AnnaBediones

=YouTube, its impacts on social culture, and copyright laws= = = Welcome to the digital world. Much has changed in such a short time; the fervent impact of technological advancements on social culture indisputable. The rise of the Internet has introduced a fresh array of social norms, with one of the most prevalent examples being the upsurge of YouTube, a popular online video-sharing website.

=About YouTube=

YouTube officially launched in December 2006, a month after receiving funding from Sequoia Capital. It was founded by Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, who later sold the company to Google for $1.65 billion USD in stock. The merger integrates "one of the largest and fastest growing online video entertainment communities with Google's expertise in organizing information and creating new models for advertising on the Internet,". Although YouTube is central to user contributions, it also has established affiliations with CBS, BBC, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, NBA, and many more.

YouTube provides "a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small,". It provides an extensive variety of content designed to appease a wider audience. "Our user base is broad in age range, 18-55, evenly divided between males and females, and spanning all geographies. Fifty-one percent of our users go to YouTube weekly or more often, and 52 percent of 18-34 year-olds share videos often with friends and colleagues. With such a large and diverse user base, YouTube offers something for everyone." YouTube is very user-driven, allowing and encouraging everyone to view the videos, though only registered members can upload videos, create playlists, rate videos, and post comments. Membership is free, so ultimately anyone and everyone can participate.

=Impact on Social Culture=

Because YouTube is driven by its subscribers, it must continue to attend to their needs and wants. With its user-friendly interface, it enables people of various demographics to participate, as long as they have access to a computer and Internet. It offers quick and simple access to video content, and serves the interests of people all over the world. People now have news, entertainment, and a means of expression all at their fingertips. Videos are now an increasingly popular medium of communication, its effectiveness reaching a larger scale. Graham Pellettieri, author of Strings, adds: "it has become apparent that online videos are a prevalent and effective tool for web users,". The Internet has transformed all concepts of time and space, and the addition of YouTube only reinforces that. People are able to visit and re-visit elements asynchronously, meaning they don't necessarily have to be there in real time - they can watch on their own time because the content will still be available. For example, the inauguration of Barack Obama that took place on January 20th, 2009 was broadcasted on news networks, but in addition to this, it was also streamed online so those without access to televisions were able to bear witness to the historical event. It was also made available online for those who missed it early during the day. Consequently, the impact of YouTube is monumental, its influence booming. As is evident by the previous example, many of the larger corporations are also participating, forming partnerships in order to reach even more people. YouTube attracts all sorts of users, from musicians and entertainers to comedians and filmmakers, and much more. Even the authorities have begun using YouTube in their search for criminals. News sites feed content to YouTube, and sometimes even use it for their own stories. YouTube has become a powerful force in culture.In fact, President Barack Obama used (and continues to) use YouTube to post updates on his [|account], which was ultimately a deciding factor in his victory of John McCain. His awareness of the power of YouTube enabled him to strengthen his campaign, and reach broader audiences. Even the //Washington Post// agrees - an article by Jose Antonio Vargas writes, "a new level of online communication between the public and the White House" has evolved. He also includes a quotation from Steve Grove, head of news and politics at YouTube: "The Obama team has written the playbook on how to use YouTube for political campaigns. Not only have they achieved impressive mass -- uploading over 1800 videos that have been viewed over 110 million times total -- but they've also used video to cultivate a sense of community amongst supporters." This alone reveals the power of YouTube on social culture. It has the ability to create a sense of community and encourage people to participate in our Global Village, a term coined by Marshall McLuhan. Many have recognized the power of YouTube, thus more and more people are using it for their own causes.

In addition to this, technology allows people to capture content no matter where they are. For example, most cell-phones are now equipped with photo and video cameras, so no event ever goes unaccounted for. Furthermore, YouTube is available on many mobile devices, so not only can people record everything, they can also post and distribute it more quickly. There is no limit to how far one can go with the help of YouTube.

However, with every advantage comes a disadvantage. The availability of all this content poses the risk of violating copyright laws.

=YouTube, P2P & Copyright Laws=

YouTube builds on the previous concept of peer-to-peer (P2P), a system of free online file-sharing that depends on the contributions of its participants. The “peers” are connected to each other via the Internet, and through peer-to-peer applications such as [|Napster] or [|Limewire], users can share files among each other for free. Though free access to music files is ideal for users, issues with intellectual property infringement elevated, with many corporations in the music industry protesting copyright violations. Copyright owners are entitled to exclusive statutory rights on their work: the reproduction, distribution, composition of derivatives, and the public display of the work. P2P violates the majority of copyright laws, providing people with illegal content. However, in the case of YouTube, instead of music files and other applications, YouTube is limited to video sharing. However, rather than having users contribute files to be downloaded, YouTube shares videos through streaming, where subscribers upload video clips for others to view.

Nonetheless, copyright laws are still disputed.

Although many corporations have teamed up with YouTube, there are still many others who oppose. There have been many complaints on copyright infringement on posted content. For example, Viacom threatened to sue YouTube for "its inability to keep copyright material off its site." Google argued that Viacom's action "'threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately exchange information' over the web." Viacom claimed that the posting of video clips from movies, television shows, and other programs violated intellectual property laws and saw it as a form of piracy that cannot be tolerated.

In response to this, YouTube now implements anti-piracy tools that scan user content prior to being approved and posted onto the website. A multitude of video clips has been removed from the site to comply with the requirements of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

This affects three major stakeholders:
 * YouTube
 * YouTube subscribers
 * Copyright Holders

=Conclusion=

YouTube provides a popular form of communication, connectedness, and entertainment to users all over the world. Such establishments claiming copyright infringement are reacting excessively and unnecessarily harsh considering that the distribution of content on YouTube has little effect on their business. Neither YouTube or its participants receive monetary gain from posting content online, nor are they able to post full clips anyway. Watching on YouTube does not necessarily replace watching on television or purchasing DVDs, thus the focus should remain on such peer-to-peer websites that offer full episodes/films/music files, rather than on YouTube, which is primarily just a place of exchanging information. Their implementation of such pre-approval tools can now be considered as censorship, which can potentially cause withdrawal from subscribers and decreased enthusiasm.