VOD PLATFORMS I: YOUTUBE

AND CONTEMPORARY MEDIA

CULTURE

NEW TRENDS IN MEDIA: WEEK 10

THE UBIQUITY OF YOUTUBE

• YouTube is by some distance the most watched streaming video site in the
world (e.g. 3 or 4 times as much as Netflix).
GLOBAL PLATFORM VIEWERSHIP

YouTube Monthly Users vs. SVOD Total Subs

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0
YouTube Netflix Amazon Prime All Disney

Serie 1
THE UBIQUITY OF YOUTUBE

• YouTube is by some distance the most watched streaming video site in the
world (e.g. 3 or 4 times as much as Netflix).

• YouTube videos are embedded in most social media apps, things that are
popular on other apps are put on to YouTube. (“Cross platform”)
THE UBIQUITY OF YOUTUBE

• YouTube is by some distance the most watched streaming video site in the
world (e.g. 3 or 4 times as much as Netflix).

• YouTube videos are embedded in most social media apps, things that are
popular on other apps are put on to YouTube. (“Cross platform”)

• YouTube drives popular culture – for better or worse – in ways that are only
now being understood.
YOUTUBE BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

• Founded in 2005 as a way to let people share videos easily. “The Flickr of
video”
YOUTUBE BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

• Founded in 2005 as a way to let people share videos easily. “The Flickr of
video”

• Acquired by Google in 2006. Many at the time couldn’t understand why.

YOUTUBE BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

• Founded in 2005 as a way to let people share videos easily. “The Flickr of
video”

• Acquired by Google in 2006. Many at the time couldn’t understand why.

• Soon after deployed the “AVOD” model of “free” content. (Ad-supported video-
on-demand).
YOUTUBE IS…A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

• YouTube records everything you search for, see, where you pause and
rewind, your “likes”, “dislikes” etc.
YOUTUBE IS…A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

• YouTube records everything you search for, see, where you pause and
rewind, your “likes”, “dislikes” etc.

• YT is part of Google’s surveillance capitalism matrix. All your data is

combined and used to predict and manipulate people’s behavior.
YOUTUBE IS…A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

• YouTube records everything you search for, see, where you pause and
rewind, your “likes”, “dislikes” etc.

• YT is part of Google’s surveillance capitalism matrix. All your data is

combined and used to predict and manipulate people’s behavior.

• Social media business model also means maximizing engagement,

manipulating moods of users, exposing them to ads as much as possible.
YOUTUBE IS…A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

• As an SMP, YouTube depends on user-generated content.

YOUTUBE IS…A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

• As an SMP, YouTube depends on user-generated content.

• YT SHOULD have the responsibility of monitoring content and protecting

users and creators.
YOUTUBE IS… A VOD PLATFORM

• Video-on-demand is a technology, but it is classified by business model:

• AVOD: Ad-supported VOD
• SVOD: Subscription VOD
• TVOD: Transactional VOD
• Many others…
YOUTUBE IS… A VOD PLATFORM

• Video-on-demand is a technology, but it is classified by business model:

• AVOD: Ad-supported VOD
• SVOD: Subscription VOD
• TVOD: Transactional VOD
• Many others…

• VOD platforms typically have to pay for their content, mostly NOT the case
with YouTube
YOUTUBE IS…

• “Free” at the point of use and widely distributed on many kinds of devices.
Therefore easily accessible for much of the world’s internet-connected
population.
YOUTUBE IS…

• “Free” at the point of use and widely distributed on many kinds of devices.
Therefore easily accessible for much of the world’s internet-connected
population.
• A banal, unremarkable “neutral” technology for many. Taken for granted and
often left in the hands of children, other vulnerable populations.
YOUTUBE AS THE WORLD’S BIGGEST
BROADCASTER
YOUTUBE IS…

• “Free” at the point of use and widely distributed on many kinds of devices.
Therefore easily accessible for much of the world’s internet-connected
population.
• A banal, unremarkable “neutral” technology for many. Taken for granted and
often left in the hands of children, other vulnerable populations.
• A major source of income and employment for “content creators” or
“YouTubers”.
THE YOUTUBE INDUSTRY
THE YOUTUBE(R) INDUSTRY
YOUTUBE IS…

• The world’s most profitable video site. Generated ~$29 billion in revenue in
2021, about the same as Netflix, but without paying for content (and growing
faster).
YOUTUBE CONTENT

• “Top down” Content:

• Professionally made content from traditional media outlets, private
corporations, political advocacy groups, etc. Posted by the authors.
YOUTUBE CONTENT

• “Top down” Content:

• Professionally made content from traditional media outlets, private
corporations, political advocacy groups, etc. Posted by the authors.
• Sometimes looking for ways to monetize video forms that don’t fit
traditional TV distribution (e.g. Vevo and music videos)
YOUTUBE CONTENT

• “Top down” Content:

• Professionally made content from traditional media outlets, private
corporations, political advocacy groups, etc. Posted by the authors.
• Sometimes looking for ways to monetize video forms that don’t fit
traditional TV distribution (e.g. Vevo and music videos)
• More often, orgs are looking for wider distribution, care about reaching
eyeballs more than recouping directly from views. Count on YT’s
algorithm to get content to the right viewers.
YOUTUBE CONTENT

• “Bottom up” Content:

• Made, sometimes manipulated and uploaded by users, “ordinary” people.
YOUTUBE CONTENT

• “Bottom up” Content:

• Made, sometimes manipulated and uploaded by users, “ordinary” people.
• Motives vary, including those who want to make money, achieve fame to
those who are acting without expectation of compensation.
YOUTUBE CONTENT

• “Bottom up” Content:

• Made, sometimes manipulated and uploaded by users, “ordinary” people.
• Motives vary, including those who want to make money, achieve fame to
those who are acting without expectation of compensation.
• Popular videos form part of the “vernacular culture” of self-expression
and participatory culture, for better or worse.
YOUTUBE CONTENT

• “Bottom up” Content:

• Made, sometimes manipulated and uploaded by users, “ordinary” people.
• Motives vary, including those who want to make money, achieve fame to
those who are acting without expectation of compensation.
• Popular videos form part of the “vernacular culture” of self-expression
and participatory culture, for better or worse.
• Also found here are activist videos, fake “bottom up” videos, many other
kinds.
PROBLEMS WITH/FOR YOUTUBE

• Acts like a broadcaster but has long resisted the responsibilities that come
with that position:
• Should YouTube monitor content?
YOUTUBE AND POLICE BRUTALITY IN
AMERICA
ERIC GARNER MURDER IN GEORGE FLOYD MURDER IN
NYC MINNEAPOLIS
YOUTUBE CONTENT PROBLEMS: HATE
SPEECH AND ACTS OF VIOLENCE
YOUTUBE CONTENT PROBLEMS:
DISINFORMATION AND CONSPIRACY
THEORIES
PROBLEMS WITH/FOR YOUTUBE

• Acts like a broadcaster but has long resisted the responsibilities that come
with that position:
• Should YouTube monitor content?
• Should YouTube pay its content providers better?
PROBLEMS WITH/FOR YOUTUBE

• Acts like a broadcaster but has long resisted the responsibilities that come
with that position:
• Should YouTube monitor content?
• Should YouTube pay its content providers better?
• Should YouTube do more to combat piracy?
PROBLEMS WITH/FOR YOUTUBE

• Acts like a broadcaster but has long resisted the responsibilities that come
with that position:
• Should YouTube monitor content?
• Should YouTube pay its content providers better?
• Should YouTube do more to combat piracy?
• Should YouTube manipulate its search results in the way it does?
Problems with the algorithm.
CLICKPATHS TO EXTREMIST CONTENT
IMAGINED IN THE SOCIAL DILEMMA (WATCH ON
NETFLIX)
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

• What good things has YouTube given us? What problems has it caused?

• How much time do you spend on YouTube in a normal day? What do you use it
for?

• How do people you know (who aren’t Media students) use it? Do you see “bad”
uses in day-to-day life?
¡DEBERES! (HOMEWORK): A YOUTUBE
DIARY
• By October 19th at 11:59 PM, submit:

• A log of at least 5 things you watched on YouTube during the week and when you watched
them, besides the clips posted by Chris. Be honest, the idea is to see how much we use it.

• This will be easier for some than for others, but everyone uses YouTube 5 times in a week.
(I will post a model log.)
“CLASS MEETING” ON THE 19TH OF OCTOBER

• There will be no physical class meeting or synchronous online class meeting.

• There will be a PowerPoint with a voiceover from me. It should be about 30

mins long, with accompanying clips posted on Aula Global.