YouTube vs. Pandora

I spend a significant portion of my day on the internet whether it is for entertainment or school work.  When it comes to entertainment, YouTube and Pandora are my go-to sites. YouTube is a wonderful website where random people can share videos.  These videos range from stupid stunts to any song ever created.  Although YouTube has a splendid collection of funny videos, I tend to use it to search songs and listen to music.  However, I also use Pandora which is an online radio where you can search an artist name, genre, or song name then Pandora creates a station with similar music.  This website is a great place to discover new music and unlike YouTube, it does all the work for you. 

Both YouTube and Pandora seem to target the younger generation which becomes evident when analyzing the visual strategies of each.  When searching YouTube, a very busy screen appears. The very first thing your eye catches is a large advertisement plastered on the center of the page.   These ads are typically for a new movie or video game placed in a prime location for the advertisers’ target audience (teens-young adults) to find.  On the left side is a tool bar with specific video categories to help navigate the vast website.  And at the bottom of the page is a section of recommended videos based on your search history.  However, if none of these sections appeal to the viewer, there is search bar at the top of the screen for free roam of the website. The internet is obviously a very untrustworthy source so ethos is difficult to come by.  I would say YouTube shows its credibility by posting videos on the homepage with a large number of views to portray its vast audience.  Also, if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page there are multiple links to show YouTube’s credibility and website policies.

When searching Pandora, a very simple screen appears. Similar to YouTube, there is a tool bar on the left side with a list of all the stations that you have created.  In the center of the screen is a picture of the album cover for the song playing and just below this is a description of the artist and/or the lyrics.  Centered at the top of the screen are a serious of buttons to navigate the station similar to a car radio with a pause/play button and skip button.  And of course, to the right of the screen is a large, flashy advertisement cunningly placed on a popular website.  Again, ethos on the internet is difficult to build.  But Pandora, like YouTube, has a series of links at the bottom of the page to show its credibility being a website with free music. 

Overall, Pandora works best for me because being a lazy college student I like that it creates a station for you and has an ongoing track of songs.  It is difficult to find quality videos on YouTube and you must constantly search for videos.  On the visual side, Pandora has a much simpler design.  I think this simple presentation works the best out of both websites.