YouTube Popularity and Content Trends

YOUTUBE’S YOUTUBE-NESS

• The definition of popularity on YouTube varies based on the creator's background, whether from a traditional media company or an independent producer.
• The distinction between professional and amateur content creators is increasingly blurred.
• Popularity is complex:
  • It involves more than just identifying the most-watched videos.
  • It does not solely reflect the tastes of the overall YouTube audience.
• Categories such as Most Viewed, Most Favorited, Most Responded, and Most Discussed are key indicators of popularity.
• Metrics serve as "technologies of re-presentation," shaping viewers' understanding of what content is popular (41).

CONTENT

• Content on YouTube can originate from established media practices (traditional media) or be user-created.
• There is a noticeable increase in user-generated content among popular videos.
• Most widely viewed content often comes from mass media sources rather than user-generated posts.
• Common content types include:
  • Informational material (e.g., news, political discussions, celebrity gossip).
  • Live content (e.g., sports, musical performances).
  • Scripted programming (e.g., clips from TV series, dramas, animation).
• Users often express their identity through their preferences by favoriting videos, which communicates personal tastes and serves as recommendations to others.

“PUBLISHING” RETHOUGHT

• The emergence of participatory culture and digital tools has transformed audience engagement, reducing the reliance on auxiliary media forms.
• Redaction in media refers to creating new content by editing existing materials.
• Content consumption is an active process, contributing to value creation; the notion of media users as "read-write" participants is significant (48).
• User engagement often involves quoting rather than uploading entire programs, which contributes to a meaning-making process.
• Most Viewed content tends to reflect prevailing public interests rather than highlight breaking news.
• YouTube serves as a platform for political activism while fostering a celebrity culture around political figures.

USER-CREATED CONTENT: TRENDS

• User-created videos often experiment with video aesthetics and highlight the medium itself.
• Example: YouTube Poop utilizes jarring edits and rapid cuts in video manipulation.
• Most Discussed and Most Responded content typically includes informal pieces, such as vlogs and user-generated music videos.
• Vlogging exemplifies YouTube's emphasis on immediacy and conversational engagement (54).