Top Website of All Time: YouTube

There is absolutely no question about it, when it comes to listing the top websites of all time, YouTube has to top the list. Those of us with oodles of free time on our hands have come to treasure YouTube as the holy center of all things internet. Are you looking for some guy in Paris, Texas to sing James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" in front of his fireplace while tears stream down his face? Check out YouTube! Are you looking for the footage from Saturday Night Live where Peyton Manning plays everything that could go wrong with an NFL United Way commercial? Check out YouTube! Basically, anything and everything that has been in front of a camera in recorded history is available on YouTube, why wouldn't you be interested?

In all seriousness, a website like YouTube has shot to the top of the charts because of the opportunity it gives us in an intensely global climate. The ability to be able to watch any video at any time from any spot in the world with a simple internet connection allows us to enjoy things we never could before. Instead of simply relying on a description of how the grandkids are growing over the phone, you can show the latest home video to grandma over the internet. Instead of sending the pictures of little Jimmy's first baseball game to dad working 1,000 miles away, send him a link to the video and let him enjoy the real thing.

The recent political statement made by one YouTube user stunned many in the political establishment by showing the power the internet could have over the Presidential race. By portraying Hillary Clinton as the evil head of an oppressive regime in a popular 1984 Super Bowl commercial, YouTube officially stepped into the political arena. The video spread like wildfire and before Hillary knew what hit the video was viewed over 350,000 times in two days and the precedent was set. Since that video was posted a copycat version was put up to portray Barack Obama in the same light, but the idea had been planted, this race could very well be decided in part by the power of YouTube.

What YouTube has done as much as anything else is give this generation another way to express themselves and stand out in an increasingly diverse world. While you may post by an ambiguous username, you will no doubt be defining yourself through the power of video. Video that can be viewed by anybody at anytime in any place. Start your own career in standup comedy, become a music video juggernaut, or simply make your own short movies to stun your admiring audiences. Regardless, by giving everybody this power YouTube will stand tall as one of the top websites of all time.