Viral YouTube videos

Although we have talked about it in class many times previously, I have been noticing more and more that you can't only watch one video on Youtube when you intend to. With their related links and similar videos, it is almost like you go on it and then lose the next hour of your life to the site. It really is a brilliant concept, after it became so popular, it not only became an easy medium to share content desired to be viewed, but also a major ad site. They are advertising more on the site than they used to, now with each video an ad pops up at the bottom of it that you can close, however, it takes up a good sized portion of the screen so the viewer can't really miss it. It is also a good site for word to spread about up and coming bands, comedians, songs, etc. Many comedians have used Youtube as a tactic for them to become more popular, the trick is to post small and incomplete clips and make the viewer want to watch more and learn more about the comedian. One comedian that has done this successfully is Russell Peters. It was a great struggle for him because he was the first of his kind, an Indian comedian. He attributes word of mouth via youtube as a major contribution to his rise in popularity after working so hard for over 10 years, youtube sped the process up and got him to a point that he wanted to be in his career.

However, there are strict lessons to be learned from Youtube. As a provider of the ability to view the content, they are a safe harbor of sorts and can not be sued directly for any copyright infringement, however, if they do not take videos down that they have been notified to take down, they can be sued. The copyright infringement notices have become ridiculous, in my opinion. The artist formerly known as Prince, sued a woman for posting a video that she wished to share with her friends and family of her 10 month old child dancing to one of his songs. The audio in the video was not even distinguishable, apart from the title of the video including the song title. It was claimed that it infringed on his marketability, although he is an old artist that doesn't market products anymore. This is just one example of how with Youtube, copyright cases have increased, and continue to; there are now companies that employ an entire department solely devoted to searching for such copyright infringements. It is a flawed system, and some type of legislation should be finalized about it, limiting such cases as this mother showing her dancing son.