Vii) YouTube

. It is a do-it-yourself platform for video of hobbyists: original motto was "broadcast yourself"

. The basis for success of YouTube is that people want to see other people all over the world; they want to share experiences

. It is viewed 2+ b. times per day (the preferred learning medium for people under 30 years old, ie 50% of world's population)

. It uploads an hour of video every second

. 6 b hours watched per month

. The second most popular search engine

. It now produces more programs than any Hollywood studio and aims to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and Hollywood

. Initially the entertainment establishment thought that they could finish YouTube with copyright lawsuits; now they are scrambling to get part of the YouTube action, eg DreamWorks Animation paid US$ 33m. for AwesomenessTV, Walt Disney paid $US 500 m. the Makers Studi

. Main players on YouTube include PewDiePie & Smosh has 30+ m. followers each

. Advertising on TV is limited to a particular time, while on YouTube it is unlimited, ie whenever the video is playing.

. Developing a new product (Google Preferred) which allows companies to target the sites that have the best performing content across a variety of categories

. Willing to experiment & fail, eg invested US$200+ m. in 100 new channels that created no real breakthrough

Some challenges for YouTube include

- high percentage of ad revenue, ie 49% (claimed to be excessive)

- does little to market and promote videos and the stars developing talent that can then be cherry picked by other distributors like Netflix

- traditional TV networks like CBS and HBO are moving content online

- digital media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are increasing their video offerings

- video games

- many young tech-knowledgeable entrepreneurs who were raised on YouTube and think they can build something better

NB a variation of YouTube is Wattpad, ie a YouTube for stories rather than videos. Where budding writers post stories online and invite comments from readers evaluating their progress. This allows mainstream publishers to evaluate the writers and as a result some become authors. It has 25 m. active monthly users in 2014; with around 150,000 uploads per day. It has recieved $ 46 m. in funding (International Business Times, 2014)