Since its beginning, the web site Youtube.com has had tremendous success. During the summer of 2006, YouTube became one of the fastest growing sites on the internet, out pacing even MySpace’s growth. It is estimated that 78.3 million videos had been uploaded as of March 2008, with over 150,000 videos being added every day. YouTube has become one of the largest communication tools in the world. The site has developed a wide variety of individuals using YouTube for its wide variety of audiences and potential viewers. Sports athletes, music enthusiasts, business professionals, and children use YouTube’s simple and inexpensive video posting to publish their videos on the web. With so many potential viewers, YouTube has become a great way for people to get their name out there for whatever means they happen to be seeking.
YouTube is not only a great site for communication purposes, but also has become a popular site for entertainment. Thousands upon thousands of videos are posted every hour, some serious, others downright hilarious. Video surfing on YouTube has become and activity within itself. I personally have laugh for hours just surfing different videos on YouTube with a group of friends. It is becoming more and more common to hear, “have you seen the YouTube video when…”. YouTube has developed into a very popular site used for entertainment purposes, and with more and more people becoming familiar and comfortable with the site, YouTube’s future looks very bright.
So I have discussed how YouTube can and is being used for both communication and entertainment purposes, but are there any other aspects of daily life that the site addresses? The answer to this question is an overwhelming yes! YouTube has videos that address just about every aspect of daily life. If you want to watch how to change a tire, cook a meal, tie a tie, or watch the correct form for the squat exercise, all of these and many more are online at your disposal.
YouTube has developed into a great web site, with many different aspects that appeal to a wide variety of audiences, but there are also some downsides to having such a great program at our disposal. With the great freedom of YouTube’s services, anyone can post a video, and anyone can view a video you post. This poses some issues with content and privacy. Another content issue is dealing with violent videos and animal abuse. Another problem YouTube is coming across is privacy invasion and Copyright infringement. People are posting videos that they don’t have permission to post, and in-turn YouTube takes the blame. YouTube does their best to restrict these videos, but it will always be present in one way or another.
Interesting sites pertaining to YouTube: Stats and Facts
http://www.gadgetizer.com/2006/08/31/youtube-statistics-phenomenal/
http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/?p=163
Pros and Cons of YouTube:
http://www.surfnetkids.com/safety/pros_and_cons_of_youtube-19022.htm
In thinking about technology, I completely forgot about YouTube! YouTube has definitely become a form of technology that I use almost on a daily basis. You can even make playlists of your favorite music videos, which is a cool alternative to listening to music.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen any of Bo Burnham's videos? He got his career started out on YouTube and at the YouTube awards he did a performance where he mentions a lot of popular YouTube videos, its pretty funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-2zo9DacEc
Haha, that video is hilarious. I had never heard of Bo before you mentioned him. That is awesome that he was able to utilize the technology on YouTube to get his career started.
ReplyDeleteI'll say some things are better learned by seeing it, and I'll i saw that video on learning to tie a tie as well. There a lot of stuff that you can't explain well with text alone. Or for pure entertainment, there is always someone uploading a video of themselves doing something incredibly stupid.
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