If you really stop to think about it, YouTube is really amazing. I mean who knew there were so many cat movie stars? However, people taking cute little movies of their kitties isn't what makes YouTube fascinating. YouTube is at its best when it shows ordinary people filming their interests. Are there terrible films spewing hatred? You bet. Are there disgusting films? Oh, absolutely, but those aren't the ones which make up the overwhelming majority of YouTube films. My favorite films are by people who want to share and showcase something wonderful.
I like ALL the Steam Trains Galore videos. They are perfect for putting a toddler into a tharn state. (Tharn is the state described in the book Watership Down in which a rabbit freezes in place.) Thanks, Mike Armstrong (maker of Steam Trains Galore). I am somewhat baffled about how and why steam trains are so fascinating to him; however, he has traveled around the country filming steam trains running up and down tracks. His films are very relaxing.
I also like the MTA (transit system of New York) films showing the subway trains running in and out of the tunnels of New York City. Another perfect film for toddler lunchtime. It seems to be soothing to the 1 - 3 year old group. There's no dialogue. There's just trains running up and down the tracks between various stations. Let's take the "A" train!
Then, there's the Dad and 10 year old son who have transformed their backyard into a Monster Truck arena. They have jumps, mud, water, tracks, and all sorts of dirt filled amusements for toy Monster Trucks. The YouTube films show Dad and son playing toy Monster Trucks in the awesome dirt arena they built together.
Another 'fave' of mine are the Cornell University School of Ornithology YouTube live bird feeder/breeder sites all over the world. I've watched hummingbirds in West Texas; deciduous forest birds in upstate New York; tropical birds in Panama; and the hatchings of Owls, California Condors, Redtailed Hawks, and Ospreys. You can even watch a Royal Albatross around on the other side of the world hatch and raise a 'chick' which when full grown will weigh in at around 20 lbs.
Have you ever heard of Destin Sandlin? Well, he's an engineer who makes YouTube videos applying engineering principles in fun ways. Like graphing firing a baseball over 1000 miles per hour through a one gallon jar of mayonnaise. He loves charts, graphs, math, and his excitement level is off the leash. His videos are called Smarter Every Day, and he's on the same wavelength as Mythbusters.
I recently watched a TV program called "GLOW" on Netflix. It is a reality program about make up artists. This career employs people not just at make up counters of department stores in malls, but also on movie sets, television sets, live theater, fashion show runways, magazine fashion shoots, and surprisingly YouTube videos. If you want to learn how to apply false eyelashes or create a 'smoky eye', well, there are You Tubers willing to help you. Many of them got interested in make up through You Tube. A new career path in make up artistry is to create a series of 'how to' YouTube videos and amass hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Manufacturers perk up and pay those folks.
"How to" YouTube videos have revolutionized dissemination of information. Anything you need to know how to do will have not just one but several YouTube videos by self proclaimed experts. In the world of home repair alone, YouTube has leveled the playing field. Not everyone grows up with an expert in the family. Anytime there was a home repair job my husband used to telephone my father or meet with him face to face since by Dad was a self-taught handyman. His knowledge was encyclopedic. Today, my father would be making YouTube videos.
Sponsorship is definitely a way to make money using YouTube. If you have expertise in any field, you can Vlog on YouTube. (The snob I am, I always look down on Vloggers. If they could write coherently, they would be blogging!) If you can be found by the public in great numbers, you can expect sponsorship and a certain amount of $$. I don't think very many people can sustain a career using YouTube as their medium. It's akin to writing a best selling novel, and then continuing to do it over and over again. In other words, there aren't too many Stephen Kings or John Grishams in the YouTube world any more than the literary world.
It's the accessibility of YouTube to the ordinary person which makes this phenomenon so wonderful. Who could have predicted this? YouTubes are just one aspect of the Electronic Revolution which is now shaping all our lives. Do you YouTube?
