The YouTube Phenomenon

Youtube is an internet phenomenon that features millions of videos of every genre, drawing millions of fans and has helped some users into jobs and successful businesses. If you haven't been living under a rock for the past few years, you have probably seen at least 2 or 3 of the most famous videos on YouTube; the laughing baby, the numa-numa guy, and the Britney-Spears-defending Chris Crocker. I would like to discuss a little bit about what YouTube phenomena is, why and how it has gotten so popular, and how a few people have used it to launch successful careers and businesses.

What is YouTube?

YouTube.com is a popular video-sharing website designed to get any person's video content to, as YouTube states in their help section, "people who matter to you." According to John Cloud's article featured in Time Magazine in 2006, titled The Gurus of YouTube, the website was launched in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. When they first began, the YouTube headquarters was small and stationed above a pizza shop in California - what a huge different a few years can make! According to YouTube.com, the website exists to "provide a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small." This is proven, as hundreds of thousands of people come together to give and receive information via short videos. YouTube hosts almost every imaginable genre from comedy to education, and welcomes anyone to publish content and comment upon the content of others; as long as you meet the age requirement - 18 and over, please!

How has YouTube gotten so popular?

You may be wondering how YouTube has exploded in popularity in just a few years. According to the 2006 Neilsen Netratings, the week of July 16, 2006 showed a 75% increase from start to finish. From 7.3 million to 12.8 million unique visitors from the United States alone; that is roughly the population of state of Pennsylvania. According to a press release by comScore in early March of 2009, as of January 2009, YouTube surpassed their 100 million mark of unique visitors. That is quite an impressive feat indeed!

YouTube's popularity can in part be attributed to their motto, "broadcast yourself." The website offers an opportunity for people to show off his or her unique talents and to receive feedback. This appeals to the basic human vanity that exists in every person - whether we are willing to admit it or not. YouTube caters to the human need for interaction and entertainment, and best of all, and probably most importantly of all it is completely free of charge.

How have people launched successful businesses and careers using YouTube?

Now the time has come for me to share just a few of the most popular and successful YouTubers of all time. While I cannot cover them all, I have picked two examples from my own personal list of subscriptions on YouTube; yes, I am a member of the phenomenon along with everyone else!

The most famous YouTuber is 15 year-old Lucas Cruikshank, more commonly known as Fred Figglehorn - an angst-ridden, squeaky voiced 6 year-old with anger management problems and an alcoholic mother. Sound strange? It absolutely is, and this is what makes it hilarious and has gotten Lucas to the #1 spot as most subscribed of all time in YouTube's 4-year history. What one awkward, gangly 14 year old thought would be a fun side project resulting from a character he used to perform for his friends, exploded into a music video deal, a commercial, a well paying website enterprise and TV cameos such as his recent appearance on the popular Nickelodeon show, iCarly. Not bad for a kid who can't even drive yet.

Next, we'll move into a story of less accidental fame. 27-year old Iman Crosson, a.k.a Alphacat, is first and foremost an actor. He set up his YouTube page, like everyone else, to broadcast himself and to possibly draw attention from scouts and acting companies that would be able to offer him a job. While his intentions were to have people take note of his acting talent, little did he know that his popularity would explode. Crosson is most famous for his Barack Obama impersonation, and might I add personally that he has our President down to a T. A passionate fan of music, Iman likes to intertwine his Barack Obama impersonation with popular music and comedy. He has done an Obama version of T.I.'s "Whatever You Like," released on election night after Obama's victory and changed, of course, to "Whatever I Like." He also has an Obama version of T.I.'s "Dead and Gone," and my personal favorite, an Obama version of Beyonce's "Single Ladies." Crosson tells NY Magazine's Jacob Gershman in a telephone interview, "My ultimate hope is that Obama will see it one day and laugh."

I'm positively certain that he will.

Now that I have given you a bit of insight into the YouTube phenomenon, the power is in your hands. Whether we are passive watchers, or active content producers and commenters, YouTube has given each and every one of us the same unique opportunity. Go ahead: Broadcast Yourself!

Bausch, Suzy, and Leilani Han. "YouTube U.U. Web Traffic Grows 75 Percent Week Over Week, According to Nielsen NetRatings." Nielsen Online. 21 July 2006. 27 Mar. 2009 .

Becker, Casey. "YouTube Surpasses 100 Million U.S. Viewers for the First Time." comScore. 4 Mar. 2009. 26 Mar. 2009 .

Cloud, John. "The Gurus of YouTube." Time Magazine 16 Dec. 2006. TIME. 24 Mar. 2009 .

Gershman, Jacob. "Meet Alphacat, the Man Who Proved Obama Can Be Made Funny." New York Magazine. 3 Dec. 2008. 27 Mar. 2009 .

"YouTube Handbook." YouTube. 2009. 26 Mar. 2009 .