It only takes a few minutes to understand why YouTube.com has skyrocketed to the status of “superstar of the web” – with videos that can bring tears to your eyes, a 79-year-old man reminiscing about being scolded by his wife, a bus fight in Hong Kong, and especially a caterpillar crawling… sluggishly across the floor.
In less than a year and a half, YouTube has transformed from an unknown name into the world’s largest platform for user-generated video content. Every single day, this website uploads over 100 million various clips. Without a doubt, YouTube is the focal point of online culture today.
YouTube has gained such fame that even traditional media outlets have welcomed it. NBC Television has signed a partnership agreement with YouTube after discovering that clips from their comedy show “Saturday Night Live” posted on YouTube garnered more traffic than the original channel.
Irresistible Appeal
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| Source: AFP |
“YouTube is in a position similar to that of MySpace. It is the king of online video“, said analyst Phil Leigh from Inside Digital Media. With 60% market share, YouTube has surpassed all giants like Yahoo, MSN, Google, and AOL.
Launched in February 2005 by a group of seasoned veterans in Silicon Valley, YouTube’s visitor count quadrupled within the first five months of 2006.
By mid-July, it had reached the milestone of 100 million video views per day, thanks to an array of extremely humorous, quirky, and even outrageous video clips.
For example, a nearly ten-minute video featuring a “gunfight” argument in Chinese titled “Hong Kong Bus Driver” or a 6-minute enthusiastic dance performance by reluctant dancer Jud Laipply… topped the “charts” on YouTube with sky-high view counts.
This unexpected success propelled Laipply to fame. His clip attracted over 31 million views, making it the “most popular” video in YouTube’s history, surpassing tens of thousands of other clips.
Another extremely popular video features the famous headbutt from player Zinedine Zidane. This clip spawned numerous parodies that left viewers in stitches.
Changing Perceptions
YouTube welcomes everyone to post clips; its operational principle is remarkably simple. “Success comes from the humor and creativity of all participants“, Leigh noted.
By simply opening a free account, anyone can easily upload a “homemade” clip to YouTube in under 10 minutes. Viewers can search for videos by topic or style and rate them.
“If you provide rich content, you attract more viewers. With more viewers, you draw even more content creators. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle“, said Scott Kessler from Standard and Poor’s.
YouTube’s irresistible power was demonstrated through its deal with NBC: Initially, the network insisted that YouTube remove all “Saturday Night Live” clips from its site, claiming “no rights to display” them. But now NBC has found that YouTube has significantly boosted their show’s fame.
Consequently, NBC decided to introduce a series of popular programs on YouTube in exchange for links to appear on NBC’s website.
The New King of Media?
Notably, YouTube is not just a collection of silly, mundane, or purely entertainment videos. Many individuals come here to share their creativity, journalistic abilities, and even politicians seek to promote themselves through YouTube.
For instance, Democratic politician Nancy Pelosi has posted 116 clips to express her views along with other Democratic members.
Wall Street also views YouTube as a new media platform akin to MySpace – the largest social network in the world today – and Skype – the leading global provider of free internet phone services.
“YouTube reminds me of Skype. Both are absolute leaders in their fields, both are very well-known brands benefiting from the internet, and both attract a large number of active, loyal users….”
“Just look at how much money Skype has made from its business model. And that’s with Skype being less appealing than YouTube“, Kessler stated.
Although no major corporation has yet expressed interest in acquiring YouTube, the New York Post has predicted the value of this website to range between $600 million and $1 billion.
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