One of the key components of the Youtube revolution is the one minute video (OK, it can be 30 secs or 3 mins, but I've averaged all that out). So, forget your 15 minutes of fame, this now has to be shared with 14 others - and only if you have the 'talent'.
So, what works on Youtube and beyond:
The Brutal - beheadings, executions, murders, war footage
The Sexual - Paris and Pam and their friends
The Stupid - dumb and dumber, only dumber
The Illegal - ripping off other people's content
The Exclusive - yeah, pull the other one, a C list celebrity leaving a nightclub in Lyon is suddenly the hottest thing on the web ?
The Sensational - did they really blow up the twin towers ?
So far this is hardly a ringing endorsement of the medium., but like all ecosystems, it has its pondlife.
But there are a few elements that are more socially valuable:
The Communal - share your little league Sunday game with the other parents
The Important - let's try the WTC attacks again
The Voice - get published when no one else will publish you and say what you want
The Fun - what harm can there be...?
However, overall, this is a sad medium full of people prepared to go to extremes for their one minute of fame. It is lollipop jokes, not high comedy; it is doggrel, not literature.
But, I'm still loathe to write it off and still question if the sheer democracy of it all is a good or a bad thing - indeed, is democracy a good or bad thing considering that stupid people get to vote (as the US used to prove before they became intelligent in the last elections)?
So, what works on Youtube and beyond:
The Brutal - beheadings, executions, murders, war footage
The Sexual - Paris and Pam and their friends
The Stupid - dumb and dumber, only dumber
The Illegal - ripping off other people's content
The Exclusive - yeah, pull the other one, a C list celebrity leaving a nightclub in Lyon is suddenly the hottest thing on the web ?
The Sensational - did they really blow up the twin towers ?
So far this is hardly a ringing endorsement of the medium., but like all ecosystems, it has its pondlife.
But there are a few elements that are more socially valuable:
The Communal - share your little league Sunday game with the other parents
The Important - let's try the WTC attacks again
The Voice - get published when no one else will publish you and say what you want
The Fun - what harm can there be...?
However, overall, this is a sad medium full of people prepared to go to extremes for their one minute of fame. It is lollipop jokes, not high comedy; it is doggrel, not literature.
But, I'm still loathe to write it off and still question if the sheer democracy of it all is a good or a bad thing - indeed, is democracy a good or bad thing considering that stupid people get to vote (as the US used to prove before they became intelligent in the last elections)?
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