As a cost-saving device, YouTube introduced "text mode" for its videos. When this feature was activated by a user selecting "TEXTp" from a dropdown menu, the images in any video were converted into a series of letters and numbers (like animated ASCII art). This conversion not only reduced bandwidth costs (thereby saving YouTube money), it also had "the added benefit of promoting literacy!"
The Chief Financial Officer of YouTube
posted a note to the company's official blog urging people to help the company by watching videos in text mode because, "For every person who selects TEXTp and keeps it on while you watch a video, you save YouTube $1 a second, resulting in potentially billions of dollars of savings for us."
Comments