Bixby Showcase - It does more than you might think! (Sponsored)

[Ordinarily_Greater]

3 hours ago, LinusTech said:

I've been working on my reviews of the Mi Mix 2, Pixel 2, and V30 since doing this video so because of my policy of using every device I review as my daily driver I haven't even had a chance to get reacquainted with Bixby. 

 

- sent from my LG V30 

V30? that phone finally came out after few months Austin reviewed it

i guess i want the V30 afterall, and yeah i also agree with your opinion using the google assistant because it's great at listening, except for some words

[Joelsome2211]

Well done Linus, you made a stream that addressed the problems and you were honest. I will always respect people that do that. The video was good for what it was, but the problem we had with it was that you were implying that bixpy was great, when you have told us many times that you don't think it works well. I'm still a fan, and will be taking out floatplane membership soon, just please don't release stuff that contradicts what you think.

[Datboi73]

9 hours ago, SupremeChunk said:

Didn't he just recently say he didn't really like Bixby? Like, at all? 

 

He said that he didn't like the way that the Bixby button is unprogramabble

[Egg-Roll]

here's what he said (it'll start where it matters):

 The problem to me is he was sarcastic sounding in nature in his review about Bixby (7:05)

 

He even said this about Bixby as well:

 

So understandably I can see why many people got annoyed/upset at this (lets call it a infomercial). My grief isn't the sponsored part but the inconsistency that was shown. In my eyes LTT was used by Samsung to attempt damage control of Bixby if what was told in previous videos was true, by trying to make Bixby sound "all that". If I was Linus I personally would not of permitted this video, esp if I didn't need the financial backing, or was able to be so selective. However if I did I would not of approved the script or at the very least as it was presented in the video.

 

I hope this is a lesson to LTT crew as much as it is to those who watched the live stream starting off mad and then becoming understanding. I didn't dislike the video however I don't approve the ending completely, The part where Linus said "and the devices that support her" got me irritated as it to me was unneeded and made it sound like more than just the S8 series was supported.

 

I haven't owned a Samsung since the S4 as it was very short lived (4 months i think, it overheated and died), I also make it a habit to watch every video to support LTT even this one. In the live stream Linus said he is biased towards LG phones. However not all LG phones suck, The G5 sucked simply because the commercials sucked (i'm going to go find that G5 review now, but i hated the commercials). The Stylo 3 Plus I own is a nice phone maybe not top tier but for the price I like it, and it's better than the stylo 2+ which I also own, the point is clumping all phones from the same company into the same dumpster category is a bad idea. I like the A5 but hate the S series, if I wanted to I could of bought it but I didn't as the OLED wasn't enough for me to buy it. Especially if the battery starts heating up, with my Stylo I yank it out (no issues), with the A5 I would have to throw it yelling "Fire in the hole", which really is another and main reason why I won't buy Samsung(built in batteries).

 

Btw i'm calling bluff on Linus claiming phone makers lose money due to support. If they keep losing money why do it? (59 min in the Responding video)

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/26/samsung-electronics-q2-second-quarter-results.html

https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/3/10894200/android-smartphone-oem-profit

Out of all Android devices i have owned, only the Moto G 2nd gen and Nvidia Shield ever got regular updates.

 

Also if I was LTT i would pull Bixby off youtube (as unlisted) because It's still maintain a large margin of hate, even if it means refunding and never having to deal with Samsung paid slots again. To me Samsung gets enough PR, and even Linus said himself they can be selective, this is one they should of been more selective about.

 

One more thing, the Bixby Showcase was an advertisement. Here's why, a Sponsor is someone like Tunnelbear or even Cooler Master for letting you do what you did with the airflow video. What made Bixby a ad was there where no other sponsors and you didn't stop talking about her, that's what makes it a ad. Having personality in the video is a term in the agreement, same with what you chose to be in the video following said guidelines, just like how you had to hawk some features that "wowed" you. The video was basically Samsung blowing some advertising money on a feature based video for their new product line.

[Shreyas1]

16 hours ago, Magnetorheological said:

No thanks. I have the Bixby button on my S8 remapped to the flashlight. Much more useful.

You can remap it?

[Magnetorheological]

Just now, Shreyas1 said:

You can remap it?

Yeah, but you need a third party app for it. I forgot what the app is called but just search for it on the play store and it will pop up.

[Zodiark1593]

I didn't find anything objectionable in the video myself. Up front, it was disclosed as sponsored, and nothing was directly said that could be thought of as a "review". The impression I got from the video was "Samsung wants to showcase these features, how to make them fun for the audience."

[Zodiark1593]

Watching that (formerly) live stream now.

 

Could a separate channel be made for sponsored videos? Something like LTT Sponsored? This would let users decide whether or not to even see manufacturer sponsored videos, though this may also be objectionable to potential sponsors as well. Well, that and three LTT channels already exist (Linustechtips, Techquickie, Channelsuperfun).

[Fiat-Libertas]

After watching the response video, I think you need to be careful with the "if you don't like it you don't have to watch it" stance.

 

Ok, so should I just not watch any of the future Friday "showcase" videos because you're telling me they're going to all be similarly uninteresting and more or less a straight up ad?

 

If we look at another sponsored video that came out this week, "Highest Airflow PC EVER" it has the same "Includes Paid Promotion" and "sponsored by cooler master" language at the beginning of the video as this Bixby video (replace cooler master with Samsung), but the videos are drastically different. The airflow video is actually of you testing something, and providing graphs and comparisons that ends up being a really fun and interesting video. Yet the Bixby video had nothing of the like and is pretty much just you admittedly reading off a list of how great all these Bixby features are. Would you categorize these videos differently? Was the sponsorship priced differently? Perhaps you need to introduce different wording or language at the beginning. Unless that's what you want the "showcase" wording to mean: "BORING AD STAY AWAY".

[JoostinOnline]

4 hours ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Watching that (formerly) live stream now.

 

Could a separate channel be made for sponsored videos? Something like LTT Sponsored? This would let users decide whether or not to even see manufacturer sponsored videos, though this may also be objectionable to potential sponsors as well. Well, that and three LTT channels already exist (Linustechtips, Techquickie, Channelsuperfun).

Literally nobody would subscribe to that once they realized what it was.

 

This isn't the only increase in revenue.  They've recently started enabling monetization on their new videos, something I remember Linus saying he wouldn't do.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and assumed this was a mistake.  When I asked Linus, he just ignored the question.  That's not transparency.  I totally understand wanting to make more money.  The problem I have is when someone pretends they don't know anything about it.  He specifically said "No idea what any of you are talking about."

[Cieronph]

26 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Literally nobody would subscribe to that once they realized what it was.

 

This isn't the only increase in revenue.  They've recently started enabling monetization on their new videos, something I remember Linus saying he wouldn't do.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and assumed this was a mistake.  When I asked Linus, he just ignored the question.  That's not transparency.  I totally understand wanting to make more money.  The problem I have is when someone pretends they don't know anything about it.  He specifically said "No idea what any of you are talking about."

I have literally always had youtube ads before the LTT ones, I thought everyone did?? I remember them having like a week break back when the whole "you cant place ads in youtube videos fiasco kicked off" but then it all went back to normal? Maybe youve just been graced by the youtube gods or you had an adblocker enabled??

[JoostinOnline]

1 hour ago, Cieronph said:

I have literally always had youtube ads before the LTT ones, I thought everyone did?? I remember them having like a week break back when the whole "you cant place ads in youtube videos fiasco kicked off" but then it all went back to normal? Maybe youve just been graced by the youtube gods or you had an adblocker enabled??

Do you mean the skippable ones that have nothing to do with tech?

[abazigal]

7 hours ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Watching that (formerly) live stream now.

 

Could a separate channel be made for sponsored videos? Something like LTT Sponsored? This would let users decide whether or not to even see manufacturer sponsored videos, though this may also be objectionable to potential sponsors as well. Well, that and three LTT channels already exist (Linustechtips, Techquickie, Channelsuperfun).

I think the issue isn’t with sponsored videos, but videos which violate the whole Linus narrative. Imagine if a well-known Vegan started running ads for beef jerky on her YouTube channel. Maybe to her, it’s just business, but it’s a kick in the face for her subscribers. 

 

Like it or not, Linus is a media personality and has a reputation on YouTube, and sometimes, it’s just not enough to be open and aboveboard. You must also be seen to be as such, and sometimes, that may mean turning down deals which may not jive with the image you have cultivated, even if it means flushing good money down the toilet. 

 

It may also mean being more careful with your words so you don’t end up talking yourself into a corner with regards to product endorsement. 

 

For whatever it’s worth, I personally didn’t find it a huge deal, but a ton of people evidently felt strongly enough on the matter that he had to make a follow up video. I just hope it was worth it. 

[Ordinarily_Greater]

19 hours ago, huilun02 said:

Its not a paid review. Its a paid sales pitch conveniently placed in a channel of high tech authority where people go to for advice. I still love you Linus, and more $ to is for the better. Just hope this doesn't become a norm. 

mitchell Spawn lol

[Cieronph]

6 hours ago, JoostinOnline said:

Do you mean the skippable ones that have nothing to do with tech?

Yep I have had the wix one for literally the past year hahaha

[arnavvr]

On 10/27/2017 at 2:59 PM, Fiat-Libertas said:

Never had to complain about a sponsored spot until now, but this video (or should i say ad) was atrocious. It literally feels like something I would see on tv that went through a focus group 5 times. 

 

Also sad to know that one of the most vocal disapprovers of bixby would roll over and shill for it. 

Honestly the sponsored content used to be OK, it was just a name drop at the end of the video, but after the Prius Video, everything went downhill. 

[DoctorWho1975]

OK Bixby.. how much have I pissed off Yvonne today?