The marvel of YouTube

Two different approaches to development

When speaking of YouTube, we shouldn’t forget about another similar site, Vimeo. Especially that both of them kicked off around the same time. The fundamental difference between them lies in the fact that Vimeo imposed certain limitations regarding the published content, promoting only the original production. Such restrictions were never adopted by YouTube.

Yet it is the YouTube strategy that paved the way to the mass audience. And this is why the video for “Lazy Sunday SNL” by The Lonely Island was posted there – not on Vimeo. The clip is considered the first turning point in the history of YouTube.

At present, the sheer scale of YouTube is a significant barrier to exit for any potential competitors. The chance for the newcomers may be to create something different and to find a good niche. Vimeo managed to do and so did Vine.

YouTube era

YouTube has also changed the way the internet users browse online content or even how they use other media. The rising demand for faster internet connections is partly attributable to the interest in online video. Naturally, hadn’t it been for the technology enabling the audience to watch the materials in real time, the site wouldn’t be that successful. On the other hand, the customer need was the driver behind the further development and dissemination of the technological solutions.

Moreover, YouTube – together with widely understood social media – play the role of an efficient communication platform and a channel popularising ideas, events, values or views. Consider for example the YouTube’s significance on the Arab Spring. The success of “Gangnam Style”, a creation by a South Korean artist Psy, came as a surprise even to the site’s developers. The music video first passed the one billion threshold, only to hit two billion, and then to reach the maximum number of views assumed by the YouTube makers. That is, until the counter was adjusted to increase the limit.