It could be said with some degree of confidence that YouTube is an Internet phenomenon that needs little introduction. Routinely in the news, YouTube has gained notoriety for its often hilarious and/or quirky amateur content, exposés of politicians’ off-the-cuff gaffes, and the profusion of video excerpts (‘clips’) it offers from television programming, music videos, commercials, and films (which have not always had the blessing of their copyright-holders).
Founded in February 2006, YouTube is basically a social-networking Web site that allows users to upload, view, and share video clips. As well as the more infamous content, the site hosts videos of every description including current events, hobbies and recreational activities, opinion, instruction, and home movies. In very little time, YouTube’s press coverage and word-of-mouth—not to mention its nearly two-billion-dollar acquisition by Google less than nine months after its inception—have led to its unquestioned and overwhelming dominance as the Web’s most popular video-sharing site. By February 2007 Internet usage analysts Hitwise announced YouTube was the US’s twelfth most visited site. By some estimates (notably Web traffic monitor Alexa Internet), YouTube is now the fourth most popular site worldwide.
So most of you have probably at least watched a talked-about video or two on YouTube. You know that it hosts content uploaded by anyone with an account and that you aren't required have to have an account to search for and view videos. But registering for an account does allow you to save playlists of your favourite videos (though not to download them to your computer), as well as to create a profile page, add a list of friends, and subscribe to the content they've uploaded, just like other social networking sites.
Although YouTube may be the biggest in video sharing, it certainly isn't alone. Just as with search engines, biggest isn't always best and you may want to look into the content on other sites for a more comprehensive search. Aside from other Web giants joining the video-sharing fray like Yahoo! Video and MySpaceTV, some of the other most popular sites include Photobucket video, DailyMotion, and MetaCafe. Search across all of these sites and more by using a video meta-search engine like Dabble (which will also—with an account—allows you to save favourites across sites), blinkx, or Google Video.
No time to choose amongst 250 cable channels or to watch countless hours you've stored on Tivo? Video sharing is the new, searchable, television—for those short on time...or attention-span.
Exercise
Because the video-sharing and video-searching sites allow you to view content without registering, we aren't going to require you to sign up for an account this time. Just choose a few of the sites mentioned in this Thing and conduct some searches. Want to learn how to cook a dish, or study another language? Or even see how libraries are using video sharing to instruct their patrons on using their services? Search some of these sites and blog about how your results, and how user interfaces, differed from one site to the next.
If you'd like to delve deeper into video sharing and -searching, register for an account at the site you like best and begin compiling playlists of videos to share, or to archive for yourself. If you find the video search engines inadequate, create your own custom search engine to search the video-sharing sites you like most, using the CSE tools you used in Thing 15.
Being able to easily upload your own video content will come in handy should you decide to create your own podcast in Thing #20!
Further reading
Online video industry index from Read/WriteWeb
Online video-sharing quality comparison from Life Goggles
