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Social Impact of YouTube
How to guides, let’s plays, movies, video blogs, news, music - YouTube has it all. If ten years ago somebody would tell me that you can learn how to fix a car, catch up on the latest news, get a math tutor and research some insane 9/11 conspiracy theories, and all on the same website, I’d probably have that person taken to a mental hospital. It is remarkable how far content streaming services have come in such a short period of time, while managing to stay relevant after so many years.
Come to think of it - why do we spend our time on YouTube? You still kind of use Facebook to keep in touch with your friends; you still kind of use Twitter for an efficient way of getting news updates from primary sources; same goes for LinkedIn, where you can look for job connections. However, watching panda sneeze or cat playing a piano is not something essential to our daily lives, yet those videos are listed among the most viewed category.
It’s All About What People Want
YouTube is, first and foremost, a social media platform. That means it’s main function is to create a network consisting of social hubs/channels, where people can watch the stuff they like while interacting with each other. In other words, the service has a symbiotic relationship with its users - more video posts mean more people visiting the website, and vice versa. The whole idea is that anybody can be a YouTuber and go viral by posting original and quality content. Ease of interaction between the viewers and the content creators is what makes the platform relevant(always adapting), because commenters themselves tell YouTubers what they want to watch next.
Audience dictated content changed our understanding of what’s acceptable, including the length of the videos. Before, we’d only watch TV where content was in minimum of 30 mins segment - now suddenly even a 30 sec video is not outside of the norm. As our lives get more and more fast paced, and our attention spans get shorter, nobody has the time nor the patience to watch TV anymore. As for YouTube, it is always right there in your computer or in your phone, anytime of the day, on demand. Increased popularity also increased the quality of the video production, as many YouTubers have the disposal of advanced visual effects software to give their videos a movie like feel. As TV and movie industries’ pockets got lighter, they adapted by producing projects exclusively for YouTube.
The Only Free Cheese Is in a Mousetrap
It is safe to say that YouTube is not going anywhere anytime soon, because it has transformed the way we discover the information on the web. Statistically, it is one of the largest search engines, coming in only second after - wait for it - Google itself. That means there is a huge user base for that website, millions of videos uploaded, billions of people watching, and yet the website is free to use. If you’ve ever taken any introductory economics course you’d know that there is no such thing as free lunch - everything has a cost. Google’s monetization strategy is done mostly through advertising banners and in-video ads. YouTubers are paid according to how much views they get per video and per channel.
A big user base like that doesn’t go unnoticed by other companies who are trying to sell their products. Promoted content, which is a type of native advertising, took YouTube with a storm. It can be very effective, but highly controversial, method of generating sales. Channels like the Unboxing Therapy consist mainly of promoted content and get tons of views per each video. You guessed it right, it is an unboxing videos channel, where the host provides an unboxing experience without having to buy the thing in the first place. That is very impressive, considering the fact that almost every video in the channel is promoted content, since the channel gets free stuff from sent to them from companies to unbox.
The problem with native advertising, is that the viewers have to be aware that they are watching sponsored content. There have been many cases of gaming channels posting positive reviews or first impression videos and receiving compensation from game publishers. FTC has cracked down on the issue with guidelines on how to properly disclose endorsements.
The Internet Sensation
What if I told you that you can become famous overnight just by uploading a video. It’s that simple. There are only few websites that can boast about having an impact on the Internet community as much as YouTube does. There is whole bunch of science behind a video going viral that can be summed up with the idea of an inside joke. Think of it this way, your friends start a heated discussion of a movie you haven’t seen yet, that makes you want to see that movie as soon as possible so you can discuss it with them and feel included. That’s pretty much how a video begins its journey to become viral - a group of people share a video among each other, others want in on the joke, and as the circle gets bigger, the view counter grows.
This is what makes YouTube brilliant, everybody can become an Internet sensation. However, only a small of videos ever go viral. How can others share the spotlight, when the whole world is watching? Remember that this is a social platform that thrives on participation. And, as the site is filled with massively talented people, things only get more creative from here. Think back to 2011 when Nyan Cat was uploaded, it went viral and got tons of views - we know that. However, there is also an around the world version, remixed version, 10 hour version and reaction videos, including cats watching cats watching the Nyan Cat. This is just one example out of many, many more.
YouTube is like a weird social experiment - nobody really needs, but everyone loves it. There are ways YouTubers try to make it useful by posting original content that provides both educational value while keeping things entertaining. They get rewarded by views, that translates into cash and allows them to make a living out it. Others temp their luck and try to go viral. All of this works because of the interactivity of the whole process. Users post whatever they want, others - decide what they want to watch. Made by the people, for the people.
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