Do YouTube?
The People's Republic of YouTubeBy Patrick Goldstein
Welcome to the new media universe, where the best TV network in America might be a website where video clips are viewed more than 100 million times each day.
It used to be that if you missed something on TV, too bad for you. Then video taping came along and of course, TiVo. But for those without either of these tools, we now have YouTube - not just for home video entertainment made by random people, but also for TV moments missed. Where else can you go if you want to see Bill Clinton's finest moment with Chris Wallace (free and without commercials or advertising)? For example, I found Lisa Ling on MSNBC on YouTube and learned that her actual footage from her sneak into North Korea would be aired at the end of this year.
YouTube has also changed the way political "reporting" is done. U.S. Senator George Allen (R-VA) was recently on the defensive for his remarks captured by an Indian American student who posted the video footage on YouTube. Political campaigning no longer comes in neat little packages controlled by the parties.
However, in light of News Corp. making a deal with Google a few months ago to be the search engine for MySpace, it seems like control over the elusive websites like YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, etc. is slowly emerging. Will these kinds of deals and buyouts change what these websites were meant to be? Would you want advertising in your YouTube videos? Has YouTube really taken our media to another level and will its impact be curbed by big media ownership?
Posted by AL
posted by Medill Media Watch @ 8:19 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Good questions. The only one that can be answered without speculating is the last one. I believe that, though YouTube is a great place to download things such as TV shows and home creations, it's not a godsend (like many people are making it out to be). personally, if I would like to watch a show I have missed I'll look for it on Torrent sites first because the quality is usually better.
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I think that when these websites were initially created, they were probably made for the viewer or the user. Now, it seems like the corporate mergers and takeovers have led to a more advertising, company profits focus.
I don't think YouTube will be as successful as it is now if it loses its "home video" charm and becomes more carbon-copy video outlet. And if the Facebook gets taken over, there will most certainly be a huge rebellion.
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