Exposure on YouTube: The Great Relationship Between Producers and Consumers

When kids hang out together, playing video games and watching TV are certainly some of the most preferred activities. With the emergence of YouTube, many hours are spent where two kids are sitting in front of a computer randomly searching for funny and entertaining content. The concept of YouTube is simple: anyone can create an account and upload appropriate and legal videos of their choosing. There are many dollars to be made off this product. As Jean Burgess and Joshua Green explain in their article "The Entrepeneurial Vlogger: Participatory Culture Beyond the Profession-Amateur Divide," there are three main contributors to YouTube. The three groups are: big media companies (such as the National Football League and recording studios), Web-TV companies (such as NoGood TV and JumpTV), and "ordinary" users. Burgess and Green also describe how YouTube disrupts the producer-consumer divide. Consumers are now producing their own content for other consumers instead of the professional entertainers. While Burgess and Green find this detrimental to the entertainment industry, one recording studio is using this to their advantage to make money and promote young artists.

Ark Music Factory is a musical production company. What makes them different from a typical recording studio is that they do not go out and look for talent. As stated on their Wikipedia page, young artists come to them and pay $2,000-$4,000 for their services. Ark Music Factory will then help the client write a song, produce a music video, and promote the song. YouTube is obviously their main outlet when it comes to showing these videos. Their most notorious client is Rebecca Black and her music video for the song "Friday" received millions of views in a short period of time on YouTube. The catchy tune is loved and hated across the world. After this popularity, Rebecca Black then went on to join another record label with the help of Ryan Seacrest. Taking a look at the Ark Music Factory website, there are other artists they are trying to expose. Abby Victor is one of the artists who is profiled and while she may not be very well known to the everyday internet user, her videos still have four to five million views. 

Rebecca Black's success is a great example of how the producer-consumer relationship works harmoniously through YouTube. Many people get noticed on YouTube and go on to join and sign contracts with these big production companies. The production company is benefiting from YouTube and the tremendous tool it provides. Comedians, musicians, and freak-talents take advantage of this outlet. The Ark Music Factory is a unique contributor to YouTube. They are not necessarily the ordinary user but are not quite up to the standards of a big media company. Furthermore, Burgess and Green's uneasiness about YouTube is detrimental to artists. Copyright infringement is definitely an issue but that goes along with illegally downloading music. As technology advances, so will the ability to abuse it. With recording labels profiting off their newly found recruits and the artists getting the exposure they crave, YouTube is the perfect tool and the successful relationship continues.

Hiding Behind the Screen: Relationships Ending Without Face to Face Interaction

In Sherry Turkle's book Along Together, one of her main points concerns how people now feel protected by the screens of their phones and computers. With phone calls no longer being essential to communication, text messages are sent. The recipient can take as long as they want to respond. As Turkle explains, "at a screen you feel protected and less burdened by expectations...Alone with your thoughts, yet in contact with an almost tangible fantasy of the other, you feel free to play. At the screen, you have a chance to write yourself into the person you want to be..a telephone call can seem fearsome because it reveals too much" (188). Responses on the computer and text messages are often well thought out and prepared because there is no pressure or sense of urgency. Naturally as communication changes between friends, dating relationships will follow. Break-ups now rarely occur in person. Text messages and Facebook posts now seem to be the norm when it comes to ending a relationship.

To expand on Turkle's observations of hiding behind the screen, a new break-up technique has people literally hiding behind their screen. Instead of formally breaking up, some people now "disappear." They do not respond to text messages, phone calls, or emails. This new trend is called "ghosting." As explained in this Yahoo! article, the person just cuts off all contact with their boyfriend/girlfriend. The emergence of this new trend highlights how the screen is impacting daily lives. While these screens do prove to be convenient and helpful, they are providing ways for people to avoid face to face interactions and create a new identity. Common courtesies are now being thrown out the window. If someone is ever confronted about their "ghosting" behavior, the excuse will always be "my phone was broken" or "I never got those messages." It is a lame excuse but is difficult to refute because there is always the possibility of messages not being sent successfully.

It is difficult to fathom that in an era where essentially everything in our lives is becoming public, disappearing is still possible. The screen has indeed provided protection and the ability to avoid conversing in a way where you have to hear the other person's voice. People can change how they are perceived through online profiles and text message responses. The words they use are carefully thought out. It seems as though we will never know what someone's first reaction is anymore.