Video Catalog Schema
Video Catalog Schema
One-line summary: Proposed structure for a curated library mapping senior tech questions to specific YouTube videos — device, task category, quality tier, and maintenance fields.
The insight
If patia surfaces YouTube video links as answers to how-to questions, it needs a curated catalog — not raw YouTube search results. Search results are unreliable for this use case: results change, quality is inconsistent, and generic tutorials mixed with senior-paced ones make results worse for the target population, not better.
A curated catalog has a consistent schema: each entry maps a topic (question type + device) to a specific video that has been verified for quality, pacing, caption availability, and URL stability. The catalog can be built incrementally — starting with 30–50 high-confidence iPhone entries — and extended as evidence justifies.
This page defines the schema. For the landscape assessment and build/no-build decision, see youtube-as-senior-tech-content-source.
Evidence base
From 2026-04-17-youtube-senior-tech-help-landscape: the landscape has a quality tier structure — Rich Bowlin is demonstrably Tier 1 for iPhone tasks; AARP/Senior Planet is Tier 1 institutionally but limited in video-on-demand depth; smaller channels need spot-checking before inclusion.
From senior-mobile-ux-principles (citing 2023-09-21-jmir-mobile-app-design-guidelines-older-adults): "Favor video tutorials over written instructions" is one of the 27 evidence-based design guidelines for older adults. This is the UX rationale for building the catalog at all.
Proposed topic taxonomy
Device axis
| Code | Covers |
|---|---|
ios | iPhone (any model) |
ipad | iPad (distinct enough from iPhone for many tasks) |
android | Android phones (all manufacturers) |
windows | Windows PC / laptop |
mac | macOS |
alexa | Amazon Echo / Alexa devices |
general | Device-agnostic (Zoom, Gmail, Facebook, etc.) |
Task category axis
| Code | Examples |
|---|---|
contacts-calling | Add/edit/find a contact, call from contacts, recent calls, voicemail |
messaging | Send/read text, group texts, iMessage vs SMS, WhatsApp |
photos-camera | Take photo, share photo, find a photo, delete, screenshot |
email | Set up email account, send/receive, find/search email, attachments |
video-calling | FaceTime setup and use, Zoom join/host, Google Meet, WhatsApp video |
settings | Text size, display brightness, volume, Do Not Disturb, accessibility settings |
wifi-bluetooth | Connect to Wi-Fi, pair Bluetooth device, forget a network |
apps | Download an app, update apps, delete app, App Store / Play Store basics |
accounts-passwords | Forgotten password, Apple ID/Google account recovery, two-factor auth |
security-scams | Recognize phishing, what government agencies will/won't do, safe browsing |
storage-battery | Free up storage, check battery health, phone running slow |
social-media | Facebook basics, Instagram, posting/sharing content |
payments-shopping | Apple Pay, Google Pay, safe online shopping |
health-apps | Reminders/alarms, health app basics, medication tracking |
voice-assistants | Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa — setup and common commands |
device-troubleshooting | Restart, factory reset, charging problems, frozen screen |
Catalog entry schema
Each catalog entry is a YAML document. Proposed location: a new research/wiki/catalogs/ directory, one file per device-category pair (e.g., ios-contacts-calling.md) containing multiple entries in YAML frontmatter + a brief editorial note.
Alternatively, a flat CSV or JSON file outside the wiki (in docs/ or a future data/ directory) may be more practical for programmatic access.
Schema per entry
- id: ios-add-contact-001
label: "Add a contact on iPhone"
device: ios
category: contacts-calling
keywords:
- add contact
- save phone number
- contacts app
- new contact
- add someone to contacts
video:
url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REPLACE_WITH_REAL_ID
channel: Rich Bowlin
title: "How to Add Contacts on iPhone — Easy Tutorial for Seniors"
duration_seconds: 310
published_date: 2023-05-10
quality:
captions: true # manual or auto-verified?
caption_type: auto # "manual" | "auto" | "none"
pacing: slow # "slow" | "medium" | "fast"
large_text_overlays: true
jargon_level: low # "low" | "medium" | "high"
tier: 1 # 1=verified high quality, 2=acceptable, 3=fallback only
maintenance:
last_verified: 2026-04
ios_version_shown: "17"
staleness_risk: medium # "low" | "medium" | "high" (high = UI changes annually)
backup_url: null # alternative if primary goes stale
Quality tier definitions
| Tier | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Senior-paced, task-specific, captioned, verified by a human reviewer |
| 2 | Acceptable pacing and clarity; may lack captions or have minor quality issues |
| 3 | Fallback only — covers a topic with no better option; flag for replacement |
Staleness risk definitions
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
low | Task UI rarely changes (e.g., "how to turn off the phone") |
medium | UI changes with major OS updates (annual for iOS, less frequent for Android) |
high | Frequently redesigned UI or fast-moving feature (e.g., privacy settings, notification controls) |
First-pass catalog priorities
Based on the landscape assessment, the highest-confidence starting set:
Tier 1 candidates (iOS, Rich Bowlin, high coverage confidence):
- Add a contact
- Make a phone call
- Send a text message
- Take and share a photo
- Increase text size
- Connect to Wi-Fi
- FaceTime — initiate a call
- Use Siri for basic tasks
- Check voicemail
- Download an app from the App Store
- Update apps
- Find a lost photo
- Block a phone number
- Turn on Do Not Disturb
- Restart the iPhone
AARP / Social Media 4 Beginners candidates (social/video calling, device-agnostic): 16. Join a Zoom meeting 17. Use Facebook basics 18. Video call on WhatsApp
Gap topics (no suitable source found — flag for production):
- Add a contact on Android
- Send a text on Android
- Connect to Wi-Fi on Android
- Any Windows task
- Password recovery (Apple ID or Google)
- Recognize a phishing scam
Maintenance model
The catalog requires ongoing maintenance. Recommended minimum:
| Trigger | Action |
|---|---|
| iOS major release (September/October annually) | Re-verify all ios entries with staleness_risk: medium or high |
| Android major release | Re-verify all android entries |
| Quarterly | Run link-check automation on all URLs; flag 404s and deleted videos |
| Agent conversation data available | Reprioritize catalog based on most-common unanswered questions |
Ownership note: At patia's current scale (solo dev), full catalog maintenance is a real ongoing cost. The catalog should start small (15–20 entries, iOS only) and expand only when agent conversation data confirms which topics need it most.
What this is NOT
- Not a user-facing UI specification — the catalog is backend data; how links are surfaced in the agent response is a separate UX decision
- Not a commitment to build — youtube-as-senior-tech-content-source is the question page; this schema assumes the answer is "yes, pilot it"
- Not a permanent format — if the catalog grows beyond ~200 entries, a database or CMS is more appropriate than YAML/markdown files
Design implications
- First-response heuristic: The agent should offer a video link only when (a) a Tier 1 entry exists for the exact task and device, and (b) the task is procedural ("how do I..."), not conceptual. Surfacing a Tier 3 video confidently is worse than writing a text walkthrough.
- Device identification is required: The catalog is only useful if the agent knows whether the user has an iPhone or Android. This must be captured in the Senior Profile (CLAUDE.md memory layer 1) or confirmed in the conversation.
- Fallback to text: If no Tier 1 or Tier 2 entry exists, the agent should produce a text walkthrough rather than surfacing a Tier 3 fallback or a generic YouTube search result.
Related
- youtube-as-senior-tech-content-source — landscape assessment and build/no-build question
- senior-mobile-ux-principles — the "favor video tutorials" guideline that justifies this investment
- senior-tech-adoption-factors — motivation and functional features categories; video as a usability lever