we will see that very few people are getting views.

Unlike the experience of a newcomer posting their introductory post on Steemit, these users are unlikely to see any kind of interaction at all. Which is not going to help adoption for serious content creators.

All this being said, I am still very impressed with what I have see so far. Their interface is nothing short of awesome. Finally I can have playlists again! Still waiting for DTube to catch up on this one.

Will I be joining?

Absolutely! It costs me nothing to upload my vast library of YouTube films and we shall see if in time this site become less about endlessly playing videos which are not being watched and more about the appreciation of quality content.

Who is @samstonehill?

He was a London based filmmaker until he sold everything and set out on a barefoot journey around the world, currently based in the south of France.

He is travelling with his partner & two children and with no bank account he has been living on STEEM & crypto for over a year.

All content created for this account is 100% original (unless otherwise stated), produced by @samstonehill who invites you to use & share freely as you wish.

Sam is the creator of:

@steemshop where you can buy or sell anything you like using your steemit wallet

@steemmasters which provides FREE TUTORIALS, personal training & resteeming services. Website HERE
Contact me directly on steem.chat if you want to know more about this

@steemholidays which encourages resort owners to offer holiday packages in Steem or SBD

@steemtv which aims to provide the best in decentralised films, exclusive to Steemit & DTube

The dailyquotes tag initiative designed to encourage steemians to share their most life changing quotes with the community on a daily basis.

The Aspiring Steemit Whales & Dolphins group on Facebook which seeks to help newcomers make the transition from Facebook to Steemit, providing them with detailed notes and personal assistance with their posts... resteeming them when he can.

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Here is a list of Steemit Witness I have voted for & recommend you do the same:
@teamsteem @timcliff @jesta @good-karma @someguy123 @blocktrades @pfunk @klye @krnel @blueorgy @ausbitbank @thecryptodrive @ura-soul @pharesim

Without them our beloved Steemship would not fly.

Learn what this means HERE and place your vote HERE

All non original photo sources can be found by clicking on the image