i Generation
The phenomenon that is YouTube
By Alyssa Christianson

Many of us have read stories about or have heard somehow of the phenomena that is YouTube.

YouTube is a Web site where anyone in the world can upload their own videos and watch ones created by other users. It is an everexpanding Internet community that is very easy to join and become familiar with.

While Myspace and most other online communities provide contact to other users through typed messages, YouTube allows users to communicate by video as well as chatting.

YouTube was founded in February 2005. It originally began as a personal video sharing service and a place for storage of video files for Internet use. Since then it has become an "entertainment destination with people watching more than 70 million videos on the site daily," as stated by the creators.

I discovered YouTube about a year ago as a way to watch funny videos, episodes of television shows, news stories and for just general entertainment.

As I frequented the site more often I discovered that aside from random videos posted by no-names, the inner community of YouTube - full of aspiring actors and actresses - was taking its work very seriously.

There are self-proclaimed "directors" that have gained near celebrity status on YouTube. They create what are known as "video blogs" - a video of themselves talking about their daily lives.

Now, if you're like me, you would be slightly skeptical of something like this. It seems a bit vain, a bit boring and very useless.

The first blog I came upon was one created by a user by the name of "lonelygirl15," the creators of which recently admitted to the blog being fake and got their story placed in nearly every newspaper and on every major Web site.

Out of sheer curiosity, I became attached to lonelygirl's videos. Her story was interesting and even though it was blatantly unbelievable I continued to watch the "episodes" she posted.

I realized after several videos that these video blogs were basically just the realest of all reality TV. It was regular people telling stories about the drama and twists and turns in their own lives.

After seeing some other popular blogs I noticed that the most popular users were the ones who seemed to lead the most unfair, tragic, drama-filled lives - much like TV shows found on every day at primetime.

I also noticed the amount of diehard fans that these "producers" and "directors" had acquired. Each of their videos would have thousands upon thousands of comments, good and bad.

I was impressed by the fame to be gained from this global community. It provided a relatively new medium for communication. You can literally "broadcast yourself" - as YouTube's motto says - to the entire world.

With merely a cheap webcam and some charisma, you could become world-famous, something that might otherwise take years of trials and tribulations.

Even with dangers and copyright conflicts taken into consideration, one still has to be slightly awed by a community on this kind of level.

YouTube forbids users from uploading material that isn't their own. Although the crackdown on copyright infringement isn't nearly at the level it should be, other users are influenced to report trouble of any sort and moderators will take action.

YouTube also has a page providing "safety tips" which includes a list of do's and don'ts for the community. YouTube also insists that users should keep personal information private.

As is the case with Myspace, YouTube takes a certain amount of common sense to be used safely.

So if you want entertainment, the ability to possibly gain some sort of celebrity, or just something to pass the time, YouTube is one place that can help you out. Go ahead. Get your broadcast on.

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Alyssa Christianson is a member of the Oakmont Regional High School Class of 2008. She resides in Ashburnham with her parents.