YOUTUBE CHANGED THE WORLD II

About a month back I spend an entire Saturday just looking around vlogging all over YouTube. And came to the conclusion that YouTube has indeed Changed the World.

This morning an article in the Guardian alerted me to a report that came out today from Demos; Think Tank for Everyday Democracy. You can find an overview of the report entitled Video Republic here, or download a pdf by clicking here.

Here’s some take aways from it:

1. The impact of the semipublic lives many young people are building (how this could impact things like job application later in life or acceptances into schools; both positively and adversely)
2. The affordability and ease of use today’s technology savvy kids live in (here’s some great thoughts on the next generation of technology users from David Perry)
3. Online user generated content is taking attention from mainstream media
4. There’s still misunderstanding around copyright issues
5. The impact and influence a few vlogger have found themselves in by garnering up to millions of followers
6. Suggestions that kids should be able to do this as part of the school syllabus
7. Also suggests how politicians (and therefore bands also) can engage with young people in an effective way

So, yes, YouTube is an amazing phenomena that proves to impact the world in a far more important way than simply being able to post a silly video of your baby for the world to see. It is a relatively unmediated porthole for anyone to share their mind to others with the time and interest to watch.

See my original post here.