YouTube is developed for the idea that there is a audience out there which craves all kinds of specific videos to watch, share and enjoy. YouTube without an audience would not work, it simply would not be able to function without the internet access it demands. It also does not work effectively without the input of it’s billion of users who are watching content and uploading content constantly. YouTube has up to 100 hours of video footage uploaded every minute, with 4 trillion views on videos from people all over the globe.
When talking about audience theory and it’s sheer importance to YouTube and how it will effect my upcoming FMP, there it is key to understand the relevance of dissemination. “Dissemination is to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience”. Dissemination is the traditional view on communications, which simply involves a sender and a receiver. This relates to YouTube and my project in the sense that there is no specific sender to the work that is being produced, but there is an intended audience goal with each video and there is a billion possible people to find the video and watch.
Through this idea, it is relevant to knowing about it in order to be able to understand how being on the creative side of YouTube is the part which can often not require direct feedback or any specific requirements, but it can mean more development can be reached through the channels when some audiences provide more information than required. Having requests made from viewers or comments on the videos enables myself and others to be able to gain a sense of who is watching and what they want to see out of the channel. Depending on the topic of the YouTube channel, there is various requests or comments that can be made that are all similar in tone and expectation.
Having feedback for work is important, especially when it is something that can often not gain feedback at the beginning; for instance at the beginning of developing a YouTube channel, it is vital in gaining feedback as much as possible. It can be difficult however when there is little viewership or followings of the videos. Having the interaction of the audience allows for a greater experience for the viewers and the creator. Through Dissemination it can be easily said that YouTube is often a broadcasting social network; a pillar of the online community and nothing else, but when taking a closer glance at the video sharing site it is much more. YouTube is home to the worldwide spread of culture, norms, values and independent ideas of the everyday individual.
The video blogging side of YouTube is generally an expression zone of complete and utter freedom, to a certain extent. The term Dissemination allows us to acknowledge the fact that YouTube can be identified as one of these examples for this specific term. YouTube is a form of sharing, video sharing in particular. Content from YouTube is shared constantly, throughout the entire population it is available, there is a circulation of the content that gets around the entire social media networking system. It is through this we are able to understand how through social networking and through YouTube in particular, we are experiencing a constant and free for all world wide spread of messages from people of all ages and backgrounds. Thanks to YouTube as well as other social sites, we are able to have a voice through the mass media and begin to spread the idea that self expression is something to be celebrated.
The two step flow of communication is something worthy of discussion. Through the mass media, there can be particular trends to follow which happens to occur a lot through specific genres of social media. The mass media generates topics and certain trends and then they are transmitted to those who either control the media or who have the influence for the media. YouTube has a tendency to follow certain trends and through it has had a number of popular videos as a result, since video blogging became more of a normal thing; there have been more and more videos that have become known for following trends and topics.
A good example of how the media plays a part in YouTube’s content can be seen mainly through response videos, or through personal accounts from individuals; as well as companies that use YouTube as a marketing opportunity. Videos that have been known for commenting on certain topics of pop culture, topics of the news and much more tend to become trending which ultimately sets the cycle off for the newest form of YouTube videos and trends.
Here is an example of a video that was shown on the news a few years back, which sparked a number of response videos from people from all over the world; cementing the idea that through YouTube the mass media is working and able to spread through an entire online community.
A challenge video which began them all, sparking a new YouTube craze.
Communicating and sharing through the media is ultimately something that is always going to be accessible to anyone and everyone. The power of the media is large and there is a demand for a following to be had on specific terms; norms and values and more, but through YouTube we are able to see that there is the chance to be able to project voices and messages out there to billions of people around the world. This is relatable to my FMP as there is a huge potential development element that would allow me to work freely in the project, by understanding that having your own voice means something and that sharing the content is vital to being able to function through a controlled environment that is the mass media industry. Being your own self and having an identity and being true to what you believe is primarily what YouTube is about when it enlists people to sure videos of any nature, it’s enticing us to become a part of the sharing community and participating in a new form of culture.
Joshua Farmer: Year 3 MP Student 