Research on YouTube's Popular Videos

I had the opportunity to speak with Jean Burgess and Joshua Green about their new book, called YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture. They completed a large-scale content survey of certain categories on YouTube that might be seen as "the most popular." Here, they talk a bit about what they found and whether or not prior assumptions that have been reported about YouTube's content lined up to the videos they examined in their sample.

Please note that this is a research site and that comments posted to the site may be used in research. For more information about the study and how posted comments are used in research please see:

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnthroVlog

Category:

Education

Tags:

• YouTube
• research
• popular
• videos
• Jean
• Burgess
• Joshua
• Green
• cultural
• studies
• media
• MIT
• Queensland
• University
• of
• Technology
• yt:crop=16:9

[deeliciousplum]

though all studies are in many ways an aid in observing a topic that is of interest to folkies, yet there is a huge gap of knowledge sharing in this study. The gap is in how youtube has evolved from a participant in supporting freedoms of expression and freedoms of speech to that of being overly selective as to who they allow such freedoms to & who is squelched. There is an obvious bias as to their methods & thus this renders this communication tool as being a threat to dialogue & to sharing.

[AnthroVlog]

@deeliciousplum I too am concerned about anything that would squelch free expression. By the way, how long has YouTube had a comment reply format that looks like Twitter. I don't like it!

[UpDownMostly]

Interesting video. Can you have a true view or analysis of YouTube without being participatory members of the community.

[AnthroVlog]

That is a very thought-provoking question! Perhaps the authors of the book might wish to respond. I'm an anthropologist, so I highly value participating in the community directly. Such participation could yield a number of very different insights and observations, not all of them focusing on the social network aspect of YouTube. I have a lot of data, for instance, on the self-promotional aspects of YouTube and the "art world" or "media world" of YouTube that would be interesting to talk about.

[biocrite]

I'm interested in doing research over Youtube. This video's going to be a great help. Thanks! :)

Gaurav.

[AnthroVlog]

Glad it can help!

[ajanae5420]

Nice video

[KiraTheLait]

Я могу определить степень интилектуальности видео по внешнему виду комментариев.

95%-очень Длинные комментарии (4-6 строк что на YouTube большая редкость)

4%-обыкновенные комментарии (1-3 строки )

1%-Дурацкие комментарии типа моего не имеющие отношения к теме ролика.

Russian

By the way:Translate this word "ХУЙ"

[deeliciousplum]

anthropology is a wonderful mechanism for studying people, but it takes a very sound being to not be affected or to not be led into biases by the various folkies that either are published or who hold some questionably acquired position of authority on a subject and or community. Just an opinion of course. It is best to question the intent of all sources to increase one's ability to learn more on a subject of interest or something that may be relevant.

[jeangenie1970]

Hi, I'm one of the authors. You raise a very interesting question. I think it's important to point out that most people use and experience YouTube every day without necessarily even having an account, let alone being highly active members of the community. we wanted to try to understand YouTube as a mass media platform as well as to understand how some people use it as a community - hopefully after spending a very long time immersed in YouTube videos, community discussions etc, we managed both!

[UpDownMostly]

Thanks. I guess I was also thinking in terms of quantum mechanics where the phenomenon that you choose to observe are effected in some way or another by the very fact that you are observing. You can't truly be "outside" and objective and yet you can't truly "observe" without effecting the outcome. I do like the discussion though. Thanks so much for posting this video.