YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture

Digital Media and Society Series

by Jean Burgess, Joshua Green, Henry Jenkins (Contributor)

YouTube is one of the most well-known and widely discussed sites ofparticipatory media in the contemporary online environment, and itis the first genuinely mass-popular platform for user-createdvideo. In this timely and comprehensive introduction to how YouTubeis being used and why it matters, Burgess and Green discuss theways that it relates to wider transformations in culture, societyand the economy.
The book critically examines the public debates surrounding thesite, demonstrating how it is central to struggles for authorityand control in the new media environment. Drawing on a range oftheoretical sources and empirical research, the authors discuss howYouTube is being used by the media industries, by audiences andamateur producers, and by particular communities of interest, andthe ways in which these uses challenge existing ideas aboutcultural ‘production’ and ‘consumption’.
Rich with both concrete examples and featuring speciallycommissioned chapters by Henry Jenkins and John Hartley, the bookis essential reading for anyone interested in the contemporary andfuture implications of online media. It will be particularlyvaluable for students and scholars in media, communication andcultural studies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Internet, Sociology, Academic, Technology, Research, Journalism

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[notgettingenough · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've discovered in my re-involvement in academia that books are hard to come by. To some extent that is a function of the extortionist practices of academic publishers which force university libraries into spending enormous amounts of money on subscriptions to journals and on a certain kind of text/reference book. They are priced at hundreds of dollars for no good reason and as a consequence they are not available to ordinary people who wish to purchase a - let's face it, likely ordinary - book. 

Polity Press is a happy exception, churning out accessible, useful books at a price which is not beyond consideration. Happily, even when they are doing rather contemporary subjects, such as the Internet, the books nonetheless have a comfortingly conventional appearance with a readable layout and typeface. Yay for Polity.

YouTube is one of theirs. If you are like me and know nothing about this site, you can mend your ways with this account of how YouTube works behind the scenes. I had no idea, for example, that there is a 'community' on YouTube and that it developed from the very beginnings of the site and bitterly fought the changes that began taking place after Google bought it, presaging its commercialisation. Since then an uneasy relationship has developed between YouTubers and the provider, with the notion of  doing it for money filtering down from the big business interests that kicked this off in the early days.

rest here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...

[Gustavo Diolindo · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5✨
que livro incrível, meu deus
interessantíssimo ver como algumas coisas mudam em poucos anos
foi por isso, inclusive, que dei 4.5 pro livro. algumas afirmações e suposições já não se encaixam no mundo atual, afinal AS COISAS EVOLUEM NUMA RAPIDEZ ABSURDA
mas mesmo assim é um livro bem atual e gostoso de acompanhar, nada maçante ou desinteressante
pode vir, tcc, vai dar tudo certo 🙏

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Published in 2009, this is a short guide to YouTube, with attention to 'participatory culture.' It investigates YouTube's architecture and ideology of community. The book is an O.K. introductory guide. A chapter could be used for first year students.

[João Pedro da Costa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting book concerning YouTube’s participatory culture. Its only real flaw is perhaps its quantitative research that will become increasingly out-dated. The articles that close the book (by John Hartley and Henry Jenkins) really add value to the book. A recommended read.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for undergrads. Grads would appreciate the issues too, but I think they would be more challenged by The YouTube Reader.

[Emily]

As a participant in YouTube culture, this was an interesting read :)

[Whoof · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent, kinda outdated. Some things discussed are painfully obvious to anyone who uses Youtube, but I guess that's unavoidable.

[Sofia Costa Lima]

Leitura de pesquisa para a tese, mas que acho que pode agradar a quem se interesse pelo assunto porque a escrita é muito apelativa.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history of YouTube though necessarily narrow for focusing on only the one platform.

[Hubert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book with promise but this one seemed to just drag on and on. A thoroughly incisive critical media analysis of YouTube, it's burgeoning (this was written late 00s) ability to create new networks of community, and its upturning of conventional modes of narration, story-telling, and media power from larger corporations to individual users. Identifies multiple uses of YouTube in the early to late 2000s, before it became more monetized through commodification of practices and monetization.

[Renjith R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Research Reading. YouTube is the revolutionary platform that rewrote the entire history of video sharing. YouTube is the pioneer of the latest OTT platforms and remains the number one platform for video sharing and monetising.

[A. Naguiba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great academic insight into this particular platform. Includes interesting facts even for those who may already consider themselves first-hand experts on Youtube.

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Highlights the history of YouTube, its origins, and how it is both a social network (a kind of quasi-civic commons) while at the same time a commercial enterprise committed to profit and corporate protocols. Some memorable elements of the book is its thesis that there is a kind of "YouTube Culture" that permeates the site, one perpetuated by core users. One memorable insight that comes out of the study is that there is a difference between videos on YouTube that are discussed and videos that are viewed. A core finding here is that independent videos--user uploaded--tend to be more discussed than videos produced and uploaded by mainstream media, and that mainstream media videos are viewed more but not discussed as much. There are two appended essays not written by Burgess and Green in my edition. One is by Jenkins; the other, Hartley. Jenkins treats some of the pre-history of amateur media social networks before YouTube. Hartley's was more of a theoretical treatment meditating on how YouTube might be used most effectively for making a better world. It was published in 09, and as with all of this digital media cultural studies stuff, it shows its age rather quickly. This one, not so much.

[Izzy Peasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative, interesting book for anyone interested in YouTube, the YouTube community and how it works. Only read it if you are looking for serious work on the subject, I have read it as part of my university master's dissertation. It is not meant to be entertaining or fun so if that's what you're looking for I wouldn't advise for you to read it ;). However, if this is a subject you are genuinely interested in, it's definitely a good book to read.

[Vika Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this were more up to date, but for a survey of YouTube's history and an engagement with the scholarly literature about it, it's an excellent survey. The info about a second edition on Amazon is wrong; the publisher says it's not expected until 2017.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid set of essays that examines Youtube's development, ethos, and uses. Draws on Jenkins quite a lot.

[Aya Esther Hayashi]

On the whole a good study. The last essay is way too utopic and relies on weak homologies, but it's at least something to argue against.

[Cheryl]

For Honours.