The development of media to the current new media like YouTube and TikTok can be divided into 6 different eras. The first is the age of language. The essence of media is the transmission of information. The media in the earliest period can be considered as human language communication. When characters were invented, books became the second form of media. According to Guinness World Records as of 1995, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. The third form of media is newspapers, which accelerate the real-time nature and speed of dissemination of information. Broadcasting, as the fourth media form, its emergence transforms silent media into sound media, thus turning two-dimensional media into three-dimensional. The fifth form of media is television. Television adds images to radio, turning it into an audio-visual media form. The sixth is the internet social media we are going to discuss today, such as YouTube. 

Compared with previous traditional TV media, YouTube is more convenient and more interactive. In a study on “The YouTube Social Network”, Mirjam Wattenhofer and others concluded based on background data provided by Google that,  YouTube deviates significantly from traditional OSN characteristics. We will see a surprising dichotomy of content and social activities on the YouTube platform, indicating that YouTube is, distinctly, as much a social network as it is a content-diffusion platform. It was argued that YouTube users’ participation is more complex than that of television viewers. Marta Dynel summarized in a research report released in 2014 titled “Participation framework underlying YouTube interaction” that YouTube is active at the production end by: (1) taking the floor as speakers in videos, (2) authoring and posting videos as senders, and (3) YouTube speakers commenting on videos or replying to early posts. Youtube breaks the limitations of traditional television, and everyone can publish videos, represented by video blogs. Vlogging videos are made using a camera or mobile phone and their author is an individual or production team who then publishes the video using their YouTuber account. Generally speaking, the number of followers increased in proportion to the number of videos posted. However, there are also some accounts that have posted thousands of videos but only have single-digit followers. It indicates that content and social activities a related and non-related at the same time.

The YouTube Partner Program Created in 2007(YPP) has over 20,000 partners from 22 countries around the world. by sharing YouTube’s advertising revenues with content creators. The YouTube platform can be likened to an intermediate, where advertisers assume the role of customers, while YouTubers function as producers. This comparison serves to simplify the understanding of the dynamics at play inside the YouTube ecosystem. Youtubers with a substantial viewership are offered advertising opportunities, which are strategically designed to capture the attention of a larger audience and thereby increase the user base of the YouTube platform. In doing so, YouTube is able to generate revenue through commissions from these users. According to research published in The Sun in 2022, a significant proportion of youngsters between the ages of 6 and 17, specifically 75%, express a desire to pursue a career as YouTuber. A significant proportion of individuals belonging to the Generation Z and Millennial cohorts express a strong inclination to pursue a career as a YouTuber. The platform affords users with increased autonomy and facilitates the cultivation of a wide range of content.

As of 2022, the number of monthly active users on YouTube exceeds 2.5 billion. The combined number of subscribers for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music exceeds 80 million globally. Over one-fourth of the global population engages with YouTube on a monthly basis. This observation further demonstrates that the users of this platform originate from diverse geographical locations, encompassing various racial and gender identities, hence facilitating communication among individuals from diverse backgrounds. This phenomenon pertains to the intersection and acquisition of cultural knowledge.

from Yuxiao Miao