YouTube was founded in February of 2005; in April of 2005, the first http://www.youtube.com video was uploaded to the site. This was the beginning of a social media revolution, using videos instead of just flat words on a screen, to communicate and share with others.
What is YouTube?
YouTube is a platform that allows people to share, connect and inform others by the use of video imagery. Some videos are clips of professionally made content, some are original works completely created by the “YouTubers” themselves, and some are a combination of original and borrowed content called “mash-ups.”
How do you get started?
Using YouTube is actually very simple. Once a user is registered with the site, they are able to login and search for content with a very user friendly search engine. It’s similar to searching for things on an internet search engine.
YouTube’s upload feature has a very easy interface as well. With a few clicks, any video can be shared with millions of people, all around the world.
Interesting Ways to Use YouTube
Since its inception, YouTube has grown from a basic video sharing platform, to an extremely powerful marketing and informational tool.
Numerous young musical artists are flocking to YouTube to post their music. From covers to originals, and elaborately filmed music videos to homegrown webcam videos, musicians are finding YouTube as a way to get their music heard and noticed. Businesses are creative fun videos that grab the attention of young viewers, with the hopes that it will go “viral” and promote their products.
Do-It-Yourself Gurus are using it to teach. It only stands to reason that it much simpler to teach someone how to do something by showing them, rather than having them read instructions.
These are just a few of the creative ways that YouTube has been used, there are millions more, and the user is only limited by their creativity.
