What is YouTube?

If you don’t know about YouTube.com then you have been living under a rock for the last five years. YouTube is a worldwide user generated website owned by Google. This website quickly became a phenomenon as the site allows users to upload, share, and view videos to and from a mass audience. It was created based on an idea among friends who worked together at PayPal. The names of the creators are Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. The first video ever to be posted on YouTube was “Me at the Zoo” on February 15, 2005. After the site received so many views, Sequoia Capitol funded 3.5 million to YouTube. In 2006, Google made its largest purchase of 1.65 billion dollars in stock and bought YouTube. By purchasing this site, not only did they buy YouTube but also bought every single user. The active user amount is estimated to be about 48.2 million, this not including those who just view videos without accounts.

Time magazine rewarded YouTube as the best invention of 2006. The website has been so successful because it allows real, everyday people to become producers and commentators with only a web cam, computer, and Internet connection. YouTube’s slogan is “Broadcast Yourself” and indeed that is possible as a user.  I personally have a user account but unfortunately I have not posted a video yet. Even though I have not posted a video, I spend about two to three hours a day, watching music videos from artists or humorous videos people have uploaded themselves.  If I watch a video that I think my friends would enjoy, I share the video on my Facebook page. In fact, several of my friends upload videos of them either singing or dancing to display their talents and gifts. YouTube gives users an opportunity to be heard and seen across a mass audience like never before. Even celebrities like Justin Bieber and Fred from Fred the Movie were discovered on YouTube so its impact is enormous. Stars are created and formed on a web cam set in a bedroom, living room, and even bathroom. Posting videos on YouTube is a performative Web 2.0 act because the video is the act and the viewers are the audience. Jeff Jarvis stated that, "A platform enables. It helps others build value." YouTube is the perfect example of a platform in which professional producers, advertisers, and amateurs can place material at the same location.

Although YouTube mostly consists of user generated videos, there are also clips of television shows from television networks. These networks are using the site to attract more of an audience. I know that if I miss a television show or music video premiere, I can just go on YouTube and find it. YouTube is very accessible, convenient, and fun. I thank Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim for creating such a brilliant website.

There isn’t just one single definition of what YouTube means because its meaning depends on the person. But from my point of view, YouTube is mass media in a nut shell. YouTube is an experience. YouTube is a communication network. YouTube is place for creativity to overflow. YouTube is a place for others to escape from reality. Finally, YouTube is a community filled with people from every walk of life and I love all of my neighbors. May YouTube live forever.

Below are some of my favorite YouTube videos. I can watch each of these videos over and over again! Enjoy!