Welcome to my YouTube Exhibition!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmNdZ9elq_AhG1UKnbx4dKNMaoOCsxHkD[/youtube]
My playlist contains videos that are representative of 6 broad elements of YouTube:
1. Videos
2. Music
3. Self-Education
4. Ads
5. Weirdness
6. User Created Content
Videos
The first five videos are all various types of visual media that exist on YouTube. “Magical Trevor” is a whimsical animation originally published on another site, back before YouTube dominated the landscape. It also showcases the nostalgic value and cultural power YouTube videos can have for those who watch them.
On this theme, “Honeybadger” is one of the first videos I remember going viral, even spawning t-shirts before now being basically obsolete.
To me, YouTube is also a place for people to share clips of shows or movies – which is why the “Whose Line” skit is here. The site provides a forum for the web series as well, like Collegehumor’s “Hardly Working” – one of the first series with a dedicated staff behind it. Finally, my YouTube experience wouldn’t be complete without a machinima, represented here by DasBoSchitt’s well-produced “Gary’s Mod Idiot Box” series. Videos like this are mainly for shareable entertainment and leisure – one of the main reasons I go on YouTube.
Music
To me, YouTube is also a great platform for musical expression. This may come from re-uploads of already produced music, like “The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time OST”, which I often play in the background while browsing or doing work. Music also includes remix culture, represented by Pogo’s “Jaam”, an original song created from clips of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Similarly re-appropriated is the “Literal Trailer,” which is basically a guy singing over a videogame trailer. It’s not really great music, but the tune is catchy and shows how music contributes to the popularity of a video (or, more academically, the fecundity of a meme.)
Self-Education
Besides entertainment, I also use YouTube for self-education purposes. PBS’ well-researched Idea Channel is a favorite of mine, as it explores internet culture through the lens of everything from mathematics to art history. The second show I follow for self-education is Extra Credits, a well-produced series on the video game industry. Those are both weekly shows – Table Top comes on less frequently. Though it is basically somewhat famous geeks playing board games, I count it as “self-education” because it helps me keep up with one of my hobbies.
Ads
YouTube advertising is as commonplace as it is aggravating. However, the site has provided a goldmine for creative marketing, especially when mixed with the weirdness of Internet culture. This Old Spice ad pleasantly surprised me when it popped up – check it out!
Weirdness
If I could describe YouTube humor in one word, that word would be “bizarre.” Whether it’s creepy-bizarre like Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared or WTF-bizarre like YouTube Haiku (which pulls from everywhere), I can’t get enough of it. It permeates almost every video I watch, and has bled into the rest of my humor.
User-Created Content
While my YouTube is mainly about watching other videos, it has recently become about sharing my own. This Epic Baldy Climb video gave me a chance to reconnect with friends from across the country through an easy-to-use tool. The experience of making and uploading this video has made me see the social networking/self-expressive value of YouTube, and means I will probably post more videos in the future.
Hardly Working is an amazing skit series. College Humor, in general, is awesome too. Love the playlist!
Haha, I like that you included ads because I never thought to write about them. So deep rooted in the idea of YouTube as seen by the shareholders. A way to turn a profit…however I just installed the Ad Block Plus app and I guess I’ll never see the Old Spice ad now.
Hey John, really cool playlist. I’m definitely going to check out Idea Channel and Extra Credits!
I love how you added the Weirdness category, because anyone using Youtube needs to beware of the weird side, or embrace it. Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared… Great video but at the same time gives me nightmares. Also nice playlist!!
Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is definitely a WTF-weird video. I love it though. Extra credits is great, I just can’t seem to keep up with them. Ocarina of Time OST is always a good musical choice. Magical Trevor is from Newgrounds, right? It’s interesting how they still have such an active community with lots of flash sites disappearing recently.
Although I never played Ocarina of Time, many of the songs from the game are very recognizable.
I really like the overall structure of your blog post – it was easy to read and nice that it specified different categories of You-Tube videos you watch. Also you made a great, well-rounded playlist! I totally forgot about Honeybadger, glad you reminded me of it though because I will be forever amused by that video.
I am a fan of the self-education video channels! Seems interesting.
I like that you categorized “weirdness” as an entire YouTube genre. Very true. Some of the things that I find hilarious on YouTube are cannot be described with any other adjective other than weird. Example A: Marcel the Shell (1 and 2.) Such a funny and addictive video (to quote), yet so bizarre. Creativity such as this would never be able to reach fame if it weren’t for YouTube.
I really like the way you split your videos into categories. I’m also a huge Whose Line fan, so I love that you included that as well! I sometimes watch old episodes on Youtube as well, they’re really great.