YouTube Community

While to many, YouTube still is a collection of funny cat videos, there is more to it than that. YouTube is all about community. YouTube community is growing faster and faster nowadays. It seems that, apart from sharing their thoughts in writing and their pictures, sharing videos is becoming an important part of many people’s lives. YouTube has become 2^nd largest search engine in the world (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SuNx0UrnEo), people often “YouTube” something, not “Google” it, when they prefer to watch a relevant video, instead of reading the information. Even Google includes YouTube videos in its search results.

The number of those who post videos and the number of those who watch them grows every day. In the beginning of 2011 the number one subscribed youtuber (at the time, it was nigahiga) had three million subscribers. At the start of 2012, the most subscribed youtuber is RayWilliamJohnson, with over five million subscribers (as reported by TheWillofDC at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9LnNb67WbE&list=UULi4rDgDD2mKqoEMU2-FgTA&index=23&feature=plcp).

Many videos on YouTube, like those of Ryan (aka nigahiga), or Ray (aka RayWilliamJohnson) are attempts to express their creativity. But many youtubers, including the giants mentioned above, have channels where they speak directly to their audience. They share their news and ask people, who watch their videos, for advice or opinion. There are strong communities, forming around youtubers, with very different amount of viewers. They meet online on the basis of common interests. The ability to comment on videos and channels gives viewers a chance to communicate with each other, as well as with the video creators, who regularly look through the comments and reply to their fans. Ray even started a tradition to call his fans on Skype and feature that in the end of each of his vlogs on his second channel – BreakingNYC (http://www.youtube.com/user/BreakingNYC). Many YouTube communities even have specific names, such as “Moosh Army” of OlgaKay (http://www.youtube.com/olgakay) and “Audience” of TobyTurner. 

Although within the bigger YouTube community, smaller parts can be distinguished, it should also be seen as a whole. YouTube does not know national borders; the art of video is more international than that of word and letters. On many videos there are comments in different languages. People meet on YouTube no matter how far from each other they are geographically. For example, for an internet music band, The Shures, YouTube as the only possible outlet for their music, as the members live across the ocean from each other – one is in the UK, the other lives in Australia (http://www.youtube.com/user/theshures).

Some say that communication online has nothing to do with real life, but that is not true. People meet there based on common interests, and watching someone’s vlog is a good way to get to know the person. YouTube is what brought together a Canadian girl Cassandra (aka NerdzRL at http://www.youtube.com/user/NerdzRL) and an American guy Zachary (aka thatzak at http://www.youtube.com/user/thatzak). Despite being geographically distant, many YouTube relationships are warm, sincere, and human.

If I ever want to share my thoughts and show others more of my life, I am not going to try to engage people in the street, who, understandably, may have no interest in what I have to say. I will go on YouTube and post a vlog, for those, who want to see and to listen.