YouTube
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Online video sharing
What is it?
Free, highly popular website on which users can post videos onto its network.
How did it begin?
YouTube was founded by three former employees of PayPal, an internet payments service: Steve Chen, Chad Hurley & Jawed Karim.It was launched on the World Wide Web as a trial in May 2005. It had its proper debut some 6 months later, and now hosts over 100 million video clips (and counting). YouTube employs 67 people and has headquarters in central San Mateo, California - above a Pizza shop.
How does it work?
Users simply create a YouTube account and upload videos from recording devices with easy-to-use software such as Apple iMovie or Windows MovieMaker. The user then simply clicks on the upload link on the YouTube homepage.It is a free service - it costs nothing to upload videos or view other pieces. Revenue is generated from advertising placed on the website.
Where to now?
YouTube was recently purchased by Google for $US1.65 billion ($A2.2 billion) in Google shares. Google's purchase has created a monopoly- given it runs its own video uploading network, Google Video. Despite reports that it will continue to run as a separate company, questions are raised over how sustainable it is. YouTube's profitability is purely determined by its users. Hence, if users tun out, YouTube becomes a white elephant. As Scott Korp from Publishing 2.0 argues:
Why did Google buy YouTube? Because they have to own it to control it, and they need to control it in order to monetize it. But on YouTube and other user-driven content platforms, the users control the network. If they don’t like the ads or other commercialization, they will just jump to another node in the network — or jump to another network.
Think of it like this:
Pipe = one way in and one way out
Network = infinite nodes, infinite entry and exit points
Why does everyone assume that MySpace and YouTube will eventually be wildly profitable? Because in the past, no who controlled that much attention failed to make money. The problem is that MySpace and YouTube don’t control anything. They are networks, not pipes. Many ways in, many ways out, many alternatives. Even worse (from a media economics standpoint), they are networks within networks (within networks).
No control, no profit.
Networked Communities (Tagging)
One of the key differences between YouTube and its competitors is the ability to interact with other users. As the P2P foundation states:
YouTube is about watching socially, but of course, from one's own computer, out of synch iun time, but in synch in terms of content.
It helps provide the asynchronicity of experience, personaliz-ability of tags, uploading, favorites, lists, channels and a play duration much better suited to consumption than tv.
YouTube's formula is simple. Anyone can make a movie, post it to a website, and sit back while word spreads about how stupid, clever, offensive or funny it might be, as Garry Barker from The Age in his editorial 'The Tube's Amazing Ride' states. Users then rate the clip, post comments and tell others about it via email, blogs or word of mouth. Hence, the popularity or the notoriety of each contribution can be spread.It's called viral video and it's something major networks and companies around the world are trying to get onto the back of. Initially, many major companies wanted to sue YouTube for copyright breach. However, since then many have realised that it provides priceless advertising to the millions ov viewers across the globe. One of YouTube's founders, Chad Hurley, recently said that he aims to have every music video ever made loaded onto their networking site. Warners recently announced that it was providing its entire music-video library and share advertising profits as part of its arrangement with YouTube.
Good examples of the tagging element to YouTube include the Finger Moustache. Users must upload personal videos where they hold their moustache-drawn fingers up to their face, or someone elses. Simple and somewhat childish, but extremely popular at the same time. The original video was added on September 27, 2006 and there are 437,298 related responses to date, including 62 direct responses. Many other video-tagging concepts have arisen, with some offering prizes for the best video. Some include Miss Horrorfest, Emery Video Contest and the Teddy Geiger Lip Synching Contest. We have tried our own version of video tagging, with limited success, titled What's your favourite part of the day?
Navigation
Home
What is Phototag?
Cultural Significance
Tag!
Variations on a Theme
Appendix
