Youtube was first founded in February 2005. Even within its short existance, Youtube has definitely become an example of a modern internet phenomenon as it is a video-sharing website that is used daily by people from all over the globe. Youtube has certainly made its way into becoming one of the most popular internet portal whereby users are able to upload videos, share, watch and create channels whether for personal, entertainment or promotional purposes.
The plus point of Youtube is that users do not need to download special software in order to view videos. Instead it can be viewed directly on the web makes it very easy to view and watch the videos. Another key to Youtube’s success was that viewers are able share the video by sending a link via email to their friends, which enabled the creation of a community of users. And it also easy for bloggers to embed a video from Youtube to their own webpages or blogs.
One of the difficulties Youtube faced is that how to generate revenue. It was a challenge for Youtube as they will want to do so without alienating its existing clients. Therefore, Youtube came out with a bunch of solutions. Some of them are sponsored brand channels(which are specially designed Youtube pages that allow users to view branded content), display advertising, contests(run by companies, where viewers rate videos), Youtube video ads(companies are able to advertise their products on the site), as well as Youtube in-videos ads(placed in Youtube partner’s video content). Youtube also controls the ‘Featured Videos’ on its homepage which can dramatically increase the video’s popularity.
This feature can actually help those companies who wishes to generate more publicity towards themselves or their products. Through videos posted, organizations or companies are able to interact with customers through ratings and comments. The comment feature is an easy way for customers to ask question, share their experiences as well as sharing their ideas.
Despite Youtube’s success and popularity, critics have argued that many of the videos are of dubious quality and are barely watchable in comparison to Metacafe, which makes an effort to be selective and promote only good videos. Therefore, eventhough Youtube is currently successful, the future is still uncertain for Youtube. This is because Youtube has been in a series of major legal issues over copyright and it also has a wave of aggressive new rivals. Hence, Youtube might become the next Napster, a company that pioneered the digital downloading of music but was shut down by legal action undertaken by the major music labels.
