Let me start off by saying I had never heard of Vimeo prior to reading these articles. I was not surprised that Vimeo has a smaller online community and isn't a big self promoter. My first impression of Vimeo is that it seems to carry a more professional reputation. I have always used YouTube for my video needs. It is the most popular site with the biggest online community for this service in the world. Searching for videos online is synonymous for going on YouTube in my eyes. With this comes a lot of extra trash you are likely to run across on YouTube.
After taking a closer look at these two sites and their pros and cons, I can't say I feel much differently about the subject. Vimeo seems to have a professional, clean look. Vimeo doesn't limit video length. Vimeo cuts down on advertisements that can slow down the viewer. It also costs money for the full service. YouTube is a constant self promoter with the logo always in sight. The command bars take away from a clean look very much so. Videos cannot exceed 10 minutes on YouTube. Advertisements run rampant on YouTube, seemingly before every video you watch. YouTube also has the classic slogan, "Broadcast Yourself" and let's not forget it is completely free.
One article claims that Vimeo is gaining popularity amongst the masses. I personally do not see it. With social networking as a social norm and word of mouth in the everyday, I feel as though the term Vimeo would have come up in conversation by now if it were such a popular tool. Unless YouTube nosedives like our economy, Vimeo could never surpass it in popularity. Some of the pros of Vimeo, are not that great in my eyes either.
Vimeo does not put a limit on video length. I do not think this is a good thing. Everyday people can post limitless amounts of garbage on video without time cap. These useless videos of dogs rolling on the ground or people walking around in shopping malls would take up even more space without a cap. In the event that a user has useful content that exceeds the 10 minute mark, how hard is it to make a "Part 2". Furthermore, you can provide a link to "Part 2" at the end of the "Part 1" video. Many people reference the advertisements that YouTube is clogged with. I see this as a slight issue only because most advertisements I have seen let you skip past them after 5 or 10 seconds. If you don't have an extra 5 or 10 seconds in your life, I recommend you rework your schedule because that must be stressful and unhealthy.
When unpacking the elements of each website and analyzing what they have to offer, YouTube is clearly superior. The biggest flaw a website can have is being irrelevant. Vimeo's online community is dwarfed by that of YouTube. Viewers are what matters in this scenario. If your video isn't being looked at or has less of a chance at being looked at, you are already at a disadvantage. You post where people are watching, you "Broadcast Yourself" on YouTube.
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