Category Archives: YouTube Playlists

YouTube: A Musical Playground

I use YouTube mainly as a platform for exploring music. Whether I want to watch a newly released music video, an obscure live performance, or an amazing cover – YouTube has what I’m looking for.

I have always been fascinated by live musical performances and I love that YouTube offers a way for me to easily access essentially any live performance that has been recorded. On my “Top 15 Playlist” I’ve included several of my favorite live performances ranging from private sessions (Alt-J NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert) to intimate festival performances (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Fire+Water Live at Barton Springs Pool) to large stadium shows (Elias from DISPATCH: ZIMBABWE Live at MSG). By granting me access to recordings of these performances, YouTube allows me to explore and experience the work of my favorite artists uninhibited by what mainstream media chooses to publicize.

In addition to watching live musical performances by my favorite artists, I also love watching YouTube users cover my favorite songs. I think one of the most amazing things about YouTube is that it offers musicians a free forum through which they can share their talents. While most YouTube users who post covers remain within the realm of YouTube, some musicians find outside fame and success through their YouTube channels.

Guitarist Sungha Jung who grew popular though YouTube has now released several albums and performs with world famous musicians. I’ve included his cover of the Beatle’s “Come Together” on my “Top 15 Playlist.”

Here, he preforms “I’m Yours” with Jason Mraz.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MycEFlLDOkY[/youtube]

The few YouTube musicians who do escape the YouTube realm act both as an inspiration to other YouTube musicians and as a testament to YouTube’s power of providing musicians the opportunity to reach a world-wide audience from their bedrooms.

Personally, YouTube has given me a space where I can post my own musical covers and receive feedback on these covers from friends and family. As someone who fears singing in public, I have found YouTube particularly helpful because it offers a way for me to share my covers without actually having to preform in front of a live audience.

Since I don’t have many views, I’m going to shamelessly use this blog post to promote myself and my cover of Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” You don’t have to listen but I’d appreciate if you would!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I4w2yxNFwg[/youtube]

While I spend most of my time on YouTube exploring music, I also use YouTube to work-out. Since I can’t always find Pilates classes that fit with my schedule, I use Cassey Ho’s “Blogilates” videos as part of my exercise regime. Instead of buying an instructional Pilates DVD with a limited number of work-out routines, YouTube gives Cassey Ho the ability to regularly post new videos which provides me constant free access to new work-out routines.

Aside from its practical uses, I am a huge fan of feel-good viral videos like “Where the Hell is Matt,” “The Sneezing Baby Panda,” and “Christian the Lion” all of which I’ve included on my “Top 15 Playlist.”

• • •

Check out my Top 15 Playlist on YouTube Here

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPD9AcnQMIDHEfvRPGwdFibxxmu7cEzaO[/youtube]

Youtube: A Melting Pot

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YouTube is the melting pot of culture and a gateway to it. YouTube levels the playing field with media, because it’s a free service with not many limitations, and everyone is given the same opportunities. I can watch that comedian that I can’t afford to see otherwise or listen to that new Sol album that just got released. I can even see what life is like in Paris or watch a dog look like it’s speaking English. YouTube is my entertainment.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw[/youtube]

It’s a way for me to catch a good laugh before I have to write that English paper or a way for me to practice my singing along with the track. YouTube in this regard is a vehicle of expression. It fosters the idea of expressing yourself and showcasing your talents whatever they may be to an audience you wouldn’t have had otherwise. It’s a way for you to get feedback on your work, and a way for you to build confidence in your abilities and grow them. I love listening to new music particularly when it’s not mainstream. I love listening to people’s own music and poetry not always the overproduced stuff on the radio.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5cT5A4zOaI[/youtube]

YouTube has been an amazing resource for finding talented people I would not know about else. I can listen to Soca and Chutney music from the Caribbean or listen to Joe Dassin from France. YouTube fosters collaboration and becomes a way for someone to share in similar interests and similar goals. No other thing is quite like YouTube because of its size and how accessible it is to everyone. If enough people subscribe to your channel or give you great feedback of your work, it is a great way to even launch a career.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3aXTYUz_2E[/youtube]

YouTube has been a gateway to new experiences and to old ones — a way for me to both learn and reminisce. When I was applying to college, I couldn’t visit every school, but YouTube allowed me to get a glimpse of what my college experience at a particular place would be like. I do my French Homework using YouTube, and I’ve learned how to make ice cream. YouTube allows me to reminisce as well. I get to relive watching my boyfriend’s band play, my ex-boyfriend try to act, and I get to watch those childhood cartoons that I grew up watching like “Rugrats” and “All That!.” We can sometimes lose track of how valuable our resources are, but without YouTube, we would have to track down some VHS and cassette copies of all the things that made the 90s great, and that would be annoying!

YouTube, most importantly however, gives everyone the opportunity to have a voice and share it. YouTube allows people to share their opinions and beliefs with the world. Put a video up, and your opinions will matter to someone. YouTube makes you heard.

YouTube has been a big part of my life, and I couldn’t imagine not having it around!

Check out my Top 15 playlist!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoNJky7ease3jyR1KcDmJtCuoTkd9Xsjf[/youtube]

My Decade in YouTube

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Playlist

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs98jVIvB8hl-_78S9kJurnuSqODtLhMz[/youtube]

If you have already glanced at my playlist, you’ll have noticed that it’s essentially a mixtape. However, I swear it’s not the self-flattering kind designed to showcase my superior tastes, or cultivate a sense of eccentric distinction. (And if you have seen the list already, you’ll know that I’m telling the truth). Instead, it’s my best attempt at a faithful chronological record of my engagement with YouTube over about the last decade. It begins with my lightbulb moment, my first glimpse of its potential usefulness, and continues over the years until the present, where I continue to realize more or less that same tiny fraction of potential. As this last sentence might suggest, I am perennially behind the technological curve, at least in my peer group, but I will elaborate on that in a moment. For now, about that light bulb…

…It flickered on, I think, sometime in the year 2005, straddling my Freshman and Sophomore years of high school.[1] I was sitting at my family’s desktop computer, contemplating the online purchase of a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert DVD, when it occurred to me that perhaps on the internet, the footage I sought was already available, instantly, for free. So I Googled YouTube. Now up to that point, I was only dimly aware that YouTube existed. I knew it by the buzz that had been surrounding it in school for the past several months, but from that I’d gathered only a vague association to videos. As brilliant as YouTube’s concept sounds now, hearing the idea back then made almost no impression on me. It wasn’t until I had a specific, urgent need, to see and hear my favorite band play live, that I ventured tentatively to its homepage.

My playlist tells the rest of the story. The first video of RHCP performing “Otherside”, while not exactly the same video, likely contains the same footage as the one I first watched on YouTube that day. Since then, YouTube has been by far and away my primary platform for music. Maybe in another few years I’ll come around to Spotify, but until then, YouTube will continue to be the source of my daily music fix, especially for live music. The first two thirds of my playlist are all examples of this. I tried to pick not just the songs but the actual videos which stick out most prominently in my memory. I’ve tried to keep an interval of one or two videos per year since 2005.

Within this bunch of songs, you’ll notice one exception. “Salad Fingers 1 – Spoons”, is the first viral video I ever saw. I watched about thirty seconds of it peering over a bunch of shoulders in somebody’s basement back in high school. As I compiled this playlist, all I remembered was something about spoons. Amazingly, I searched YouTube for “spoons”, and this video is like the third result. I still haven’t watched the whole thing, but I’m including it for the record, and also for diversity’s sake.

Speaking of which, the final third of my playlist are all various ways in which I’ve begun to expand my YouTube horizons: watching movies, video game walkthroughs, guitar lessons, cute videos, and sports highlights. The deeper I delve, the more I kick myself for being late to the game, especially now that I see YouTube more broadly as a tool for self-education. Too that end, I am definitely going to check out the Idea Channel, which I discovered in my teammate John’s playlist.

The last video on playlist is actually the last YouTube video I’ve watched before submitting this playlist. My girlfriend just sent to me on Facebook two minutes ago. It’s pretty cute. And not only does it complete the list chronologically, it represents one of the ways YouTube has become a way to connect with people in my life.

In summary, I now sense better than ever before that there’s a wealth of exciting educational and creative content on YouTube, surrounded by a vibrant, dedicated community. It’s completely accessible to me, I just have to start doing it, and I will make that one of my goals for this semester.

[1] In case you were wondering I’m 23, and very much a super senior.

YouTube: My Personal Time Capsule

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When given this assignment, I did not believe I used YouTube very often for things other than music. Usually, I have one or two tabs open for lyric videos. In fact, my main use for YouTube is just that. When I find music I like on the internet, I search for it on YouTube. More often than not, the music does not have an “official” music video but YouTube has it with one still-picture in the background or the lyrics to the video. For this purpose, YouTube allows me to share the music I find with my friends on other networks like Facebook.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/MXPJf7iZwVU[/youtube]

I do not usually watch official music videos unless they are music videos from my teenage years or childhood. For this purpose, YouTube serves as a sort of time capsule from my past. I enjoy watching music videos by The Killers, like Mr. Brightside, because it transports me back to the stressless and blissful world of my early teenage years.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/gGdGFtwCNBE[/youtube]

The nostalgia leads to watching even older movies from my childhood. The older the movie, the more likely one is to find it on YouTube. The only problem here is that I have to watch the movie in parts rather than the whole in one sitting. For example, Susie Q came out in 1996 when I was five years old.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/LT6zpWd5R_I[/youtube]

I get so wrapped up in my music use on YouTube that I do forget I use it for more practical reasons. From learning how to properly cook salmon to how to attempt a new hairstyle, YouTube becomes a virtual guide for many everyday life tips. When I first moved into an apartment two years ago, I forgot how to properly cook sunny side up eggs. I searched on YouTube how to properly cook this type of egg and (Boom!) the eggs were cooked to perfection. From that moment on, all of my cooking questions were searched on YouTube.

Reflecting on it, YouTube helps me with most of my “How To” questions and “Do It Yourself” projects. I really enjoy learning how to do different things with my hair and makeup but sometimes that does not work out well when I try to do these things myself unknowingly. Therefore, YouTube helps to educate me on how to properly try new techniques or styles. For example, the “sock bun” is a recent phenomenon for women’s hairstyles. A YouTube tutorial taught me how to properly weave the sock in my hair, creating a ballerina bun.

My most important use of YouTube is for research or motivational purposes. I am studying to be a middle school teacher and I am constantly doing research on education and teaching. YouTube is a useful tool to see theories I have read, executed in videos on YouTube. It is always helpful to see theories on paper carried out into practice. Motivational speeches, such as TED Talks, become a tangent of my educational research. YouTube has a TED Talks channel I have subscribed to and it has been a wonderful doorway to more educational research on a global scale.

I feel that YouTube appeals to any type of internet user. Naturally, we are all curious creatures who are inquisitive about the world. YouTube can help answer many questions we may have about anything.

Whether it be music or education, I am a daily visitor to YouTube. YouTube, on the surface, functions to satisfy my musical and nostalgic cravings. However, it helps to educate me on simple everyday tasks for beauty, health, and home. It serves to feed my passion for teaching and educational research, helping me gain knowledge for my ultimate dream of being an educator.

My Top 15

MyTube: A Reflection

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YouTube for Christina Kent means endless Beyonce videos, countless hours watching goats jump around, and watching trailers for upcoming films. It is a place where I laugh and sometimes cry from laughing, and I have always enjoyed stumbling across new videos. I don’t have an account or post videos, and I would say that I mainly go on YouTube to feed my procrastination, which is often. All in all, YouTube is a place where I go to appreciate and get excited about the things I love.

I have an undying love for Beyonce, so naturally before her concert this summer I spent a lot of time watching her live performances and music videos. I love when artists cover songs, and when I found a video of her singing “Sex on Fire” I was praying that she would sing it in August. She didn’t, but she was still perfect. I also enjoy watching videos of a cappella groups perform mashups and covers of songs. For instance, the group Pentatonix posted a video titled “Evolution of Beyonce” and I would say that it is six minutes of pure bliss. In the spirit of the Olympic games, Beyonce can even make figure skating look even cooler than it does in the video “Ice Dance Figuring Skating to Drunk in Love”.

I could speak about Beyonce for hours on end, but I will move on to discuss my obsession with goats and videos of them jumping around. I am quite convinced that I will own two pygmy goats at some point in my life, and I attempt to get other people on board with this plan by showing them videos of goats. My personal favorites are titled “Pygmy Goats Charlie and Lily” and “Kid pygmy goat going nuts”. While I love goat videos, I also enjoy watching videos of lions hug people because that is another one of my dreams. I reassure myself that if there are people out in the world who can get hugged by lions, I can also cuddle up with lions.

In addition to my love of animal videos, watching movie trailers has always been a fun time for me and I like how easy that is to do on YouTube. If you watch one movie trailer, there will be a list of recommendations on the side that will lead to even more trailers and soon I find myself getting very excited about upcoming films. Before the series ended, I was always waiting anxiously for the next “Harry Potter” trailer that would bring my favorite books to life. Going along with this love for alternate worlds, I also love watching clips of upcoming “Game of Thrones” seasons. I like that YouTube helps me geek out from time to time, other than just watching videos of Beyonce shake her hips and goats jumping around the room.

I feel as though for me and many other YouTube users, we use the site to watch things that we enjoy and will put a smile on our faces. While surfing the site can lead to new discoveries and interests, I mainly use it to watch what I already love. Therefore, I consider YouTube to be a place where my need for Beyonce, animals, and movie trailers will always be fulfilled.

Beyonce- Sex on Fire

Beyonce- Single Ladies Video

Pentatonix- Evolution of Beyonce

John Williams A Cappella

Ice Dance Figure Skating to “Drunk in Love”

Pygmy Goats Charlie and Lily

Kid pygmy goat going nuts!!

Pygmy Goat Happy Dance

Getting morning love from the lions

Hugs with Lions

Lion cubs hugging worker

The Lion King Trailer

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Trailer

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer

Game of Thrones Season 4 Trailer

My Youtube Playlist

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Playlist Link

My Youtube playlist is just like the rest of my life; full of music. I’ve never really been into web series, and aside from the occasional funny clip I see linked on Facebook or Twitter, the extent of my Youtube use is music. I use Youtube to preview any song I might be thinking of buying, to discover new music and artists and different versions of songs I already love. On my playlist I included some of my new favorites as well as some of my long time favorites, ranging from live performances to music videos to mashups. I use Youtube probably about three or four times a week to listen to music. When a new album comes out by an artist I like, I’ll go to Youtube and listen to the full versions of all the songs. When I have friends over, we’ll search our favorite songs on Youtube as an easy way to give everyone a chance to pick songs from their favorite genre or artist. I know that there is a lot more to discover on Youtube, but other than music, I’ve never been very interested in searching further.

Personally, I love Youtube. You always hear those success stories about people who were “discovered” on Youtube. Ellen Degeneres is known for finding cute kids with talent all over Youtube and bringing them onto her show, and I think that’s awesome. Although I know there are many dangers with Youtube, such as children uploading videos without their parents permission, I think when it is used correctly it is a great site for everyone. My younger cousins use Youtube to find help on video game levels that they’re struggling with. I remember when I was younger we would have to go buy the game guide at the store if we couldn’t figure out a level.

I’m not entirely sure the definition of a Youtube channel, but I have an account through my g-mail and I enjoy having it. It recommends things I may like, which is incredibly helpful when I’m trying to find new music or artists to listen to. I can understand that some people might not want to be tracked in this way, but personally, I see it as a benefit. Youtube finds songs or artists that are similar to the ones I already listen to and recommends new ones so I’m never at a loss for new music.

I don’t know much about the culture of Youtube. I make it a point not to read comments on Youtube videos because I know the majority of them are trolling. Other than that, I only vaguely know of some Youtube users that make money by creating celebrity gossip videos or make up tutorials, but other than that, I don’t really know the Youtube culture. Overall, I think Youtube offers a lot of value to everyone, whether they be someone like me who just casually goes on to listen, someone like my cousins who use it for assistance, or a Youtube entrepreneur who uses it to become famous or make money, I think it’s overall more good than bad.

YouTube is a Special Place

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What can I say about YouTube that hasn’t already been said by another, slightly more original cynic? It’s a fun place for people to share videos that make you laugh, make you cry, make you vomit, and make you record a reaction video of you vomiting so that you can post it on YouTube.

My YouTube playlist can be broadly classified as things that are funny or interesting or both. In the funny corner are videos from Roosterteeth, Zero Punctuation, Tomska, and Five Second Films. In the interesting corner are music videos and etc. by DJ Earworm, OK GO, and Pigpen Theatre Company. Everything else is… everything else.

Why I Chose These:

Roosterteeth

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BAM9fgV-ts&index=4&list=PLuzwfXa0FpV22NCzpyRLsRYPKDr3jiF-P[/youtube]

I’ve been following rooster teeth almost since the beginning. I remember back in elementary school (I went to a K-8 school so maybe I mean to say middle school) my friends and I would watch Red Vs. Blue. Once it migrated over to YouTube, we began watching it there and the rest is history. Now, since I’ve found less interest in Red Vs. Blue, I’ve been watching a lot of the Achievement Hunter Let’s Plays, one of which is on the playlist. I don’t usually watch Let’s Plays, but I’ve always enjoyed theirs. They were the reason I found YouTube and I suppose I’m kind of grateful for that.

Five Second Films

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpHlKLMgNYA&index=5&list=PLuzwfXa0FpV22NCzpyRLsRYPKDr3jiF-P[/youtube]

Five Second Films has been one of the most strangely consistent (in my opinion) comedy websites I’ve ever seen. They have always stuck to their formula. Even when, as in this instance, they want to do some more jokes on a similar theme, they still structure each joke as a five second film. They have been doing this for years now and they don’t really show signs of stopping.

OK GO

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w&list=PLuzwfXa0FpV22NCzpyRLsRYPKDr3jiF-P&index=8[/youtube]

I love OK GO as a band, and it makes sense that I would love their videos. Interestingly, for a long time they had more views of their music video for “This Too Shall Pass” than they did actual listens of the song on iTunes and Spotify. This is one of two versions of the music video done. I also adore the marching band video because… well… trombonists in ghillie suits.

Egoraptor

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM&list=PLuzwfXa0FpV22NCzpyRLsRYPKDr3jiF-P&index=10[/youtube]

Egoraptor is usually a surrealistic or shock humor comedian, but his Sequelitis series (three video is a series? I’d like to believe he’s making more) is a sometimes comedic, mostly educational series on game design. It’s about the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a true close reading of a video game. He goes very deep into aspects of the game design, from color palettes to the use of non-tutorial teaching mechanics. It’s a really neat video that looks past the usual descriptions of a video game and shows a true love of the art form.

SNL Wes Anderson Parody

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSEzGDzZ1dY&index=11&list=PLuzwfXa0FpV22NCzpyRLsRYPKDr3jiF-P[/youtube]

I like Wes Anderson movies and this makes fun of them in a loving way. I would also gladly pay to see The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders.

Thoughts on YouTube as a Whole:

I’ve always avoided the comments section of YouTube for a few reasons, as detailed here:

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
I feel myself getting stupider the farther down I go.
One time somebody called me a bad name and I got scared.

I don’t know what it is about YouTube that creates such a terrible environment for discussion but it usually boils down to the following comments:

I’m fairly sure that I only frequent areas with these kinds of people, though. The best I can say is that YouTube is a special place, for better or for worse.

Anyway, here’s a bunch of videos.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuzwfXa0FpV22NCzpyRLsRYPKDr3jiF-P[/youtube]

What YouTube Means To Me

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwkCXoboqGc&list=PLIbjEaW1XjkxAOcz75XtQk7HGRDdwwoIY[/youtube]

YouTube means more to me than the majority of websites on the internet. For starters its reach is wide as it connects you to videos you would normally never come across. Videos are not just moving pictures, but expressions of the soul and the collective human consciousness. Or Scarlet taking a tumble. I use YouTube almost everyday, but always for different reasons which I think draws attention to how special it is. It helps me hack boredom to pieces as I can find entertaining comedic videos. First and foremost I use YouTube to discover new music and keep my friends dancing late into the night.

The site is easily accessible and simple to use, which allows a broad range of people to use it. My mother who cannot send a text message understands how to send me a video of a bobcat using a toilet. Finding new music is simple when the site caters to my likes and interests. The majority of time spent using YouTube is actually not for the visual aspects. I usually put on a full album and push the top of the computer as low as I can get it without it falling asleep. Either that or I turn the screen brightness off. This is for a few reasons as I normally don’t like to see the music video because it defines how you initially feel about the song. I try to imagine a visual narrative in my head.
I also use YouTube to be inspired by some of my favorite thinkers and non conforming crazy individuals such as Joe Rogan, Alan Watts and Tyler the Creator. I enjoy a wide range of people because no one picks just one thing from a free all you can eat buffet. Satirical videos involving someone making fun of Bill O’ Reilly get me every time. I enjoy even more when he is being shamed at the hands (or mouth) of a genius like Stephen Colbert. YouTube reminds me what I like about the world, and also what I hate.
I have been angry with the images I see and words I hear, but just as the screen tells me tales of evil I have access to beauty. Videos of people saving lives and helping one another. There is magic in the tool that is a free video streaming collection such as YouTube. However, like every tool it can be used to help or destroy. I do not watch videos that I know will increase the number of hits, making a horrible video more popular. This goes from street fighting to Katy Perry attempting to call herself an artist.

With YouTube I can do research and engage with people. I can watch Pink Floyd serenade the souls of the dead at Pompeii and immediately after catch Miley Cyrus embarrassing herself for whoever holds her contract. There is this exploitation of counterculture. A hijacking of sorts that breeds a bandwagon of technology haters. I think sometimes they don’t realize they’re holding the axe at the wrong end.

My Life as Defined By YouTube

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My YouTube Playlist
Basically my entire existence summarized by 17 videos… I couldn’t limit myself to just 15.
My first memory of life on YouTube is of one of the most classic viral videos of all time, “Shoes” by Liam Kyle Sullivan. This video was uploaded 7 years ago and has accumulated a mind boggling 52,493,699 views (probably 100 of those coming from me alone.) Liam Sullivan actually went to my high school, King Philip, and even sports a KP Varsity Track jacket in the first scene of the video. But this alumni-themed reason alone is not why I was hooked on YouTube the second the catchy beats of the “Shoes” song entered my eardrums. It’s hilarious! It’s addictive! It’s only the beginning! After watching “Shoes” obsessively, I browsed the rest of the videos Liam had already uploaded at the time. This included the timelessly quotable “Muffins” video which I included in my playlist as well. From here, I traveled around the YouTube space via channels Liam subscribes to and that is where my journey into the world of YouTube comedy began (see also: “Ball Champions” by Kyle.)

Shoes
Muffins
Ball Champions

My exploration of YouTube via “Shoes” as a starting point emphasizes the unique community space that YouTube creates on the web. No other form of new media has been able to produce such a close-knit community of shared creativity, and that is why YouTube is so popular. If you find one video on the web that you enjoy, you can easily locate MILLIONS more of similar taste and theme via automated recommendations, similar channels, playlists, subscriptions, etc. — and thus, the YouTube community is born. One of the most special aspects of YouTube culture, in my opinion, is the way it digitizes ordinary aspects of life. In the pre-YouTube era (how horrific!), one could concoct a delicious cake recipe, serve it to friends, and provide a written transcription of the recipe to those who requested it. In contemporary times, that same recipe is now made accessible to billions of people instead of just close peers. Furthermore, not only is it available to billions, but it has been completely digitized. There could now be a step-by-step video SHOWING (instead of telling) you exactly how to follow the recipe to make that delicious cake. Without YouTube, this would not be possible. It’s crazy to think how simple life activities have been transformed into tangible information for people across the globe, connecting communities of people with shared interests that would never be able to engage or interact without this site. Amazing.

Clearly, I really recognize appreciate how YouTube has changed the web. I use it every single day, and my YouTube playlist basically summarizes my personality and life. I value humor as the top quality trait in a person, as displayed by my obsession for funny YouTube videos and channels. I love music of course, but I’m particularly fascinated by innovative covers and mashups such as DJ Earworm’s yearly mashup of Top 40 songs. I am an animal lover; I could watch videos of baby animals doing quirky things literally all day long — are you kidding me with Christian the Lion?! Most tearjerking video ever! Speaking of tearjerking videos, I’m a huge sucker for them. I love a good emotional cry via a cute viral video such as the military surprise compilation. And, I’m a novice cook just entering the culinary world. I basically have to resort to YouTube instructional videos every time I want to cook a meal. As you can see, YouTube has improved nearly every aspect of my life. It makes content of every kind from each corner of the globe accessible to me right at the click of my fingertips. I’d be lost without it.

Christian the Lion
Military Surprise Compilation

My YouTube Life

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My YouTube Playlist

YouTube. A mating ground of creativity, eclecticism and adorable cats. I’ve been on it since I got my first computer in 2008, and since then, I’ve been amazed by the amount and quality of content that people on this website could produce. One of the greatest and most unique things about YouTube is the fact that it can cater to literally any interest that anyone could possibly have. This, really, is why it’s so popular. Want to learn how to knit? YouTube. Want to listen to mostly any song ever recorded? YouTube.

My gateway drug into YouTube was through Kyle Landry, a talented teenage piano player from Massachusetts. One of his songs, Dearly Beloved, was from a video game I loved to play at the time (Kingdom Hearts), and it struck me the second I listened to it. I was hooked. I watched every single one of his videos, and even put them on as I fell asleep at night. I was continually inspired with how hard he worked at perfection, and ultimately, it inspired me to work harder on my musical skills. Still to this day, Kyle Landry is my favorite YouTuber.

After a while though, I decided to venture out from this one channel. At around this time, Beauty Gurus were starting to surface. I started watching those videos too, as I do to this day. I got into vlogs, watching one a day as they filmed it (I primarily watch CTFxC and it’sJudy’sLife now). Vlogs are fantastic because you really do feel like you’re living their life with them, but not in a creepy way of course. You grow with them, even though you’ve never met. It’s a very YouTube centric and original platform, as far as I know, and I’m not sure what my everyday life would be like without it.

My deepest connection to YouTube lies in a video I stumbled upon accidentally. One day about a year and a half ago, me and my brother were on YouTube, and came across a very strange video called “Cooking With Dog”. Thinking that it was some strange, sadistic video of a woman cooking her dog, we of course clicked on it. Instead, we found a sweet Japanese woman and her eerily well-trained poodle Francis teaching us how to make a cake. Well, the dog didn’t do much but “narrate” the cooking video, but still, it was so strange and adorable that we couldn’t stop watching. My brother watched every single one, and decided he wanted to start making the recipes based on the videos from Cooking With Dog. Over time, he became very good at it, and is now training to go to the Culinary Institute of America. All because of a little 5 minute video about a woman and her dog in a kitchen.

In the end, YouTube is a cornerstone of my life. It’s where I learn, and where I relax. The people on it have inspired me, and others around me, to do better, and to be better. This may all sound cliche, but it’s true. Though it may be just another website on the big ‘ol Internet, it still affects people every single day, with every single video.

John Sanders’ YouTube

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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.

Race, Gender & New Media

Finding the Intersections