YouTube information

YouTube is the most popular video sharing website to date. It became a tool for wannabe celebrities to actually be famous. Because of YouTube, we now have online celebrities such as happyslip, kevjumba, brookers, lonelygirl15, smosh, and many more who became stars in their own right and are gaining more and more recognition as they add new videos of themselves. YouTube also became a stepping stone for talented people from different countries to finally be seen by people worldwide. Because of YouTube, these talented people got TV invites and have signed record deals! It’s a worldwide phenomenon and became a great alternative to TV.

YouTube had been online for about 3 years now. It was created on February 15, 2005 by former Paypal employees Amad Chohan, Jawed Karim and Steve Chen. These 3 young people used Adobe Flash technology for displaying videos and movie clips and have also included contents such as videoblogs and short videos. From the day the domain name was activated, the website had been developed subsequently and before its official debut, Amad Chohan, Jawed Karim and Steven Chen gave a public preview of what the site would offer the world in May of 2005, about 6 months before they would finally open YouTube to the public. Starting up a website as huge as YouTube, a great capital is needed. YouTube started out with a $3.5 million initial investment provided by Sequoia Capital in November of 2005 and who then added an additional $8 million fund on April of 2006.


YouTube became the fastest growing website on the World Wide Web and outpacing Myspace which have been a successful website that have been online for years before. YouTube was growing and more and more people are joining in the fun and establishing their own names on YouTube with their unique and entertaining videos. On July of 2006, a survey report states that 100 million video clips are being viewed on YouTube daily and 65,000 new videos are uploaded everyday! Because of its growth and popularity, Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion worth in stock although YouTube continues to operate independently with its cofounders and all of its employees as this have been stated in their contract.

Youtube has had problems with its domain name. Because of YouTube, the American company Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corporation’s website utube.com was bombarded with visitors who got confused with the correct spelling of YouTube. Because of the confusion and hassle it brought to the company, the Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corporation had filed a suit against YouTube with the demand to have the domain youtube.com be transferred to them and they also demand payment for damages this had caused them as they have spent more money to keep up with the sudden increase of visitors. Eventually the case was dropped and reports have stated that Universal Tube are now planning on selling their domain, utube.com at a good price basing on its sudden popularity.


YouTube is a strict website and they do not allow any copyrighted videos to be uploaded in their site. Although this could not always be avoided, any reports of copyright infringements are never overlooked. Also, YouTube does not allow rated videos to be uploaded in their site. There is a restriction and those videos that are categorized as “adults” but are not revealing any body parts are allowed but these can only be viewed with consent from their members that they are old enough to view such videos. Also, as visitors you could only watch videos that have no restrictions and you can not upload your own videos without becoming a registered YouTube member first.

Because of the many talented YouTubers, YouTube has its own YouTube Video Award that is being held every year. They give awards for Best Comedy, Most Inspirational, Most Creative, Musician of the Year, Best Commentary, Best Series, and “Most Adorable Video Ever.” Everybody have the chance to vote for their favorite YouTuber.

Being able to subscribe to your favorite YouTubers is one of the great features of YouTube. The more subscribers you have, the more popular you get. Some YouTubers abuse this though and sends out subscription invites to other YouTube members just so they could gain more popularity. Since YouTube is sensational, the more people are trying to gain more popularity there hoping that someday they would be discovered and would become a star or a recording artist as this have been the case to some chosen individuals.

YouTube is not just a video sharing website but it also became an online community. Fellow YouTubers have gathered together in Washington Square Park for a get-together and because of gatherings like this, the YouTubers became more like a family. You would notice the “popular” YouTubers talk about each other not like they’re strangers but they are like friends.

There are many YouTube copy-cats sprouting here and there but they could not duplicate the same phenomenal overflow of traffic as YouTube did in just a span of a few months. With the popularity of video blogging and video streaming, more and more websites are offering this but YouTube is its pioneer. Without YouTube, the world of the internet wouldn’t be as colorful and entertaining as it is now. And because of YouTube, anybody can be famous with just a webcam and internet connection. All you need to do is just upload videos of yourself and promote those videos and if the world loves your videos, you’re an instant superstar!

YouTube has all the right entertainment videos and with thousands of incoming videos a day, you could even keep yourself updated with the latest happenings around the world just by viewing videos on YouTube. But YouTube is really about uploading personal videos or video blogging and that’s what makes it popular. But also, you get a glimpse of some local shows that you wouldn’t normally have the chance to watch on TV. But be sure you’re not uploading copyrighted videos as these would be immediately removed and your account suspended or worse, banned!