Nowadays it would be very difficult to walk up to a random person on the street and ask them if they knew what YouTube was without receiving some awkward looks. The media giant emerged in 2005 with a few programmers from the online payment company paypal and a goal to make the world a better place. As far as I am concerned I believe that they accomplished their goal. YouTube was unique because of hat author of The Wealth of Networks,Yochai Benkler talks about in his analysis of youtube. Benkler first starts by stating the overall vastness of youtube in relation to its demographic customer information, it contains people from all sectors of life, politicians, government agencies, business, schoos, interest groups and last but not least individuals. As Benkler illustrates, YouTube provides a platform for all of these people to interact and take part in participatory culture.
Participatory culture is different from normal everyday culture because it involves a choice by each individual to take part in it and to be influenced by it. YouTube does its job by creating a space for users to select which videos they choose to watch and whether or not they choose to upload videos by themselves. Within PArticipatory culture those with power are the individual users who choose which content they absorb or if they absorb any at all. Benkler also alludes to the importance of youtube in the creation of selective media and how with youtube there is now more of an emphasis on the individual and private organizations that for corporate programs which create false private interest groups such as “Astroturf”. “Astroturf” was a fake grassroots movement funded by corporate interests to create hostility towards the Obama presidency by supporting the Tea Party and spreading anti-obama propaganda. For more information check out this video : http://youtu.be/zfIPt9VoarE
Aside from all of the private interests that also make themselves at home on YouTube there are also groups of users who come together to share information and ideas that could potentially change the world we live in and how we view ourselves and others. I believe that this is the power of Youtube and the ironic truth of the internet.