It’s safe to say that YouTube, the popular user video sharing website, is no longer what it used to be. Gone are the days of mindlessly browsing the website in hopes of stumbling upon a whimsical video that will make you laugh for a few seconds.
Instead, many see YouTube today as a massive frontier of ideas and opportunities. With the site’s re-designed layout and features, users can now “subscribe” to other people and receive instant updates about their videos.
Since the website opened in 2005, the production value of many of the videos has soared to new limits, with thousands looking to showcase their array of talents in a bold way.
Granted, you can still find silly videos of cats playing the piano, but the main shift in the identity of YouTube is that it is a legitimate platform for raw talent just waiting to be discovered.
For example, Grammy winning artist Justin Bieber first swooned his audiences with a collection of YouTube videos featuring him playing the guitar.
His popularity attracted R&B artist Usher, who eventually signed Bieber to his record. Thanks to his start on YouTube, Bieber is now one of the most popular artists worldwide.
Despite YouTube helping to catapult Bieber to stardom, others have declined to sign with labels or go mainstream, preferring to retain star status in the YouTube world.
Youtubers like Ryan Higa (more commonly known as NigaHiga), KevJumba and Smosh take pride in their YouTube popularity and consistently make videos every week to entertain their viewers.
Another aspect as to why YouTube is generating such popularity is the aspect of “monetizing” videos. If a user channel becomes popular enough, they can optimize their video to contain advertisements which, in turn, leads to them making a profit off these ads.
To be clear, not all users are hauling in the Benjamins just because they have a few videos. In order to actually make a living off YouTube, which some people, in fact, do, consistent uploads with enough popularity is essential.
Beyond just popularity and ad revenue, YouTube has given the people a sense of voice and power in our society. Whether it’s a political or societal issue, you can count on people to flock to YouTube to display their feelings about a certain problem or event.
In one instance, Canadian musician Dave Carroll vehemently expressed his disgust for United Airlines in a video titled “United Breaks Guitars.”
Disgusted by the fact that the airline broke his guitar while mishandling it and refused to provide reparations, Carroll composed an original piece that mocked the company’s shoddy mishandling of the event.
Due to the outcry from the general public, United’s stock massively plummeted the next day. Embarrassed, United offered to fix Carroll’s guitar. By that point, however, Carroll had amassed enough money to buy hundreds of guitars. It’s safe to say that this was not music to United’s ears.
UT students had a chance to see a musician who gained a substantially large following on YouTube last week. Lindsey Stirling, most notable for her “Dubstep Violin” act, performed a free concert for students in the Vaughn Center Lobby.
She was a quarter-finalist on the fifth season of America’s Got Talent where she described her style as “hip-hop violin.”
She is also a dancer and composer, and she performs her violin in the styles of hip-hop, dubstep, classical and pop during her shows.
Stirling’s incredible performance reminded us all why YouTube is now an abundant Internet land filled with lots of hidden gems of musicians, comedians, performers and filmographers.
Griffin Guinta can be reached at griffinguinta@gmail.com.