The first site that I would like to analyze would be my favorite website of all time, Youtube. As a site that allows visitors watch user posted videos for free, Youtube has always been very good at what it does, and a big part of Youtube's success can be found in its rhetoric. Youtube's layout is constantly changing but at the moment it's home screen consists of a centered search bar at the top with a few links to either side that allow you to set up or access your account, a large advertisement beneath, usually a movie trailer, followed by a short list videos that are currently popular. Beneath that list, the only thing the site has is a vertical list of videos posted by people you have subscribed to. This layout is, I feel, incredibly effective at drawing in viewers because it is both simple and straight-forward. People that visit Youtube go there in order to watch videos so having the search bar front and center is a great way for youtube to invite people in and get them to explore more of the site. The ad, while a bit large, doesn't take away from this feeling because the ads are videos themselves which fits in with Youtube's video theme. Youtube is meant to appeal to appeal to anyone and it's simplicity, inoffensive color scheme (white with a bit of red), and overall usefulness (since the videos themselves are often very useful) make it a great site.
The next site I would like to analyze is Hulu. Hulu is similar to Youtube in that they are both sites that allow visitors to watch videos but are, in essence, very different. While Youtube is built and supplied with new videos by its users, Hulu only has videos involving televised productions. That being said, Hulu's rhetoric is, I feel, good but not as effective as Youtube's. At the top of the home screen there is a search bar, smaller than youtube's, that will fade slightly into the giant advertisement that takes over the entire screen. The ad is awkward because it will shift between several different ads with some of them not even video related. If you scroll beneath the add the site behind to look better, with neatly arranged video links to videos or video series' that are either popular or are related to ones you have watched in the past. Hulu uses a style that seems more "official" and somewhat corporate, which is fine but has always put a bit of hesitation into me as a casual viewer. The feel though is likely meant to feel that way due to the fact that Hulu only uses "official" material. Overall I'd say Hulu is effective at appealing to visitors but could do better in the future.
-Garrett Garcia
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