Online streaming of entertainment has become an explosive phenomenon that has attracted the attention of the masses, from the lowly student to the entertainment moguls. The question is, what makes this new form of entertainment so appealing to these groups, and how have advancements been made to keep it relevant in the world? In the past twenty years the world of entertainment has undergone an amazing metamorphosis of sorts. If we think back to all the different forms that have been available, and then how many have become obsolete or severely left behind in terms of technological advancement the numbers are staggering for such a short period of time. The VHS has come and gone, which gave rise to the DVD and Blu-Ray, and even though those two are still around, the way of watching films at home has seen a huge movement towards streaming through services like Netflix, HBO-Go, or even On-Demand services provided by your local provider. Even our normal cable television is declining in popularity due to these streaming services.
There is one form of media that has become world known, and may be one of the most popular legal streaming sources in the world, is the website YouTube. With over 300 hours of content uploaded to the site from around the world every minute (according to YouTube’s own personal statistics), the site is not only a major supplier of content, but a major hub for the uploading of content. Anyone, from any walk of life can upload content to the site with, and assuming the content is original in origin, there is little to no downside to doing so. In addition to this ability to upload content with complete abandon, there are other potential upsides to using the site to its fullest. If you have ever frequented the site, you may have noticed that there may be advertisements that play before your selection of video. These advertisements work to help 2 groups; the content creator, and the site itself. This has allowed a person’s hobby to become their profession, a profession that did not exist a decade ago.
What makes this topic of importance to us as a scholarly piece is that entertainment is something that is a necessity for humans, in whatever form it may take. As a new, explosive form of media in the past decade that I have personally used to my advantage as a form of passive income, I believe that it warrants at a minimum a deeper looking into from a more scholarly view then we may be accustomed to. Throughout this piece, the nuances of monetization, partnership, and what makes a video viral will be discussed in an attempt to shed light on what may seem like a misunderstood juggernaut in the current media.
Online streaming of entertainment has become an explosive phenomenon that has attracted the attention of the masses, from the lowly student to the entertainment moguls. The question is, what makes this new form of entertainment so appealing to these groups, and how have advancements been made to keep it relevant in the world? In the past twenty years the world of entertainment has undergone an amazing metamorphosis of sorts. If we think back to all the different forms that have been available, and then how many have become obsolete or severely left behind in terms of technological advancement the numbers are staggering for such a short period of time. The VHS has come and gone, which gave rise to the DVD and Blu-Ray, and even though those two are still around, the way of watching films at home has seen a huge movement towards streaming through services like Netflix, HBO-Go, or even On-Demand services provided by your local provider. Even our normal cable television is declining in popularity due to these streaming services.
There is one form of media that has become world known, and may be one of the most popular legal streaming sources in the world, is the website YouTube. With over 300 hours of content uploaded to the site from around the world every minute (according to YouTube’s own personal statistics), the site is not only a major supplier of content, but a major hub for the uploading of content. Anyone, from any walk of life can upload content to the site with, and assuming the content is original in origin, there is little to no downside to doing so. In addition to this ability to upload content with complete abandon, there are other potential upsides to using the site to its fullest. If you have ever frequented the site, you may have noticed that there may be advertisements that play before your selection of video. These advertisements work to help 2 groups; the content creator, and the site itself. This has allowed a person’s hobby to become their profession, a profession that did not exist a decade ago.
What makes this topic of importance to us as a scholarly piece is that entertainment is something that is a necessity for humans, in whatever form it may take. As a new, explosive form of media in the past decade that I have personally used to my advantage as a form of passive income, I believe that it warrants at a minimum a deeper looking into from a more scholarly view then we may be accustomed to. Throughout this piece, the nuances of monetization, partnership, and what makes a video viral will be discussed in an attempt to shed light on what may seem like a misunderstood juggernaut in the current media.
1) "YouTube Statistics." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.