Video+Based+Social+Networking

Video is an integral component of social networking. It lifts the boundaries of traditional static content like text and pictures by enabling the distribution and sharing of dynamic content. There is a myriad of websites dedicated to hosting video content. [|YouTube] is arguably the most popular, with millions of users ranging from the amateur videographer to major motion picture studios. Individuals can use such a website to upload and share videos as a means of communicating with one another. In addition to personal videos, professionals can take part in video sharing as well. Businesses can use video to advertise a product; musicians can spread their music and gain notoriety, and even educators can distribute learning material. Videos can be short clips, long features, or even live streams; there are many websites that can serve the purposes of someone looking to share video. Many video sharing sites support Facebook and [|Twitter] integration to maximize visibility beyond the hosting site.

Video social networking isn’t limited to recorded video clips. Sites like [|Justin.tv] provide streaming Internet television are growing in popularity. For those who could not afford traditional television airtime, streaming live video over the Internet can be an attractive option. The low cost viability is coupled with the potential to reach many more viewers than traditional television as well. Whereas television requires subscriptions, the streaming video generally does not. The potential also exists for streaming media to reach more viewers than television otherwise would. Cable service for instance is usually geographically limited with each regional provider’s programming varying from one area to the next. On the other hand streaming video is universally available on the Internet regardless of location; all that’s needed is a computer and Internet access. In the early days of video sharing, the quality was horrendous, pixelated, and sounded horrible. Nowadays, given the expansion and availability of broadband services coupled with inexpensive high quality recording equipment, the days of low quality video are long gone. Today one can find movie trailers, streams, and even amateur video in 1080p high definition, some professional video even carries a digital surround track along with it. Internet video stretches beyond the bounds of a hosting site. Integration of video on vendor websites and blogs is quite common. Video ads are taking media type="youtube" key="9g2U12SsRns?version=3" height="390" width="640" align="right" place of images to give a shopper the feel of a more interactive experience. Bloggers may use a video to speak directly to their audience rather than relying on a wall of text to get their point across. Even sites that do product reviews are using videos to illustrate the functionality of a product; a site like [|Cnet] gives a potential shopper a virtual hands-on feel of a particular item.

Video is making its way to mobile devices as well. Broadband enabled cell phones are capable of accessing the popular sites like YouTube and Facebook. What’s more is that today’s advanced smart phones can have high definition cameras built in; eliminating the direct need for a computer to upload videos. This takes social networking to a whole new level. Now sharing, commenting, and sending links to others is instantaneous. The young generations frequent social networks more so than their older counterparts; they are also usually glued to their phones. This gives the potential for any type of social network to potentially sustain explosive growth. All it takes is a bit of notoriety; once the wheels of content distribution begin spinning there is no telling where they will stop.

Such possibility for video distribution brings up the question of piracy and copyright violation. Some argue that video sharing networks are nothing more than an avenue to pursue piracy on a massive scale. While it may be true that intellectual property is at risk, the piracy problem is nowhere near an entity like the MPAA or RIAA says it is. If anything video sharing is an incredible tool that artists, both amateur and professional alike can gain exposure more so than traditional methods. Before sharing really took off, someone had to go to the movie theater or catch an upcoming trailer on television. If someone missed it, they may not go see that movie. Fast forward to now, anyone can go online and look up current movies and music videos. In fact video distribution has shown to have positive effects on the recording industry, not the other way around. Sure piracy exists, but it is a small price to pay for such exposure. A lot of popular professional videos are ad-supported, that right there provides the incentive for distribution; adding another variant that can make a company money. However, protections are in place, the video above explains how YouTube guards against copyright violations for new videos that are uploaded. Even so, video based social networking is only going to expand as more people will be recording video with a growing number of advanced devices. The process of sharing video is becoming easier and more common. Video hosting and interactive websites may one day take place of boring text and static images. A new generation of social networking is upon us and it will be interesting to see what it will blossom into. Stay tuned!

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