I have been visiting www.youtube.com for some time now, and I know the original intent was to allow individuals to upload their own videos and allow “the people” to have freedom of expression in the form of online video.
However, as most of the people who visit this site are aware, YouTube has also been a way for visitors to view videos that are copyright protected, such as interviews from tv shows, commercials, music videos by popular artists, and clips from tv shows…even whole tv shows being broken into parts.
I’ll admit to having been addicted to YouTube for the latter reason. I find it very gratifying and fun to be able to go lookup a clip online to see something I may have missed on TV which has people buzzing, such as the recent ‘feud’ between Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump, or to view the commercials that aired during the Superbowl XLI.
The way YouTube works is this: You post a video that you recorded and people can rate your video, add it to their list of favorite videos, subscribe to your videos (meaning they can get alerted whenever you post new videos), and of course, reply to your video in one of two ways; by posting a text comment, or by uploading a video of your own, in response to the original video.
Then you have the people who respond to a video in the form of a video response, vs. simply replying in the text comment boxes. Some of these people, I find to be funny and/or entertaining, while others seem to me, to be using the platform as a means to trying to become famous. Good for them! Lots of these people who post videos and video responses and use YouTube for the main intent, seem to have the most subscribers to their profiles, if their videos are especially humorous, entertaining or original. These people tend to garner a ‘celebrity’ status at YouTube and are the most active participants, once they realize how powerful their contributions have become.
I found though, that the ‘celebrities’ of YouTube seem to be the people that use the site for its original intent, and although many of the videos they post are entertaining, some even informative, I have this theory…
I believe, that the most popular YouTube users are either a) trying to get jobs/be famous for video production and editing and/or acting/journalism/tv personality, or b) just really not talented in writing or typing anything with substance or intelligence.
So there you have it. I think YouTube for the most part, is a way for people to ‘blog’ by video because they are too daft to write and/or type.
Say what you like about me. That’s just my $.02.