How YouTube is the Past, Present, and Future of Video
Youtube is the second most visited website on the internet, with 5.85 billion unique monthly visitors. Recognised as one of the OG social media platforms, the website’s launch in early 2005 took the internet to a whole new level by introducing video streaming. Acquired by Google, the first most visited website, the following year — YouTube broke into the social media scene.As technology developed, the platform kept up. But rapid technological progress means YouTube is overshadowed by the rise of new social media apps and live-streaming content. Internally, YouTube is dealing with the Adpocalypse. So, how does YouTube adapt?
YouTube has it all. The range of categories stretch from music videos and entertainment to educational content, ‘how-to’s’ and DIYs — appealing to pretty much every target audience there is. YouTube is essentially what the creator of the world wide web Tim Berners-Lee imagined the internet to become at its full potential as we learned in The Internet. The constant exchange of knowledge and advice in videos and comment sections has established an ever-growing number of communities on YouTube, and the communities within are what make the platform the ‘collaborative space’ Berners-Lee hoped for the internet.
For those who are just looking to browse, YouTube’s Trending section is curated to keep watchers up-to-date with what is being most watched on the platform, which gives YouTube another purpose as a news source. A 2020 study shows that a quarter of US adults flock to YouTube for their daily dose of news! News is broad in itself, from streaming television news’ clips and keeping up with world events to following celebrities’ lives and hearing about the latest gossip. YouTube’s educational purpose in this sense is what makes it a main source of information for many.
But do all have YouTube? No, YouTube is still an online platform that requires internet connection to access the millions of videos. Content that can be life-changing, such as educational videos that help a student pass their maths GCSE, is inaccessible for many of those who do not have internet connection. As the digital divide becomes more prominent, those left out begin to fall behind. YouTube is a great example to push for free internet access for all as the positives outweigh the negatives. Some argue harmful content may be easier to spread but forget YouTube’s incredibly strict content regulations.
YouTube’s biggest advantage in their field is their relationship with Google. YouTube accounts were overtaken by Google accounts in May 2009, which transformed the platform’s digital engagement. YouTube accounts became part of the then 150 million Google accounts, and today they access data of 1.8 billion Google accounts. The extensive amount of data that can be collected from consumers’ activity on Google is crucial for YouTube’s recommendation systems to suggest videos that will interest target audiences. Examples of advanced technology we have seen before are cookies, which contribute to engagement as YouTube utilises targeted advertising to improve the consumer experience.
YouTube’s customisable experience is another advantage of the website. By signing up with a Google account, you can curate playlists of your favourite videos, save videos to watch later, and subscribe to channels. Subscribing updates viewers when new videos are uploaded, and basically inviting subscribers back to the platform. The 2018 launch of YouTube Premium upgraded the platform entirely, allowing users to stream ad-free movies and shows, music, and the ability to watch videos offline. This makes YouTube all the more accessible but at the cost of $11.99 per month, YouTube might have somewhat cancelled out their accessibility efforts.
Despite YouTube’s efforts to create the perfect consumer experience, competition from emerging apps and new features is a continuous threat. The impressive rise of TikTok has people questioning if the app has significantly shortened users’ attention span, and so we are seeing the death of longer videos due to scrolling addictions. But Youtube tends to responds well. In 2018 with ‘YouTube Stories’, and in mid-2021 with ‘YouTube Shorts’ which are TikTok-style videos integrated into their platform. The addition to the YouTube algorithm was big hit and even surpassed TikTok in monthly viewers by half a billion.
Live-streamed content has been on the rise. The popularity of video games especially soared during the pandemic. The largest live streaming platform Twitch is popular amongst gamers, so YouTube and Twitch compete on which platform streamers post content. Twitch offers interaction in real time which is the best form of engagement, giving them the upper hand compared to YouTube where old videos offer no engagement. Aside from gaming, YouTube still racks up more live-stream viewers: the biggest stream reaching 6.1 million views compared to Twitch’s 3 million peak. YouTube’s interactive media features is a huge advantage for their engagement.
Unfortunately for YouTube, they have become more unpopular due to many content creators being demonetised. Known as the Adpocalyse, YouTube content creators are seeing a fall in revenue from advertisements in their videos. YouTube demonetises videos are don’t adhere to their advertiser-friendly content guidelines, and YouTubers complain the guidelines are too vague and their videos are being unfairly demonetised. This doesn’t benefit YouTube either as they take a whooping 45% of creators’ ad revenue. YouTube is looking less and less attractive for creators, but less ads is always a plus for the viewers!
YouTube’s monopoly on video streaming is still solid after all these years. The platform’s ability to continuously adapt with technological integrations and interactive features is what keeps them sticking around, regardless of competition and conflict. With something for everyone, YouTube is perhaps the most all-inclusive streaming website, and it has proven time and time over that it is too iconic to ever fall victim to any new media or technological changes because they will always catch up, and even overtake their rivals.
