The first YouTube video was about a simple visit to the zoo. One of the founders of the site stood outside the elephant enclosure and talked about how big their tusks were.
Since that moment in 2005 Youtube has become a part of everyday life
It has launched pop careers and has helped spark revolutions.
Henry Jenkins, Professor of Communication at the University of Southern California, puts it this way:
As such, it potentially represents a site of conflict and renegotiation between different forms of power. One interesting illustration of this is the emergence of Astroturf – fake grassroots media — through which very powerful groups attempt to mask themselves as powerless in order to gain greater credibility within participatory culture. In the past, these powerful interests would have been content to exert their control over broadcast and mass market media but now, they often have to mask their power in order to operate within network culture.
Michael Wesch is one of the best students of this new media:
