Post 2: YouTube Review

One of my favorite apps, and something I look forward to using on a daily basis, is YouTube. When Google purchased the video streaming site back in 2006 from its original co-founders, it looked very different. But, over the last 14 years, Google has built it into the largest video sharing site in the world. Today, millions of content creators use YouTube to share their expertise on a subject, teach others, discuss movies or video games, and even give the world access to the latest news updates.

One of the features I appreciate most is the fact that the service learns from you over time. Your watch habits and search queries are taken into consideration when recommending videos for you to watch. This means that, when I open the app, I see a home page full of videos that are right up my alley and personalized to my viewing tastes. Over the many years of using this service, they seem to have fine-tuned their algorithm, because I can easily get stuck watching video after video if I'm not careful.

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One of the significant benefits of YouTube is that it's free to use for anybody with a Google account. Those who choose to subscribe to YouTube Premium, however, get to enjoy their favorite video content commercial-free AND ad-free. I've personally been a Premium subscriber for many years since it's bundled with my Google Play Music subscription, and now I can't live without it. YouTube Premium gives you additional benefits as well, such as background play, which allows you to minimize the app and use other apps on your device or even lock your screen while still listening to the audio coming from the video. Another benefit is downloading videos for Offline play, allowing you to save the videos to your device's storage and watch without an internet connection when necessary.

 

Looking at the bottom bar, you see the Subscriptions tab, which limits the scrollable feed of videos to those from the channels you choose to follow or "subscribe to." I'll typically jump right into this tab and either scroll through the list or just select the channel I'm looking for from the icons at the top of the screen. YouTube has made it so simple for me to enjoy so many different topics in one place. If I want to watch daily tech videos, I open the app and watch them. If I want to learn a new way to cook my steak, I open the app and watch the videos. If I want to listen to a community of movie fans and stay up to date with movie news, I open the app, find the appropriate channel, and play the videos.

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Remember when I mentioned that YouTube is a place where content creators share their videos? Well, they make it easy for anyone to be a content creator. All you need is access to YouTube, a camera, and a microphone, and you can upload your own videos and share them on your channel. Anyone who wants to share their video can do so by sending a link to anyone else with internet access. Many channels started with someone just wanting to share their excitement about a new product they bought and their review of it. Others chose to share their reaction to a movie they saw. Some channels get started as a subdivision of a large corporation trying to reach more people. No matter the type of content, YouTube allows these channels a way to interact with the community that follows them. In fact, movie studios have switched from showcasing their new movie trailers in a theater during the previews before a film to dropping them on YouTube on a chosen day. The word spreads like wildfire. In a matter of minutes, millions of people around the world can view a piece of marketing on their smartphone and even share their thoughts in the comments section of the video.

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With individual channels getting thousands or even millions of views, YouTube has implemented a monetization system for channels that reach a certain amount of subscribers, and that participate in the guidelines set by the YouTube Partner Program. The money can come from many places, including ad revenue, merchandise sales, channel memberships, Super Chats, and more. Some creators make a career out of their channel and generate enough income to be very successful AND do what they love.

With all of the benefits of YouTube, it would be great if they could give a few more perks to those who are Premium subscribers. Possibly a rewards system for those who spend a lot of time consuming video content on their service. The rewards could include Google Play credits, which could be used to purchase YouTube movies or other Google products or services. Or maybe even Premium subscriber exclusive discounts on products in the Google Store. Another recommended improvement would be to give more controls for blocking out specific content for those who choose to avoid certain types of content, whether for themselves or their children. The current Restricted Mode in the app's settings only gives an on/off switch but does not offer any customizing controls for specific types of filters.

Ultimately, Google has really done a great job improving YouTube and what it brings to its users. I'm looking forward to its continued growth and evolution as technology advances.