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2006 ITV Class Links
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YouTube-PastToPresentKey Characteristics / User and Content Creator Capabilities YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. Users can choose to embed video clips of interest in their blogs, websites, etc. These video clips cover a wide range of categories such as entertainment, do-it-yourself (DIY), gadgets and games, travel and places, sports, etc. They can be movie clips, TV clips and music videos as well as amateur content such as videoblogging and short original videos. The front page displays videos that are being watched right now, promoted videos and featured videos. YouTube was founded in mid February 2005 by three former PayPal employees. The San Bruno-based service uses Adobe Flash technology (which works consistently on various platforms) to display this wide variety of video content. Also, these videos generally stream smoothly, so there are no lags or slowdowns. Unregistered users can watch most videos on the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos and post comments on videos. Some videos are available only to users who are 18 years old or older (e.g. videos containing potentially offensive content). Pornography is not allowed to be uploaded. Related videos, determined by title and tags, appear onscreen to the right of a given video. In YouTube's second year, functions were added so that users had the ability to post video 'responses' and subscribe to content feeds. Users can also view profiles of people who have posted or commented on videos and can check out their favorite videos as well as contact them. An example of the video responses: http://www.youtube.com/video_response_view_all?v=6tXsO35TQ-0 Making a Profit? YouTube’s primary method for making money is through advertising. However, I came across an article online that had this to say: "YouTube does make some money from advertising, but if you look at the site, you will see that it is remarkably sparse in the advertising department. In addition, these ads are a relatively new feature that only started appearing in March." This article dates back to September 2006 and warns that YouTube must come up with a new strategy to make money. It notes that the site has started taking steps to do so by teaming up with networks and hosting independent "channels" for them where these networks or companies can promote their programs, music, etc. Also, YouTube could make a profit from the advertisements that are shown on these "channels" since these "channels" are hosted on its site. The full article is here: http://www.bivingsreport.com/2006/youtube-show-me-the-money/ Copyright Conundrum One of the biggest challenges facing YouTube is the issue of copyright. It is inevitable, considering the sheer variety and amount of videos that are on the site. YouTube’s website has this to say about copyright: “-It doesn't matter how long or short the clip is, or exactly how it got to YouTube. If you taped it off cable, videotaped your TV screen, or downloaded it from some other website, it is still copyrighted, and requires the copyright owner's permission to distribute. An instance of this copyright infringement happened when the Saturday Night Live short “Lazy Sunday” was uploaded to the site and NBC Universal (owners of SNL) requested that the video be removed along with clips from the 2006 Olympics. However, this incident gave YouTube even more publicity and NBC along with other networks such as CBS realized the huge potential the site had in creating more exposure for its own programming. In June 2006, NBC inked a deal with YouTube where the site would host an official NBC channel that would showcase promotional video clips for the series “The Office”. Creative Opportunities YouTube has also become friendly with music companies and in September 2006 a deal was signed between Warner Music and YouTube where the site is now allowed to host all Warner music videos while sharing a portion of their advertising income. Furthermore, YouTube members are free to use Warner songs in the soundtracks of their user-created videos. Filmmaking is another area that has gotten inspiration from YouTube. Paul Greengrass, the British director of movies such as The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and United 93 has admitted to turning to YouTube for ideas: “If you look at YouTube it’s packed full of film-making. I look at it all the time, at how people manipulate images in a fresh way. There’s a vibrancy and a wit and a sense of attack online.” He talks more specifically about the car-chase sequence that was filmed in New York for The Bourne Ultimatum: “After ten days or so there were pictures up on YouTube. People had been shooting our car chase with their mobiles, cutting it together and putting it to music. I would go: ‘Christ, that’s better than what we’ve done’. That’s definitely the way that film-making is heading.” Even Oprah Winfrey’s production company (“Harpo Productions”) has looked to YouTube to create an Oprah Channel on the website. The goal of the channel is to show exclusive footage of what happens backstage and during commercials as well as opening up dialogue with people all over the world by providing easier access to communicate ideas and stories. YouTube has also been the launching pad for celebrities. Lonelygirl15 is one such case. This series of videos that supposedly centered on the real life of a teenage girl named Bree turned out to be scripted pieces that were acted out by American-New Zealand actress, Jessica Rose. Once this hoax was revealed, it appears that all the ensuing events went in the actress’s favor – she received an enormous amount of publicity in the form of magazine interviews and television show deals. And celebrities even started to imitate the lonelygirl15 persona! Technical Considerations / Compatibility with Other Platforms CNN and YouTube have teamed up to create a series of televised presidential debates for the upcoming 2008 presidential election. The premise of this partnership is for presidential hopefuls to answer questions that are submitted through YouTube. Thanks to the website’s accessibility and user friendliness, this method has allowed people from all over the country to get their questions directly answered (at least as “direct” as politicians can get). It’s apparent that YouTube’s current capabilities have made it easily applicable to a variety of fields, from entertainment to politics. But what could be in store for the future? As mentioned earlier, YouTube converts common file formats to a form of Flash video. Starting in June 2007, however, newly uploaded videos were also encoded using a particular video standard so that they could be streamed on Apple TV and the iPhone. YouTube Mobile was launched in June 2007 as well. As the name suggests, you can watch and upload YouTube videos on a mobile device. The front page of YouTube even shows the popular videos for mobile devices. For watching the videos, all that’s required is that the device receives a signal. For shooting and uploading video, all that’s required (aside from the signal) are a few keys on the device. Interestingly, the site for mobile YouTube videos looks very bare bones and basic: http://m.youtube.com/ I think once the mobile YouTube videos start to really take off, then the website will be redesigned. In June 2007 (seems to be a very productive time for YouTube) an online video editing tool was also launched, called the YouTube Remixer. The idea behind the tool is to allow users to edit their YouTube videos online but the tools are supposedly very limited. It will be interesting to see if YouTube Mobile will really take off. I don’t see why it wouldn’t. In fact, it can become a great tool for journalistic reporting by showing footage of events that are unfolding in the moment and broadcasting these events to people all over the world. Having had no experience with viewing or uploading video through YouTube Mobile I have no idea how easy or hard it is to do so. But I found this review about it online: http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/YouTube-Mobile.htm One observation I saw briefly mentioned in the article is that “YouTube Mobile is an excellent way to get your viral video fix, as long as you're cool with losing the ability to rate and share content.” |