The term nichetube is introduced by Alexandra Juhasz in “Learning the Five Lessons of YouTube” and can be defined as:

• A video that falls off the radar, undeserved and unobserved by YouTube’s system of rankings

“Niche” – a place or position suitable or appropriate for a person or thing; a distinct segment of a market
                         (to find one’s niche…)

YouTube is so large and vast that it is easy for unique, less-popular videos to be lost in the depths of it’s content. The way it’s ranking system is set up is comparable to high school popularity rankings. The more popular videos, that may  be lacking in substantial or original content, push aside the less-favored underliers into the “weird cliques” and might as well be lost.

In order to find videos within “nichetube,” users must know exactly what they are searching for. Popular videos about certain topics reflect and reinforce the standard views of society. The most radical, ideological videos are flagged, reported, and typically removed from the site.

• With YouTube being one of the most visited archives of videos, the idea of “nichetube” brings up the question of democracy, and how democratic is it of the site’s algorithms to favor mainstream content
• Not a an equal forum for discussion or expression of opinion