Youtube


Youtube Review

by Chinenye Ewulu

Description

The tool I will be reviewing is called Youtube. Youtube is an online video hosting site, where you can upload a variety of video content from song covers, to parodies, to documentaries. You can share, discover and watch a variety of original content. It's a platform used to connect, inform and even inspire. Although youtube has definitely changed its design over the years, the point of the website still remains the same.

 

Access

Youtube is currently a free tool that you can access on the official website

 

Youtube RED, however, is the paid version of youtube where you must pay to see extra content from some of your favorite creators for $9.99/month.

 

Sample Usage

 I have uploaded numerous videos on to youtube from rants, to parodies, to even reaction videos. Heres the most recent video I have uploaded.

 

CLICK Here if plug-in does not work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0-g3DwBf1U

 

 

Tips, tricks, and tutorials

 

If you are new to youtube, you should definitely take the time to read the guidelines, and learn about copyright. If you upload unoriginal content, you could have your video taken down by the website, or even worse--have your account deleted if Youtube sees fit. That is the number one issue most content creators have with youtube. Copyright infringement can create sticky situations, so it is best that you educate yourself before jumping into the wild world of Youtube.

 

Watch Youtubes copyright video here

Take a look at their copyright center here

 

What the Tool Does Well

It's super easy to upload your content on to the website. It's literally a two-step process, and have never had any issue with trying to upload a video. Not only that, but it creates a space where other creators and viewers can comment on your content and give positive or negative feedback. It also allows you to upload your own graphics to be the thumbnail of your original video. There are also opportunities to make money off of your videos, which is perfect for anyone who is serious about being an online content creator.

 

What it Does Poorly

If you have any issues or complaints with the website, there is no actual way to contact anyone that works at Youtube. There is no possible communication between the user and the people behind the website, which makes it difficult to solve problems that you may be having when using the website. Usually, if you are having issues, youtube will link you to their troubleshooting forum, and give you reasons why you could be having that issue, and the steps you should take to try to solve them. It can be frustrating, especially when you don't see your specific issue listed anywhere in their troubleshooting page!

 

What happens when you...

 

Supposedly, "fair-use" is a law that youtube is supposed to abide by. So, you would think that song parodies, covers, and content along those lines would be safe as far as uploading it on your channel goes, right? Wrong. Youtube gets a lot of flack for their poor copyright system. Youtube uses "bots" to seek out potential copyrighted videos, and take them down. The use of these "bots" can be tricky mainly because, sometimes, creators actually do have premission from whatever company to be able to use said "illegal content" in their videos (this is the case mostly with gamers and reaction video makers), however, youtubes copyright system, being as flawed as it is, will still seek those videos out and put a copyright strike on them even though those creators have written proof that they have permission from let's say...Nintendo to use their content. It's an extremely flawed system which has only gotten worse as years went by. This is something that a lot of top content creators on the site often complain about. You can always try to counter-claim the copyright strike, but you would risk getting your whole youtube account terminated, and since there is no way to actually talk to a youtube representative about it, most creators just accept the copyright-strike or delete their video entirely.

 

Reaction videos, which are popular on the website these days, are supposed to be protected by the "fair-use" rule.

"In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner."

 

However, when I uploaded my reaction video to some of my favorite music videos, youtube was quick to strike it down with their copyright hammer. 

coy

 

Going back to how flawed I said their system was, I found out that they actually left ONE video alone with no copyright strike. What makes this video so different from the others? Absolutely nothing. It's just another example of Youtube's faulty copyright system.

ok
photo hosting

 

Also, youtube claims to be a diverse platform--which it is. Plenty of content creators with different backgrounds all come on this site to upload their content. However, youtube only seems to feature white content creators, and the occasional popular asian youtuber every once in a while on their front page. This is something that a lot of content creators of color have complained about for years that still has yet to be changed. Black youtubers even came together to create an event called Youtube Black, where black creators and youtube representatives discussed the future of youtube and what they can do to make youtube a more fair space for black content creators.

 

Literally the "Trending" page on youtube right now

white

 

Last year I accused Youtube of failing to promote black talent. Here's what happened next

http://fusion.net/story/287559/youtubeblack-youtube-black-celebrates-online-creators/

 

Also, when you sign up a new account on youtube, you get a unique URL consisting of numbers an letters that is not possible for anyone to really remember. It looks something like this:

"http://www.youtube.com/channel/777HGhghgHJh%56887gHj"

 

You are not able to give yourself a unique URL right after signing up anymore. Youtube now requires users to have at least 100 subscribers or more on their channel in order to give themselves a unique, and easy to remember username. Most likely due to the fact that a lot of people, who have no intention of using youtube outside of watching videos and commenting, often take super unique usernames that creators who sign up and intent on showing off their quality content, wine about not being able to have.

 

Additional Resources

 

 

For more information on Youtube, you can visit their information page

 

Other websites that try to compete with youtube are DailyMotion, Vimeo, and Vevo.