These things are not optimized for what we prefer but for what leads us to behave in a way that maximizes a particular metric, for youtube it's global watch time.
Do they? They have the biggest browser, an online office suite, a cloud, and a giant ad network. They want to maximize internet use, or they should want to.
Google makes the web better for itself. Which is not the same as making it better for everyone else. After all, 77% of their revenue comes from online ads.
No users = no clicks = no Google. Their incentive is to strike a balance between profiting off users and driving all the users away. I'm not commenting on whether they're getting it right.
The issue is them getting it right is finding a balance point which is maximizing their profits at the expense of the general public. They are willing to make a Web Browser and Android to limit how much people can avoid being tracked etc.
We get a free search engine, map, office suite, email, the best browser, and video platform.
And while some here will say it’s enshittified beyond hope, it’s just not. Their products are great, I use them every day, and every now and then I click on an ad for something I like.
Unfortunately no, Google wants to maximize their profit, and they'll enshittify the web in that pursuit until it collapses. They have Android, they don't need the web to exist.
> They have Android, they don't need the web to exist.
In 2023 77% of Google's money came from online advertising. While the percentage is lower than in 2017 when it was 86%, Google is fully dependent on the web.
Apple sells expensive solutions to cash-rich consumers (some of whom are also time-poor) who are willing to throw money at a technical problem (setting up a device with an OS) to make it go away (ie, buying an iPhone, iPad, and Mac).
Why would you ever want to advertise to anyone else?
Also, ads. I guess the shorter the time is between clicking the play button and the ad starting, the more people will have "seen" more of the ad before deciding that the video isn't worth watching the ad.