OCT 18 – I’m sure you’ve heard the news – one billion customers served! Just like that popular fast food franchise company that has a clown as its number one salesman.
That’s it folks! YouTube recently exceeded one billion video views in a day. Is this a big deal? This is a big deal! On the same day, CSI, the most popular show on television at the moment only pulled in 15 million viewers.
Think about it. There are almost 7 billion people on earth. An estimated 2 billion of them have Internet access. That means half the Internet population of the world are YouTube viewers. If that’s not a big deal, that I don’t know what is! (Okay! Some might argue the recent spat in the MCA is a bigger deal. I grant that to you. I guess I’m just a techie geek!)
Anyway, this big mac of an achievement for the video hosting site can mean several things.
Firstly, it means that New Media is now a more legit form of media than any conventional media such as television, radio and newspaper. The trend we see is proof in itself. Newspapers around the world are shutting down left, right and centre. Television stations are creating deals with YouTube. And radio… Well, radio has long been out of the game since I can’t even remember!
Secondly, user-generated content and Web 2.0 have democratised the media. Now anyone with a video camera and an Internet connection can get their views out to the world. We have bloggers who have turned into politicians due to their immense online popularity. We also have laymen videobloggers who have turned into journalists and threatening the livelihoods of the professionals.
Thirdly, the audience is now determining for themselves what kind of content they want. There are a gazillion amount of videos online. There are no gatekeepers and this promotes a world where only the strongest survives. Content is king and it has to have that extra edge for it to be clicked on by the audience and not get lost in obscurity.
Now this brings me to the fourth and final meaning to YouTube’s one billion video views mark. Yes, we can probably argue contentiously that New Media is now the medium of choice for information. Yes, we can probably argue contentiously that Web 2.0 has democratised the media and the world community. And yes, we can probably argue contentiously that the power is now in the hands of the audience.
But what it really boils down to is that in the advanced 21st century, we human beings have finally reached the pinnacle of our civilization. In this sophisticated Information Age, the great people of planet earth have found their true purpose in the universe. And that is to get up every morning, log on to the Internet, and watch videos of dogs on skateboards and cats falling off kitchen counters.
* Zan Azlee scours the Internet for interesting videos. The abundance of idle time forces him to write responses to the videos he views. This week's video can be viewed here.
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Personally, I seldom read a newspaper (I don't even subscribe to one) as I choose instead to refer to online sources. However, I inevitably choose to seek news from websites carrying content from well-known traditional media (e.g. The Times and The New York Times). Admittedly, I do supplement this with reading blogs and other new media. Perhaps it is force of habit and the next generation will be even more willing to seek their news solely from blogs and other new media but even if it is likely it is still a long way off.
As someone who has worked in the field of publishing, I can tell you that what is happening is that conventional media outlets are readily embracing emerging technologies, precisely to ensure that they are not left behind. So what is in fact happening is a convergence.
Speaking for myself, the novelty of being able to set my own mp3 playlists wore off a long time ago - so much so that I purchased a wi fi radio several months back. As astonishing as my decision may seems, apart from being able to be exposed to new music I wanted to just be able to sit back and listen to playlists assembled by others and not have to go to the trouble of choosing my own tracks. This explains the popularity of services like last.fm and brings me to my next point: choice.
Choice, it would seem, is the obsession of our age. Well in my view, there is such a thing as too much choice and I think there comes a point when each of us reaches a point where 'choice fatigue' sets in. This is the point where the amount of choices we are able to make over the various facets of our lives creates stress and we simply end up longing for fewer high quality choices. I'll give you an example.
Yesterday, I had the choice of going to one of the biggest malls in the world to grab a bit and run a few errands. It's an amazing place filled with attractions to the brim and cuisine from all four corners of the globe. In the end I made a last minute decision to go to a much smaller mall where I could get all my errands done, had a far smaller selection of cuisine (though perfectly acceptable) and a car park where I had little chance of losing my car. I am quite certain that in future I will frequent the smaller mall that has almost everything I need far more than I will frequent the bigger mall.
I suppose my point is that too much choice can be dazzling and stressful - far more important is quality.