Finding the You in YouTube
In it’s humble beginnings back in 2005, YouTube literally looked like a blank canvas.
A visitor to the site was not greeted by multitudes of videos like one is today. At the time people did not realize just how much freedom this site was about to give creators and their content. Within a couple months, the site saw it’s first major change as more people began posting videos.
After the first initial change, YouTube remained pretty much the same up until 2011. It is during this year that we finally see different categories of videos, and more organization of content within the site.
YouTube gets another design change from 2012–2013, but come 2013 we start seeing the website that we all know and love today.
I believe that YouTube’s progression has been completely generated by its own community. Once we as a society realized all we could do with this platform, more and more people began finding their own voice through this website. As the years went on, instead of just being greeted by featured videos, visitors were now greeted by many different options and genres. YouTube became a space where anyone could find their own form of entertainment, and create what they wanted.
Today, YouTube has become one of the biggest platforms on the internet. Major influencers have been able to make a living off the videos they produce, simply because advertising and PR has really began to take advantage of the strength of respected opinion. There was a time where this site was not bogged down with advertisement, that’s what made it beautifully different from television, no commercials. Though this may not be the case anymore, the commercials are relatively shorter than those that appear on T.V. and sometimes one even has the option to skip after 5 seconds. Advertisers noticed the amount of traffic YouTube received and capitalized on the opportunity.
YouTube equally capitalized on the opportunity when they created YouTube Red, which was the same site, but now with some exclusive content, and no commercials.
Though the site may have become slightly commercialized, the idea of making money from simply creating at home videos motivates others to create their own original works. People have watched their favorite channels grow with the development of YouTube, and they realize you do not have to be special to find success on this website. Subscribers have watched these normal people transform and making a living simply by finding their voice. That is the real beauty of YouTube.
In order to make it on the site, you really just have to be you. Once must find the courage to present themselves in a community that does have the power to publicly criticize, but also has the power to build up. One has to believe in themselves enough to put their “You” out there, and trust that there will be a group of people out there that will appreciate them for who they are. It’s a scary thing, but the success of YouTube, inevitably falls on “You”.
