Jian Kai 28/07
First Time Blogger
Anderson JC
Interested in playing and mixing around with friends rather than studying HOORAY~~~!!!
Originally from CCHY (Chung Cheng High Yishun)
Here's my first GP blogging assignment, ain't really excited about it anyway. Here goes.
How has YouTube changed the medium of entertainment?
Before YouTube was created, radio and television were the main source of entertainment. However, after YouTube became a popular source for streaming videos across the world, people start turning to it to look for new and interesting clips such as funny commercial from overseas. Why do people turn to YouTube? There are no fixed shows on the site in the first place so the viewing of videos were totally random and the entertainment provided were not only limited to only shows but also music videos, home-made videos and videos of all genre. This provided viewers with a sense of 'freshness' as this was never attempted before - uploading and sharing the video in a mass community. Users can also post videos that showcase their talents such as playing the music Canon In D' using an electric guitar or playing the melody in the game 'Final Fantasy X' using a piano. Another plus point of YouTube is that programs and videos can be viewed anytime compared to television whereby only a fixed time slot is available for that particular program and a common time slot to accommodate everyone is impossible, thus making it more convenient to watch it over YouTube. This also caused other people to set up similar sites such as www.crunchyroll.com which streams mainly anime and drama series to the masses.
YouTube also brought communication among people from all across the world in form of comments on a specific video and exchanging ideas onto a platform where everyone can express themselves freely. This allowed users more freedom in posting comments and discussion to take place. Drama series from Korea, Taiwan and Japan could also be found on YouTube which attracted teenagers specifically which caused many local teenagers to surf the website every now and then. Best of all, it's free and does not require any program to watch the video, unlimited access is within reach with just a click. Funny videos such as an alternate version of songs or music video altered the definition of comedy and broadened it to not only jokes, but also creative yet groovy ideas on how to make a normal video into something extraordinary such as altering a song called 'You're Beautiful' by James Blunt into 'It's Bloody Cold' as the original music video portrays James Blunt stripping off his top in the snow. The videos are also commercial-free which is one big plus for internet streaming videos compared to television programmes which is interrupted by commercials every 15 minutes and it also compensates the lack of visual entertainment that radio lacks. YouTube also has movies and this appealed even more to the general public since it's free. Here's an example of a funny commercial that has over 100 thousand views. Enjoy.
How ethical is YouTube in its dealings in the media industry?
YouTube, undoubtedly, has inconsiderate users who upload unsuitable content videos such as pornography and copyrighted materials on the internet which caused major disputes on how YouTube should operate to remove all such videos, since the site has a large community which includes teenager and pornography has a negative impact on them. However, it's not a cause for much concern as the general users of YouTube flags videos of explicit contents and the people managing the server would remove it as quickly as possible but there are some exceptions such as copyrighted materials which they might have overlooked. Videos such as anime is an example of videos whereby it violated the law of copyright, but users can simply brush it off by saying that they do not know that the video is licensed by a company. Problem lies in the fact that not only 1 user practices such acts, a large number of people also just rip the video off another website and post it in YouTube as their own. Due to it's large server and the astronomical number of videos uploaded everyday, it's impossible to filter out every single video that's not appropriate. Fact is, YouTube is popular as the community ignores all laws and upload whatever videos they want on it, thus a wide range of copyrighted material can be found on the site for free.
YouTube also realise that if they were to completely remove all copyrighted materials, they would lose a lot of users who frequent the web. Mr Brown show made a podcast regarding the issue of creating a website that's like YouTube and he made a prediction of the videos which are going to be uploaded if it follows the law closely - Parliament speeches and National Day Rallies. It is a bit extreme but in general, people would lose interest in such websites and cause a dip in their profits.
My opinions: Apparently they would not remove those videos since it's the lifeline of the site, people wanna make profit, they would use any means to earn those profits. Disagree? Face it, it's society and it's ugly side of competition and especially Google bought YouTube for commercial purpose, if people stop visiting the site, their efforts would go to waste.
--------------------
Here's another comic from explosm.net credits goes to the makers, not me.
10:18 PM
If The Rain Could Bind The Heaven And Earth Who In All Eternity Would Never Meet, Would It Be Able To Bind 2 Hearts?
