It’s interesting to see how times have changed over the years, from post cards to e-cards, letters to e-mails, and so on. Similarly, one cannot help but note the drift from television to internet; the aspect of internet i am referring to here, is YouTube, and the like. The internet’s overwhelming ability to engage users is quite extraordinary.
On this note, I thought I’d pen down my thoughts on this shift. i.e. a comparison between Television and YouTube. This can be regarded as more of a ‘pros and cons’ analysis of both parties.
Let’s start with television.
When TV was introduced, it was a terrific breakthrough. It became the most powerful mass media tool of its time, as it captured not only the visual senses, but also the auditory senses. In fact, it was the marriage of these two senses to deliver a message that made this medium so captivating. Clearly TV stood more powerful when compared to radio and newspapers. This medium also permeated pretty quick, and soon, with globalization and all other advancements in terms of satellites, it became possible for a person sitting in Chennai to watch what was happening in New York Time Square, live – as and when it happened. Soon, TV became a primary obsession among many households. If we look at our country, we can see how we are glued to TV for news, debates, dramas, sitcoms, cricket, cricket, and oh, did i mention…Cricket!
At a certain point, it was hard to imagine a more inclusive medium to engage households. But it has happened, thanks to the world wide web.
The internet has created a host of amazing things, from e-mails to instant messaging to social networks to video chats. However, the aspect i am concentrating on here would be YouTube.
Now, we all know that Google has redefined the way we use the internet. Similarly, when three employees of PayPal introduced YouTube to the world, they not only changed the way we use the internet, but they indirectly changed how we’re going to use TV, in some way. Today, i personally cannot imagine life without YouTube. What TV brought to the table, YouTube doubled that, and also made the table bigger!
With YouTube, not only can you watch whatever you search for, instead of waiting for your favourite show to air on TV, but you can create your own channel, record your video and share it with the world! You have the privilege to stop watching at anytime, and jump to something completely random, thus giving you the power to select the information that you want. It’s amazing to see how the whole world now can watch the video of a street performer in New York playing a beautiful song on his guitar, or a talented dance group from a university in New Delhi, or a crazy bunch of idiots fooling around trying to jump off railings and what not. Could you ever imagine you’d run into something like that…ever?!
This, my friends, is the power of the YouTube. The participative element gives this medium such an uplift. It is amazing to see how something goes viral nowadays. A million hits. 100,000 likes… 50,000 shares… Yes, this is what we’ve been hearing nowadays, and it’s all good, trust me.
As i come to the end of this article, i have one pending thought to pen down… If YouTube was unimaginable ten years before its inception, i wonder what will hit us ten years from NOW!
