There's a CBC radio show called the Age of Persuasion that did an excellent show called "Breaking the Contract" [1] on this topic. What is the role of advertising? You are saying is essentially about being annoying; I say, bad advertising is about being annoying, and good advertising gives something back.

The idea of putting up some sort of "Tweet-wall" before I can watch a video and forcing me to tell everyone I'm watching said video is a bit like coercing a review from someone about material they have never seen. Never mind being incredibly annoying, it's also basically asking the user to lie. You can't have an opinion about something about which you know nothing.

And do the Twitter messages coming from this Tweet-wall really add value? To anything or anyone? To the user having to type the message, it's like they're being asked to generate spam for all their followers.

And does that forced Twitter spam actually benefit the video in the long run? Or does it cast a shadowy pall over the video, the video owner, the person forced to tweet, and ultimately, the technology itself?

I'm fascinated at how many in this thread see this as a good idea. I can't even fathom how someone would come to that conclusion.

[1] http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/episode/2009/02/14/season-...