YouTube is a Mass Communication

I believe that YouTube goes beyond the old definition of mass communication. Aristotle describes communication as speaker, speech, and audience. This changed in the 20th century due to technology, mass communication is defined as transmitting messages through a media with gate keepers to receivers who offer feedback. YouTube is a different kind of mass communication; you deliver the message through your channel, to you, the receiver and you offer the feedback.

It's all about You.

Web 2.0

Many researchers call the current world wide web, Web 2.0. Because of websites like YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, and Google, the communication and interaction has transcended to a new dimension. According to Brendan Peat an author of Wikinomics's blog, users want to take part in these online communities and as a result advertisers need to adjust how they do business.

Thriller

YouTube is great to get your message out, but how can you capture a YouTube audience? I believe the most important thing is for video to be unique. Many people have been captivated by Michael Jackson's Thriller video, but seeing 1,500 prisoners dancing it on YouTube brings it to a whole new generation (seen above). Or how about a band named after a children's book like Harry and the Potters. It’s guaranteed to bring in thousands of viewers.

Why Do You Tube?

Research
While browsing through the millions of clips, vlogs, and music videos on YouTube, I discovered someone who wants to know the same thing I do: Why Do You Tube? With almost 400 video responses and 7,000 comments, boh3m3 has received a wide variety of answers. I think that boh3m3's research methods are the best way to gather information on the YouTube, to ask as many people as possible. Throughout this blog you will find comments from a people I've interviewed and asked to look at this project. My first question I always ask is what was your first YouTube video, then I follow up with, What's your favorite video?

Chad Vader

Low-budget production companies are able to post their own films hoping to get a following. My favorite example of YouTube series is Chad Vader, it is about Darth Vader's younger brother. Being a fan of the Star Wars series, I have found it entertaining and creative. The series is an example of how it doesn't require a lot of capital make a good film or series.

Above is the first video of the series,Day Shift Manager

YouChoose '08

Politicians have recognized what YouTube can do for them. Most of the presidential candidates for the 2008 election have their own YouTube website and on it they post various clips of themselves talking about issues. Politicians are pulling in a new generation of voters and including them in the political dialogue. The YouChoose '08 website on YouTube is just another example of the media shift that is occurring, CNN is another mainstream media that is trying to embrace it. The network is working with YouTube to have the first YouTube Debate, where YouTube users can upload video questions that will be asked at the debate. So far, the Democrats already had their debate, it was such a success that it had 93 response videos, an average of a 100,000 views per video, and the CNN saw ratings over 2.5 million viewers. The Republican debate is this Thursday. It can be seen either on YouTube.com or CNN.

The video above is the 17th question of the debate: How long after Jan 21, 2009 will all troops be out of Iraq?

A Cyclical Journey

I also have joined the masses and have posted my own YouTube video. It was a group project assignment for a class I had winter term 2007.

Meta-Narrative

If one thing could describe the past years of internet communication is people have the power to make a difference. The creators of YouTube couldn't have picked a better name, the website is there for you, the user. Media has changed during this brief period of time more than ever before. You are now in control of what you watch and when you watch it. Time magazine got it right when they named the 2006 Person of the Year: You. In the future when they look back on this time, I believe they will discuss you, the user, as a major player in communications.


In class we were provided with this graph, it fits perfectly into what I am discussing. The change happened too quickly because there was a great interest in having more of a voice. Not only user control, but also user activity between each other. The 20th century technologies like television and radio isolated people; YouTube and internet blogging is bringing back communities and making interactive mass communications inclusive. Never before has mass communication been so easy for everyone.

Here It Goes Again

OK Go

I Write Sins Not Tragedies

Music
Musicians are constantly trying to find new ways to promote their. YouTube is one of the cheapest and most successful ways to advertise. Several different individuals and bands have used the power of YouTube, for example Panic! At the Disco became popular after their video of I Write Sins Not Tragedies aired on YouTube. The band's record company, Fueled by Ramen started promoting other bands, hoping to find success. They found success with future bands like Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes. One band has to thank YouTube for all its popularity, OK Go danced on eight treadmills to show its bands uniqueness, this clever video has been view 20 million times.

Above is Panic! At the Disco's I Write Sins Not Tragedies

Pattern of Change and Continuity

NBC fighting this new medium is an example of the pattern of change and continuity. NBC threatened YouTube.com with the possibility of being sued, just for having an video clip of their copyrighted SNL. From this point on YouTube had to be cautious on where the content of their videos came from. This caused a huge uproar from users who argued the clips only make them want to watch the shows more. By clicking on the link on the video you can read the argument the below video maker points out, NBC could have used the clips to their advantage, I agree with youtubedude, the maker of the clip, I believe SNL was at a low point and was not funny anymore. After watching Lazy Sunday, it sparked my curiousity in watching the show again.

A couple months after this threat NBC became a user on YouTube.com and started posting clips of their shows. This is a complete 180 from their first policy, the network did this because it finally saw an advantage to YouTube. NBC currently post videos clips of SNL as well as previews for their up and coming shows.

YouTube is a vast market place that can be used to the users advantage, not only can one upload videos for millions of people. The advertising potential of YouTube is great, not only can marketers use YouTube to make money, but YouTube itself has made enormous revenues. When the creators and owners of YouTube sold the website to Google in October 2006, they made $1.65 billion.

Above is a clip from NBC's Conan O'Brien Show.

SNL - The Chronicles of Narnia aka Lazy Sunday

NBC fought this oppurtunity to promote programing and told YouTube to delete all clips of thier copyrighted material.

Is the video above correct? Could NBC have analyzed the situation better and could have used YouTube to their advantage?

Ask a Gay Man

The Internet Celebrity
Video blogs have created internet celebrates, some of which have been highlighted in Time magazine's article Person of the Year: You. Some bloggers discuss interesting and profound topics to capture an audiences attention, some use humor. However, all bloggers have a similar goal: to get their message out. One of my favorites is William Sledd aka the host of Ask a Gay Man. His goal is to rid the world of bad fashion and at the same time he has become a internet celebrity. His show is set up like a talk show; however instead of a huge studio with expensive lights, cameras, and guest stars, Ask a Gay Man is done inside a bedroom. Yet, both a tv talkshow and Sledd's have the same entertainment value and is broadcast to a huge potential audience. Sledd's instant stardom brought him out of the YouTube format and onto the old medias, he can be found as a guest host on The View and a guest writer for Elle magazine, he also has his own website. The video above is from his denim edition, which currently has three million views.

There was a need for YouTube

Consumers wanted to have control of what they watched. Cable channels were becoming more and more popular because they targeted specific types of viewers. Cable companies started providing services where the customer could choose tv shows and movies they could watch. During this time video sales and rentals were through the roof. People wanted a place where they could watch what they wanted and the time they wanted to.

AOL instant messenger was hugely popular starting at the beginning of the millennium. During this time, people started communicating with several people at once by typing in chat rooms, online video games and posting on forums. There was a want for a communication that enabled people to talk to a mass audience. YouTube made this happen, people could have wanted to anyone who wanted to listen, this lead to the creation of the video blog aka the vlogs. Webcams enabled people to talk directly with one another, but YouTube improved this by enabling the message to take place with millions of people and last forever. This also created an unusual phenomenon the “Internet Celebrity.”

Communication as we knew it would be changed forever

I want analyze how YouTube is a new medium of communication. The online community has taken the tradition of having face to face discussions and transformed it to stretch across wide distances. While on YouTube, a user can post a video that discusses topics ranging from his or her deepest secret to the war in Iraq. Users can do one of two things, comment on the video by typing their opinions and posting it or they can respond by uploading their own video. This created a new form of communication.

Lazy Sunday

Lazy Sunday was initially a Saturday Night Live skit that involves a comedy duo rapping about going to see a showing of the Chronicles of Narnia. The video was my first YouTube video, after the video aired in December 2005, YouTube.com saw an increase in 83% in visits (Time). This is why I call this video YouTube.com's big bang.

Is You Tube Mass Communication?

The media landscape today is as different as any the world as ever seen. Thanks to the power of the world wide web, communication between individuals has never been so colossal. As the technology was improved computers and internet connections where becoming faster, this lead to the ability to upload videos on to the internet. YouTube.com became the leader in the frenzy of online video libraries. The website started as a way to post your favorite videos, but soon turned into its own community. Users started commenting on videos using their own webcam to make a video, this has lead to lengthy video debates. This new way to voice your own opinion lead to what is currently taking place, the YouChoose '08, a channel on youtube.com for presidential candidates to post videos for everyone to see. YouTube.com now receives 100 million hits a day and is visited by 20 million people a month.