YouTube: Why is it so successful?

Every web designer and developer wants to create that one website that becomes a mega-successes. The ideal would be to become the next Google or the next Facebook. The truth about a formula is that it doesn't matter who is making it, it will work every time. So, I wanted to take a look and see what made a website so successful. The domain in question: YouTube.com.
It's pretty safe to say that everyone has heard of youtube. If you not an avid creator or watcher, you have at least followed a link from an email or some social networking site. It's huge. And it has made it's founders very rich.
If you take a look for reasons why YouTube was successful you might hear that they made it simple for users to steal copyrighted material and share it with other. Through a legal loop YouTube made it okay for them to post material because it was the users responsibility. The whole Napter/Metallica debate all over again - bleh. Although, there is some truth to that I want to look at some design elements of why it was successful and also some human perspective.

Easy to use
As far as design it is very hard to make a complex thing simple. Web developers struggle with this often. YouTube made it simple for users to put up videos and not worry about which format it was in. It automatically converted everything to Flash. Flash plays reliable across platforms both Mac and Windows.

Easy to understand
Whether you received a link or heard a mention on the news, once you are at the site, you understand it. You don't have to sign up to view videos. If you did want to it, it was just a basic sign up page.

Easy to share
You want to share it. YouTube wants you to share it. And they made it simple to do so.

I wish I could pinpoint the source of this interview but I will tell you what I heard. Upon asking one of the creators what made YouTube so successful, a very unique perspective was born. I'm paraphrasing here:

     Interviewer: So what made YouTube so successful? Was it the timing? Were you the first ones to host           such a site?

     Creator: No, honestly, there were plenty of other website at that time doing exactly the same thing.

     Interviewer: So, then it must of been the the technology? Did you have top of the line video hosting software?

     Creator: Others sites had even more sophisticated site.

     Interviewer: So the marketing then?

     Creator: We had very little marketing money?

     Interviewer: What made it so successful then?

     Creator: It's because we appealed to the user. Our slogan was "Broadcast Yourself" and people were    encouraged to do so. It was appealing that human emotion to be seen and to see others in a new way that made it so successful.

Again, that's a  paraphrase, but the point remains valid. YouTube applied to the human side of websites. The human side of websites is practically the majority of web use and certainly of bandwidth. However, are there some ideas like this that have not been tapped into? Is there a website that needs to be created that will appeal to the human emotion, easily understood and operated and waiting for the right person or company to come along?

What is Media Arts?

While at an job interview last week, I was asked "what is Media Arts?". I'm quite used to that response from people who are outside my degree. As a matter of fact, I had to tell my brother and my dad plenty of times what skill I have in order to explain what kind of job I was looking for. 

So, what is Media Arts:

Media Arts can be a variety of fields in the production industry which inludes:

Film

That may include all aspects of making a film from lighting to writing to directing to special effects to 2D animation and most fine details of the process. One aspect of this part of the field that I did not get into was 3D animation.

Audio Production

Audio production may include recording music, jingles, or making soundtracks for movies .

Web Design/Graphic Design

This is mostly on the design aspect of web creation. Although there is some web development which might include coding Actionscript in Flash, it is falls more into the graphic design type of field.

Multimedia Production

There is quite a few production that fall into this category. You probably see them everyday. Multimedia productions could be that nifty layout menu on your DVD before you press play to start the movie. It may be a interactive display at a museum. It may be a presentation for your clients.

Now when I tell people this they blow off most of the other skills and really hone in on the "web" aspect of it. When they do that, they start emailing me all kinds of Senior coding positions from platforms I have rarely seen - let alone code with ease. So, hopefully this clears up some confusion that anybody may have.

Til tomorrow,

Josh

Networking by Clubs

In my money blog, assetalchemist.blogspot.com, I talk about a club of investors that get together to study investing. That idea really seemed to hit home as I was considering the ideas of networking. If there is some club in your field, it may be helpful to go to a gathering where naturally mingling would occur. People pay a good amount of money to be in the Rotary Club because it can be some of the best word of mouth advertising and networking you could possibly get in your community.

I know I have seen ads where your participation is only compensated by your credit in a small independent film. When you are around others that have the same interests, they are bound to know somebody who knows somebody. If not, then at least you have contacts that may be able to help you in your search for your particular field.

By the way, I got the position at the Victoria's Secret Call center. So, I will be working at least 60 hours a week. That type of program is not really going to work for me. Maybe if I can do something by email or something that does not require me to physically be there, I will be able to work it into my schedule.

If you have any ideas along those lines. Pass 'em on.

Til tommorow,
Josh

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Networking.... Anywhere

In yesterday's entry, I talked about having  networking skills. This is  a skill I am still working on the basics. Anyway, today I have just interviewed for a position taking orders for a big national retailer. The thing is, it would be nice to have the perfect people around to network through that is in the perfect career field. However, I bet that rarely happens. So, today I am committed to be prepared to network wherever I go.

The idea started with just the idea to network at the possible new job I met get, but there is plenty of opportunity to network ANYWHERE you go. Start a conversation with the person behind in line at the grocery mart. Use networking sites, and take advantage of any opportunity. An employer is much more likely to be upfront with you when it is not during an interview and they can lay things on the line.

Til tomorrow,
Josh

It's Who You Know

We've all heard the phrase "It's who you know" and maybe believe it to a certain degree. However, my brother's friend has been trying to get a job on a production set for quite some time. He has applied to countless places for any kind of work. Then one night he meets a guy at a party who works for a production company and has a job the next week working in production. The real kicker is that he had not been able to break into the industry for 30 years.  I know this is the type of example that is spread around quickly when you can't get the job you are looking for in the field you want. However, it still seems highly likely that the only way to get in the industry is to know somebody.

I'm not one to complain about it not being fair, how do you begin to create a network of people if you are not currently into the field? Is there a strategy in for an online social network out there? Has anyone had success at these type of strategies?