It’s crazy to think that YouTube has only been around for 5 years now. There are thousands to millions of people subscribed and use YouTube everyday. It has become one of the top social media sites today, for people to post, subscribe and search for multiple channels. YouTube has become a starting ground for many musicians to get their music out, and have their voice heard. This site has been the jump-start for many famous people’s careers such as Justin Bieber, Carley Ray Jepsen and the Jonas Brothers.
Henry Jenkins is a Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism and Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. Jenkins is an American Scholar, that wrote an article on the “Nine Propositions Towards a Cultural Theory of YouTube.” After reading his article on this topic, the proposal that I stand forth is number four.
YouTube’s value depends heavily upon its deployment via other social networking sites — with content gaining much greater visibility and circulation when promoted via blogs, Live Journal, MySpace, and the like. While some people come and surf YouTube, it’s real breakthrough came in making it easy for people to spread its content across the web. In that regard, YouTube represents a shift away from an era of stickiness (where the goal was to attract and hold spectators on your site, like a roach motel) and towards an era where the highest value is in spread ability a term which emphasizes the active agency of consumers in creating value and heightening awareness through their circulation of media content.)
A great example would be Justin Bieber and his start of fame on YouTube. Bieber created a channel called Kidrauhl, and would post all different types of videos of him singing, until he posted the video called “With You” by Chris Brown that would change his life. He instantly became a YouTube sensation, and producers such as Usher and Def Jam Records wanted to sign him. Justin used social media to the best of him linking his songs to YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. At the beginning of his success he made all different cameos on the Ellen Degeneres show and circulated his success in many different social media sites. Before you knew it Justin Bieber was the new hot pop icon that girls all over the United States had his video posted to their MySpace page and boys aspired to be like him. Little did the Grammy; VMA artist know, what the power of YouTube would have on his overall career generating more than 2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel now.
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