How YouTube Works
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In February 2005, three PayPal employees launched the beta test version of a Web site called YouTube. They designed the site to let people share videos with the rest of the world. In November 2005, Sequoia Capital invested more than $3 million in the site, and a month later YouTube emerged as a full-fledged Web destination. It didn't take long for the site to become popular, and in November 2006, Internet search engine goliath Google purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion.
As the company has grown, so has the scope of the videos on the site. In the early days of YouTube, you could find videos showing interesting locations, crazy stunts and hilarious pranks. You can still find that sort of content today, but you'll also see political debates, musical performances, instructional videos and unfiltered war footage. In 2007, YouTube even provided members with a way to interact with potential United States presidential candidates. YouTube members submitted video questions, and CNN featured some of them in Democratic and Republican candidate debates.
YouTube has also become the center of several controversies. One of the most publicized controversies involves copyright infringement. YouTube doesn't prescreen videos before they appear on the site -- members upload thousands of videos every day. Sometimes, YouTube members will upload television shows or clips from movies to share with other people. If the YouTube member doesn't own the copyright to that material, there could be trouble.
Another controversy is currently brewing in the YouTube community itself -- the battle between the online community and corporations. YouTube has formed partnerships with major television studios like CBS, NBC and the BBC and with organizations like Universal Music, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. Notable celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Paris Hilton have also joined YouTube. Some YouTube members feel that these wealthy organizations and individuals are squeezing out the average contributor. They argue that average user videos are competing with people and organizations that have huge budgets and extensive resources, and some members suggest that these groups and celebrities are using underhanded methods to ensure their videos rise to the top of YouTube's various video lists.
What is this loyal YouTube community? In this article, we'll explore YouTube channels and communities and learn some neat YouTube tricks. We'll also examine the YouTube video player, tour YouTube's main pages and discover the difference between the different types of YouTube accounts And we'll even take a look at YouTube's rules and guidelines as well as at the company behind the videos.
Before we delve into all things YouTube, it's a good idea to look at what the site is all about -- videos. In the next section, we'll learn about YouTube's video player, the video formats YouTube accepts and how members can help viewers find their work.
YouTube videos are all in Adobe Flash Video format, which has the file extension designation of .flv. You've probably encountered several different video formats on the Internet, each with its own dedicated video player. These include:
- QuickTime, from Apple, plays files that end in .mov
- RealNetworks RealMedia plays .rm files
- Microsoft Windows Media can play a few streaming file types: Windows Media Audio (.wma), Windows Media Video (.wmv) and Advanced Streaming Format (.asf)
- Adobe Flash player plays .flv files and .swf animation files
Flash Video has two big advantages over other formats. First, it has high compression ratios, which means .flv files tend to be smaller than other formats. Second, Flash Video requires a flash player applet rather than a stand-alone video player.
Creating a Flash applet is a fairly simple coding task -- there are several Web pages that can guide you through the entire process. YouTube's Flash player has the standard bells and whistles, including volume control, play, rewind and a couple of buttons that allow the viewer to minimize or maximize the viewing screen.
In order to view YouTube videos, users must have Macromedia Flash Player 7.0 or higher installed on their computers. Since the player is free, there's no cost to the user to get his or her computer up to speed. YouTube's player only works with .flv files, but fortunately users don't have to create or convert files into that format before sending them in.
YouTube accepts video files in Quicktime (.mov), Windows Media Video (.wmv), Audio Visual Interleave (.avi) and Moving Pictures Expert Group (.mgp) formats. Users upload video files in one of these formats and YouTube converts them into .flv. YouTube calls the period between uploading a file and the completion of conversion processing time, which varies depending on the size and format of the original file. YouTube says that processing time might only take a few minutes or could require several hours. If a video takes longer than eight hours to upload, YouTube suggests that the video's creator remove the video and try uploading it again.
In the next section, we'll take a look at YouTube's layout.
SCREENSHOT BY HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM
First-time visitors to YouTube might feel a little overwhelmed when they arrive at the main Web page. The page shows thumbnails of videos currently being watched by other users, a list of promoted videos, a larger video window on the right featuring a sponsored video and a list of featured videos farther down the page. There's also a search field that visitors can use to look for videos about a particular person or subject.
The main page has tabbed links to four other important YouTube sections: videos, categories, channels and community. Each tab lets you search for videos in different ways. Let's take each tab individually:
- The videos tab takes you to a page where you can browse videos based on various statistics, including the most recently uploaded videos, the most viewed videos, videos with the highest member ratings and videos that many members have picked as favorites.
- The categories tab arranges videos into broad subject categories, like autos and vehicles or entertainment. YouTube doesn't decide where videos should go -- the video's creator designates the appropriate category when he or she uploads the video.
- The channels tab divides videos into sections based on the type of member who uploaded the videos. In other words, you can search for videos uploaded by comedians, directors, gurus,musicians, nonprofits, partners and sponsors. Videos within each category are not grouped by subject matter.
- The communities tab divides videos into two sections: groups and contests. Groups are organizations formed by YouTube members focused on a particular subject or theme. Contests are competitions and games sponsored by YouTube members -- each contest has different rules and prizes.
In YouTube Accounts
SCREENSHOT
You don't need an account to watch videos on YouTube. If you want access to some of YouTube's other applications, you'll need to sign up for a membership. Most YouTube memberships are free, and you can change your account designation at any time.
Account types include:
- The basic YouTube account, called the YouTuber, allows members to upload videos, comment on other videos, rate videos with a one- to five-star rating system, designate videos as favorites, create a personal channel (YouTube's version of a member page), subscribe to other members' videos, share videos and befriend other YouTube users.
- Originally, members with director accounts could upload larger video files than average YouTubers. Eventually, YouTube allowed all members to upload larger files. Today, directors can personalize their own member channels with performer information and logos, and their videos appear on the directors channel on the main YouTube channels page.
- Comedian accounts are for people who upload videos that are intentionally funny and promote their careers. Members with a comedian account can include a schedule of performance dates on their personal member channels.
- Musician accounts are for members who want to promote their musical talents. Like comedian accounts, members with musician accounts can include a schedule of performances on their personal channels.
- Guru accounts are for people who have a high level of expertise in one or more subjects. Their videos are designed to teach people how to do something, how something works or generally educate the viewer. Gurus have a special section for personal information in their personal channels.
- Nonprofit accounts are for nonprofit organizations to promote philanthropic causes and gather donations. YouTube allows nonprofit organizations to include a donation application from Google checkout on the organization's channel page.
- Partners are people or organizations that have formed a partnership with YouTube. Partners provide content to the site and share in revenue generated from advertising. Account holders can include huge corporations like major television studios or individual YouTubers who have achieved a high level of visibility and popularity.
- The last category of memberships is sponsors. YouTube sponsors pay to have content featured prominently on YouTube's homepage.
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