An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube

 Today we watched a documentary in class called "An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube" and these were some key points from it:

Abc became the 3rd network to begin broadcasting over 60 years ago but youtube was able to become the equivalent of almost 400 always on channels compared to the few networks that ran things years ago. Youtube has allowed and increase in broadcasted material that other networks are not capable of providing.

YouTube was launched April 23rd 2005. It gives people the free will to come together and express themselves through media as well as gives some people a voice within a community that otherwise would not necessarily hear them on a regular basis. "When you unpack the impact of digital text...it leads to linking people together in ways that we never thought of before."

People are able to regenerate the things they see on the web in an extremely fast speed. It makes you wonder how the speed of media will affect us in the future? Things can be shared and sent so quickly but what happens when the wrong message or content is given power and sent too fast? "When media changes, relationships change." There are all types of people on youtube from many different ages and backgrounds; all giving their input and feedback to the many videos they see. Most of the uploads to youtube are meant for less than 100 viewers but often take on a life of their own after being uploaded, causing them to reach millions.

User generated content can emerge in a way that reaches numerous audiences. A prime example is when Soulja Boy used user generated content in April 2007 for his hit song, Crank That Soulja Boy, which took off reaching people all over the world. By August 2007 he was signed to a record label due to his user generated expertise with youtube and myspace. Youtube allows for cultural inversion. Media has allowed a community to be built through webcams and screens. "We crave the connection but still view connections as constraint...youtube allows connects without constraints." New forms of community create new forms of self-understanding.