YouTube

YouTube is one of the most well-known and widely discussed sites of participatory media in the contemporary online environment, and it is the first genuinely mass-popular platform for user-created video. In this timely and comprehensive introduction to how YouTube is being used and why it matters, Burgess and Green discuss the ways that it relates to wider transformations in culture, society and the economy. The book critically examines the public debates surrounding the site, demonstrating how it is central to struggles for authority and control in the new media environment. Drawing on a range of theoretical sources and empirical research, the authors discuss how YouTube is being used by the media industries, by audiences and amateur producers, and by particular communities of interest, and the ways in which these uses challenge existing ideas about cultural production and consumption . Rich with both concrete examples and featuring specially commissioned chapters by Henry Jenkins and John Hartley, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in the contemporary and future implications of online media. It will be particularly valuable for students and scholars in media, communication and cultural studies.

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.

Preface viiAcknowledgments x1 How YouTube Matters 12 YouTube and the Mainstream Media 153 YouTube's Popular Culture 384 YouTube's Social Network 585 YouTube's Cultural Politics 756 YouTube's Uncertain Futures 100Henry Jenkins: What Happened Before YouTube 109John Hartley: Uses of YouTube - Digital Literacy and theGrowth of Knowledge 126Notes 144References 152Index 170