YouTube.com, site is much more than a site allowing individuals to share video clips. It is a place for public commentary, a place where people can review the latest and greatest info products, a place where people can network and share common interests, goals, and opportunities.
The best part? YouTube.com is not too complicated to use, driving away hordes of novice users. In fact, the opposite is true. YouTube.com is easy to master. This website allows just about anyone to sign up for an account, upload, share video clips, and view other people’s video clips. Sounds neat, huh?
Just like many popular sites, registered members can rate videos, or find out how many times other people link to a video clip for their viewing pleasure. YouTube.com provides and publishes this information for your convenience, for its loyal fans. Have you heard about Netflix? The idea is the same. Netflix is an online video “store” if you will, like Blockbuster. Registered members can log in and rent videos sent directly to their home. They can also rate and review the videos they see. That way, the public has a better feel for what videos are worth watching (and whether there are some videos they shouldn’t bother with).
The site can also tailor its recommendations to you depending on how many videos you rate. The big difference between a site like this however, a static site, and YouTube.com, is using YouTube, and you can watch video clips right from your home computer. There is no renting, no late fees and no charges to become a member.
Will you watch a full video? No. You will watch a video clip. In the ten minutes of time a user has to make a video clip however, you can be sure they will input as much valuable and telling information as they possibly can. So, a visit to YouTube.com is well worth it.
Is YouTube.com popular?
Yes, and not just among the young. In fact, the young and old alike are enjoying their newfound “celebrity” status by posting their own video clips to the Web. And, speaking of celebrities… YouTube is popular among web fans, your average Jane or Joe, and celebrities getting in on the action. Just like MySpace.com
Introduction
attracts many public figures interested in connecting with their fan base and audience, so too does YouTube appeal to the same crowd for similar reasons.
Alanis Morissette (a well-known singer, just in case you don’t know) just did a spoof of Fergie’s (another young hip-hop singer) “My Humps” video. It’s pretty funny, if you have a good sense of humor. “You love my lady lumps?” What isn’t funny about that? Even if you never heard the original song, you will get a good chuckle out of it. It is also a great example of a good video, and you can use it for a model when trying to create your own video clips for YouTube (we’ll get to that later).
Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=My+humps+alanis+
There is no cost just to listen, and you will learn a great deal.
Of course you can just type it (my humps) into Google and find about another dozen sites promoting the video. While YouTube.com is fun, it can also be an extremely useful tool for promoting your business, your website, and for networking and connecting with people around the globe. So why write a guide on YouTube? I’ll tell you why…
Here’s the point.
YouTube isn’t just for fun, though we have focused so far on some of the funnier and entertaining features offered by the popular site. But, just as YouTube.com is fun, you can just as easily use it to promote your website, advertise your business or simply publicize what it is you have to offer. For that reason, people are jumping hand over heals to get their hands on it. Large corporations including CBS, NBC, Sony BMG and others, people that once opposed the site, are clamoring to get in on the action. The reason?
Introduction
Millions of consumers are logging in every day to catch a glimpse of what YouTube has to offer…
YouTube may become the most popular Web 2.0 site on the Net. The sooner you get in, the faster you will start realizing the benefits YouTube has to offer.
Want to see just how useful YouTube.com can be to the ordinary politician, small business owner or marketer? Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=obama
Consider YouTube.com a platform, one you can use to connect with users in a meaningful, directed and intimate way. YouTube.com offers something for just about anyone.
What does YouTube offer? Among the material posted on YouTube include many TV clips, multiple music videos, and much amateur content, content from bloggers, and content from Internet Marketers interested in getting in on the action. Celebrities, news organizations, and even musicians are now allowing users to upload short video clips of their works to this incredibly fast-growing website.
When Did It All Begin?
Here are the facts about YouTube.com as a business and rapidly growing enterprise. Started in February of 2005, the site gained massive media attention and popularity, in part because it was some-thing fresh and new. It also brought with it some controversy, as many of the more popular and successful websites do. Time Magazine suggested it was the most popular invention during 2006. Of course, it is not to say YouTube is not without its share of controversy. Quite the opposite is true. We’ll learn more about the ups and downs YouTube has experienced in the next section.
What is important for you to know now is YouTube is a power-house, a weapon anyone can use to gain free publicity. It even captured the attention of industry giant Google Inc.
Introduction
Google Inc. bought the company for just over $1.5 billion dollars in late 2006.
Infusing the company and website with even more capital and resources, there is almost no limit to what YouTube can do in the future, and where it will take its customers.
Be aware, we’ll use the terms YouTube and YouTube.com inter-changeably throughout this guide. This is not because we can’t decide which is better, it just helps make the reading a tad more inter-esting. OK, now that you know “what” it is, I’m sure you want to know how you can jump on the bandwagon and become part of the next generation legacy YouTube has to offer, right? Here’s how…
How To Become A Part Of The Legacy
Everyone wants to be part of a legacy. If you bought this guide you are considering what exactly YouTube has to offer you. You can use it as a source of entertainment. If you are an entrepreneur, business owner or marketer, chances are you want to know how to use YouTube to connect with your target audience. The good news is you can easily to this. In fact, joining YouTube is easy, just as easy as it is to sign with other popular site.
Now, to get “in” on the action, you will need to register. If you just want to find out what all the fuss is about, you can tour the site and check out popular video clips free of chard. That’s right… you can watch videos free on YouTube, you don’t need to register.
But…
If you want to upload videos, promo your site, brand your name or get the attention of others, you will have to register. Don’t worry, registration is easy. We’ll talk more about that later too.
Now that you have a better idea of what YouTube is about concep-tually, let’s learn a little bit more about the history of this incredible site. In the next section we’ll provide you a small history of YouTube,
Introduction
so you have a better sense of where it came from and where it may go. Hold onto your hats…
1 THE HISTORY OF YOUTUBE
Technology affords us new and interesting abilities every day. YouTube.com is just one example of how technology is helping us in our endeavors.
By now you probably have a high-level of interest in finding out more about YouTube. Before we talk more about getting in on YouTube and making it work for you, let’s review YouTube’s brief history, as it is.
YouTube was “born” from the creative minds of former PayPal employees. YouTube first became active on February 15, 2005. As you can see, despite its enormous success the site is still in its infancy.
The start-up found funding in the form of venture capital from Sequioa Capital, raising $3.5 million dollars for the site. The venture capital firm later invested another $8million dollars into the company, helping spur its popularity during the last year and a half. This just shows you how attractive YouTube’s business model was and how many people instantly recognized the promise this site had to offer.
Today many refer to YouTube.com as the, “fastest growing website on the web,”
2 RICHARD HOLMAN
“YouTube is one of the fastest growing Web 2.0 sites to make history today.”
OVER 100 MILLION visitors watch clips each day. By some reports, over 60,000 people upload videos within a single day. YouTube did face many copyright infringement lawsuits, one reason it agreed to the huge settlement deal with Google.
WHO USES YOUTUBE?
Everyone. Even your local politician. Yes, it’s true, political candi-dates and fans alike now use YouTube as an informal medium for advertising. Barack Obama is one of a few candidates that have a large fan base on YouTube.
Many political commentators are joining in, realizing millions may hear their voice and message, and even internationally candidates are using YouTube as a platform to market their campaign and platforms.
YouTube restricts individuals from sending material with known copyrights. Therefore, NBC was among the first to ask YouTube to remove clips of material including material from the 2006 Olympics, obviously uploaded to the site. YouTube imposed several extra cautionary measures, including limiting video clips to a brief 10-minute tape. This lessened much of NBCs concerns, but added to YouTube’s popularity.
Think about it… word of mouth is one of the best ways to promote anything. Interestingly enough, NBC eventually retracted its criticisms and instead decided to collaborate with the company.
Many others are likely to follow suit. YouTube you see, is an exceptional outlet for promoting just about anyone. A short 10-minute clip is more likely to garner increasing interest than it is to damage a corporation’s ability to sell its products and services.
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