Started by trying to estimate global internet users and immediately got lost in my own math.
Break down the problem into a top-down estimation: start with YouTube's global user base, estimate daily active users, then average videos watched per user per day. Segment users by region or engagement level to refine the estimate and show structured thinking.
Pro tip: State your assumptions clearly and round numbers to make calculations easy; the interviewer cares more about your logic than the exact number. Also, mention that you'd validate with internal data like YouTube Analytics if available.
Confirm whether 'videos watched' includes all video types (e.g., Shorts, live streams) and whether it's global or a specific region. Assume global unless specified.
Start with world population (~8B), estimate internet penetration (~60%), and YouTube's reach among internet users (~80%). This gives ~3.8B potential users.
Assume a fraction of potential users are daily active (e.g., 50%), yielding ~1.9B DAU. Segment by region or age if needed.
Consider average session length and videos per session. For example, if average user watches 30 minutes/day and average video is 5 minutes, that's 6 videos/day. Adjust for heavy vs. light users.
Multiply DAU by average videos per user (1.9B * 6 = 11.4B). Sanity-check against known metrics (e.g., YouTube reports 1B hours watched daily; if average video is 5 min, that's 12B videos).
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.