Looking At Youtube

After watching "An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube," I realized a couple of things. One thing is that the internet is not just about providing information for people who use it, but it is also a way to link people. I never really thought of it that way, but I now understand what it is talking about. I used to only think of the internet as a place where I would go for information before I ever joined any social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, or even YouTube. Once I joined these sites, I got the feeling of a community through an online site and being able to connect with others. After watching this video, I understand just a little bit of how the internet connects people. There are other ways than what I understood. Another thing I got out of this video was the talk about context collapse or talking into a camera and not knowing where this is going, who is going to see it, when they will see it, or where this will be posted. I know from personal experiences that I have been video taped for volleyball interviews in high school and I never thought it would be on YouTube. I have been taped for different activities to represent my high school and I never knew it would reach YouTube or other places, but it did. I only thought these would go on the sports sites. I have never actually talked into my own webcam, but I have talked into cameras and it is odd at first because you know that you are really not talking to anyone. I think what made it easier is because the first time I talked to a camera, someone was holding it that when I moved to a webcam for Skype, it was easier to talk because I have experienced talking to a camera and someone was there. Another topic he talked about is the looking glass self. This was very interesting to me because I learned about this in my sociology class. I never thought about how we can see who we are by other people based on how much people look at a video we have uploaded. After watching this video, I learned new things about YouTube that I never knew before.