Introduction
Our modern world is characterized by numerous inventions and innovations. Over the centuries numerous inventions and creations have been witnessed all over the globe. One among many that has impacted heavily on mankind was the invention of the internet. A communication channel that has made the world to become like a global village, boasts as one of the many successful inventions to date. The internet has created many platforms of communication and exchanging thoughts. With time it has proven to become a very decisive and integral part of people’s culture. The internet provided opportunities for business and individual to explore. One of those is digital media, which now plays a crucial role in almost every aspect of human life. Digital media, like other sectors has evolved over the years. The internet has paved way for organizations to offer their services to the entire world market as on. Media corporations have resorted in creating world wide websites to offer their services to the masses. This has specifically helped in bridging the geographical gaps among other benefits. One notable institution that is widely known as a big player in the internet is YouTube. Founded in 2005, the website has developed to become a must visit page in the internet. It offers the users with easy access to watch videos and upload their own as well. YouTube as a website enjoys a huge number of users with numbers approximated to be in billions. Since its inception to date, the website is categorized as one of the major media players of the internet. This paper is going to analytically discuss the business models adopted by YouTube and explore the major influences this website-based community has on its members.
YouTube has grown to become one of the most popular video sharing website in the internet. The website allows people and organizations to view and share their won made videos. After the inception of the YouTube in 2005, the site was later acquired by Google in October, 2006. Up to date, the website has been running under the management of Google which has been formulating and executing various business models aimed at fostering sustainability and growth of the website. Decision makers normally formulate some business models aimed at increasing the revenues of the entity and minimizing cost . YouTube did adopt some few frameworks to foster growth and generate income. The site offering free services to users had to adopt some models in order to generate revenue. One of the models integrated by Google after the takeover was the restructuring and designing new policies to run the website. The users of the site usually enjoy watching and sharing media easily and free (Hoegg, 2008).
YouTube merged up with both individual and corporate content providers and formed partnerships over the distribution of contents. Content providers are required to copyright their work; YouTube on the other hand, would tackle offences on copyright stealing and generate revenue to the website and owners of the content. This framework was viewed by content provides as the best way to distribute their work to people and at the same time reduce the stealing of contents. Therefore incase of any infringements, both parties could benefit financially.
Another important business model adopted by YouTube is advertising. The website enjoys a huge number of users. Many organizations like advertising about their goods and services to the masses in order for them to realize some economic gains. YouTube has maximized the traffic it enjoys by inviting potential clients to advertise with them . The website has designed various ways in which advertisements can be put out to viewers. One of these is pre-roll advertising where viewers are forced to watch short videos before embarking on their targeted clips . Other forms of advertising on YouTube include; sponsored advertising, banners and in-video graphical advertisements (Hoegg, 2008).
Just like many other social websites, YouTube has over the years impacted on the members of the site. These consequential actions may be categorized into both positive and negative factors. In assessing the positive impacts of YouTube on its users, one of the positive measures is that YouTube has offered the society with a platform to access information at no cost. If someone wanted to learn about something, he/she would easily search for it on YouTube and acquire visual information . People can also access information that affects them domestically regardless of their geographical location. In some ways YouTube has helped in cultivating democracy through the distribution of media aimed at streamlining governments and politicians. Another important aspect of YouTube is that it provides entertainment to the users. With billions of video clips to view, it is hard for any user to get bored .
Apart from the positive influences, YouTube has also led to some negative consequences especially on the users. These includes; the distribution of violent videos which encourage people to engage in illegal violent activities. Some users also tend to disseminate misleading information to the public. YouTube has also over the years been linked to the occurrence of civil conflicts in various countries, a good example being the Arab spring . Regardless of this, YouTube can be termed as a major success towards the overall improvement of human life. As a website, it has contributed in providing the much needed efficiency and effectiveness of sharing and distributing information.
References
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Indian Times News Network. (2008, December 5). YouTube tightens policy. Retrieved June 24,
2013, from http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-12-05/news/27702150_1_youtube-videos-content
Margolis, D. (2010, May). Analyzing the Societal Effects of YouTube. Retrieved June 24, 2013,
Morten, F. (2009). Business Models in Social Networking. Ballerup: Aalborg University.
