What is the correlation??

Here is some data found from quantcast.com — a site that measures audience data for any site on the Internet.

It is a chart of all the terms the average American types on a search engine to get to youtube.com.

As you can see, the first few are self-explanatory. Then comes the term that is different, but somehow not surprising. Not anymore at least — “susan boyle”.   It just goes to prove one of our previous comments that the ‘Susan Boyle fame’ and YouTube go hand in hand.  People who want an introduction to her, don’t want to read about her, then want to see — and to see, the number one source in YouTube. Our theory is that soon, just like Google managed to make “googling” into a verb, YouTube will also reach a point where “youtubing” will be in our every day lingo.

On a final note… as this is our last post, we’d like to end this blog the way it began (on a humorous tone). So we present to you this image, and quote Dr. Strangelove from his second last class…

“Pathetic. We are all pathetic at some point in our lives”

New Faces Online

Often YouTube users will get online jobs making videos for sites that are a step above the user-generated videos of YouTube. As a result, people who wouldn’t have made it through Hollywood or even tried too are now being offered opportunities to showcase their talents on talk shows and tv episodes, even movies.

It’s certainly no secret that the Web can launch new faces. The medium already has its tales of regular Janes who made it big, like Lisa Donovan, who leaped from YouTube to the cast of Fox’s “MadTV,” and Brooke Brodack, a Net video character signed to a TV production deal by Carson Daly.

Economy Online

One scholarly source informed us that multimedia content based websites become more common, an increasing amount of content is produced and performed by people discovered on video sharing websites such as YouTube.

Steven Starr, a former talent agent who heads the Web video site Revver, says what he sees emerging is “a creator economy online” whereby the Internet will carve out its own slice of the action, rather than just serving as a development league for TV and film.

Numa Numa!

One never knows what can become popular on YouTube. It can be talented singers, dancers, musicians, people talking, and even crazy lip-synching. In 2004, Gary Brolsna of Saddle Brooke New Jersey posted a webcam video of himself miming to the song “Dragostea din tei” by Moldovan pop band O-Zone.

The video was named Numa Numa based on a phrase from the song. The results? Brolsna’s video became an internet phenomenon viewed by millions of people. This led to many mainstream media appearances for Brolsna. Since then, Brolsna has appeared on many television talk shows, television shows and even appeared on the animated show South Park. Brolsna has created many different Numa Numa videos that are still being watched to this day. It goes to show you that to be famous on YouTube you don’t need to be talented in a conventional way nor do you need to be particularly good looking, all you need to do is be entertaining.

I Want More!

In one of his recent lectures, Doc Strangelove talked about society’s constant need to have more, more and more but in the end we are no more happier.

Ads today convey to us as consumers that without their product our life would be empty. The standards that ads put out there for consumers are ridiculously high, and in many cases unattainable. In the hour that it takes to watch one of our favourite shows, at every commercial break we will be reminded of the things we don’t have but should, and how our lives are empty if we don’t have those things. It is hard to ignore ads on television, billboards and on the net because deep down we agree (for some stupid reason) with what those ads say. We are told by the ads that we are not perfect because we do not look like their models and we stupidly follow and go buy their products to better ourselves. Have we not been told as kids that you cannot buy happiness? You can’t replace whatever it is you feel inside with material things. We are doing more damage to ourselves by doing so. People will continue to buy even if they don’t have the money and end up with in a huge amount of credit card debts. But advertisers don’t care. They got us to buy whatever trinket they were selling. That’s their job and they do not care if you put on weight because of their commercials and they don’t really care that you are about to lose your house because you’re in debt. Why can’t we just be happy with what we have and who we are? Would that not be simpler?

Average Joe to Pro!

Andy McKee…. normal guy….made famous…. by YouTube

His talent with the guitar is unbelievable, viewed over 23 million times.  YouTube played a crucial part in marketing himself as a legit talent and turning an average guy into a YouTube superstar.  Andy was intelligent about broadcasting himself as he put out other videos to keep viewers entertained and hoping for more.  He is now signed to Candyrat records and is on a world tour promoting his music and songs to people who haven’t already heard from YouTube.

YouTube Symphony?

Who would have ever thought that one day someone could create an entire symphony consisting of musicians from around the world who auditioned through YouTube? This symphony, called the YouTube Symphony Orchestra was dreamed up by a man named Michael Tilson Thomas. Tilson Thomas was the artistic director of the Miami Beach’s New World Symphony which he steered through the digital age. Once all of the musicians were picked, Tilson Thomas conducted the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Thousands of musicians from 40 countries submitted their audition videos on YouTube and YouTube users voted for their favourites. Some auditioned in their everyday normal clothes in the comfort of their own home sitting on their bed, which was what 19-year-old flute player Millan Curro of Milwaukee did:

The chance to play in such a diverse symphony and the chance to play in one of the most famous concert halls in the music industry was enough to convince people of all walks of life to broadcast themselves and their talents for the world to see. Both professionals and amateurs were allowed to audition. But what was the point of all of this? Well, Tilson Thomas said that the YouTube project was

a way of bringing together the classical-music community all over the world so we can learn from each other’ (Miami Herald).

Normalizes Deviance

YouTube is seen as one of, if not the most popular website in the world that has the innate ability to promote oneself or keep yourself entertained all day watching videos.   YouTube is not the only video sharing service on the internet, but it is by far the most talked about and is today’s “couch potato’s” best friend.  It allows anyone to be a TV producer or programmer, the variety of clips are readily available, tagged through various searches and can be distributed through e-mail to friends.

July 22^nd’s lecture in class, Dr. Strangelove discussed that YouTube “normalizes deviance” in today’s society. This can be supported by some of the outrageous videos that are uploaded up onto the site; whether they’re crossing the line as music artists, exhibitionists, pranksters or just plan weirdos, people in today’s society are intrigued by these videos. Ten to fifteen years ago, there would be an outcry of the angry public if they were to view a fat kid getting pushed down a hill, or watching college students prank their roommate.  As YouTube has become such a popular medium for entertainment in providing a diverse mix of videos – from suffering music artist trying to make it big to a dog rubbing its butt against the ground – these videos broaden society’s view of what is seen as normal.  The definition of ‘deviant’ is, “Differing from a norm or from the accepted standards of a society” according to Dictionary.com.  Because our society, especially the youth, have been subjected to a variety of videos from YouTube, the tolerance of what we view as deviant has change dramatically from the past.

YouTube = Second Chance for the Talented

YouTube has opened a whole new world of opportunities to the talented people of the world.  Before YouTube, people would pursue a career in their own country and achieve certain recognition over there. Or they would move to America to pursue their dreams of becoming a recognized singer, actor, or comedian worldwide. YouTube has new opportunities for these talented people. Not only are ordinary people from all over the world watching YouTube, but influential people such as Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres, and many others also look at videos on YouTube. Sometimes these people find someone from halfway across the world with exceptional talent and invite them on their show to showcase their talent. This was the case for a young girl named Charice Pempengco of the Phillipines.

Charice first appeared, in 2005, on a Phillipines show loosely based on American Idol called Little Big Stars. After coming in third, Charice’s popularity diminished. It was not until 2007 that Charice gained worldwide recognition when one of her fans naming themself ‘False Voice’, started to post videos of her performance on YouTube. Then in 2007 Charice was invited to a Korean talent show called Star Kings.

It was the clip of her performance on the show that Ellen Degeneres saw, which compelled her to invite Charise to perform on her live television show. Charice flew to America for the first time and sang two songs on the show that aired on December 19^th, 2007. Charice gained more and more popularity when she went back home and was also invited to The Oprah Winfrey Show. It was through Oprah that legendary music producer David Foster took on Charice to perform in his big tribute concert in Las Vegas. She was invited for a second time to The Oprah Winfrey Show and as a surprise for Charice, Céline Dion made an appearance via satellite inviting her to sing a special duet at Madison Square Garden. Since then, Charice has been singing across America and also working on her solo album.

Charice is one of the few examples of people who not only became a virtual celebrity but also became a worldwide singing sensation that is sought out by many big names in the music industry. Through YouTube, Charice was given a second chance and is living the dream, a dream that many YouTube personalities hope one day will come true for them as well.

As consumerism increases, so does the Earth’s suffering

The activities of humans are changing the very makeup of the Earth.

We have to make significant changes in the way we organize ourselves in our economic society if we want to avoid the effects in the future. This generation has an important responsibility in history; we have to save the world. A common phrase that has bombarded our society today is “the more we have the better we become”. There is a false assumption that owning flashy cars and brand names will make you happy. Society is so obsessed with having the best of the best that they are willing to spend money they don’t have. The average person’s credit card debt is $9,205 because consumers are spending more than they can afford.

The Consumer lifestyle

Rising consumption has helped to satisfy certain basic needs such as creating more jobs for people. Unfortunately consumption has created more negative consequences then anything else. It is harming some of our natural systems that we all depend on, and it is making it even harder for underdeveloped countries to meet their basic needs.

As just one small example, there was a story in the newspaper just the other day saying that 37 percent of species could become extinct due to climate change, which is very directly related to consumption.

From Luxuries to Necessities

Globalization has been able to make goods and services  that were once unavailable, much more obtainable in developing countries. Things such as televisions, cell phones, computers, and air conditioning are now viewed as necessities in most parts of the world.

Our planet is getting flattened by consumer carelessness

Our planet is being overcome by consumerism. People are so obsessed with accumulating goods that they have lost respect for our natural systems. People are buying more cars then they can drive, which in turn creates more pollution in the air. Everyone is so consumed in their own little world that recycling takes the back door. People use the excuse that they don’t have the time or that they alone can’t make a difference. The world as a whole has to take a step back and look at the big picture. One person alone can’t make the difference. That is why everyone has to work together in improving our world. If not, the generations to come will suffer the consequences.