Censorship is (Redacted)

I was recently talking about how cultural influences shapes Youtube as it appears to viewers around the world. Yet I missed probably one of the most important influences that shapes the appearance of Youtube in different countries, at least in China. China's communistic government has the ability and right to censor any online content it deems to be inappropriate or detrimental to Chinese society. Most people associate the Chinese censorship mainly to Google, but it also spread to Youtube.

The first time the government of China censored Youtube was in 2008 when China blocked Youtube during the Tibet riots. Although the Chinese government denies any reason for the bans, many people believe it was to stop videos of violence against protesters from reaching and influencing more people. Many websites have been censored by China when they are considered to spread "harmful information". Even the New York Times has been blocked in China at points. Website blocking is relatively rare in China although some websites are routinely blocked and almost every website containing user content has been censored at one point or another.

Not only does China censor and block foreign-based websites that bring in "harmful information", but China also heavily censors Chinese websites. Weibo, otherwise known as the "Chinese Twitter", is one of the most popular websites in China and is ranked by Alexa Web Analytics as the 17th most visited website in the world. However the user content has been severely censored. Anything from political dissent to sexual innuendo is subject for complete censorship. Some of the citizens are very dissatisfied with this, as it infringes on their free speech.

Censorship and website blocking are not simply a Chinese phenomenon. Almost every other country, including the United States has varying degrees of online censorship. Youtube alone has been blocked in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Turkey as certain videos were deemed politically unacceptable. While the US may not censor quite as much as China, but much more than most American citizens realize and would be comfortable with.

As we are constantly reminded that our forefathers fought for the freedom of speech, among other liberties, the average US citizen abhors censorship. I used to have the same mentality that censorship would deter learning and lead to further oppression, and arguments can be made on how much censorship is acceptable. However, I know realize that there are several censorship systems that exist to protect us. An example on Youtube is the flagging system. If a video is deemed inappropriate or harmful it can be blocked or removed by Youtube. Part of the consideration that goes into this is if the video gets flagged as offensive by many viewers. It is this system that keeps graphic and vulgar videos off of Youtube and allows it to be a relatively safe place to search videos and connect to others.

What freedoms we should have when it comes to speech and expression have been argued and debated for a long time. I personally enjoy the levels of freedom and regulation that we have in our country. If you prefer less regulation or more regulation there is a varying continuum of countries in our world. However, it seems that we have it pretty well off here.

Alexa Web Analytics - http://www.alexa.com/
Youtube Censorship - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_YouTube

Am I a Youtuber?

So I just realized that I myself have a channel! Apparently having an account on Youtube means you have a channel as well, automatically! I don't know why, but in my mind I never associated myself as one of the "Youtubers". However, it seems that I am to join that rank of elite. I am a Youtuber.

That is if I choose to post anything. I feel like I should contribute to Youtube in some way. I was just talking recently about how I disliked the VEVO channels because they occupy the top spots while posting videos extremely rarely. Yet I have never posted a single video to my channel.

What should I post about? Do I just post about my life? I would say that I don't think my life is exciting enough for people to watch, or that I don't have very funny video ideas. However, when you watch videos from all of the top Youtubers, they are all surprised in the exact same way. They didn't think what they were doing was going to be extremely popular. They just did it for the fun of it, and are pleased with the results.

Do I have responsibilities as a Youtuber? Do I have some sort of obligation now to give back to Youtube after they bestowed this honorific title upon my shoulders. Is there some sort of initiation process I missed, or a newbie Youtuber orientation to give me my bearings. I don't even know how to post a video, or annotate, or add additional information!

 It's easy to take in all the information that Youtubers put out, yet a little bit disorientating when you are the one trying to prepare a video for everyone to watch. It gives me a lot more respect for those Youtubers who post daily with original work. I mean, I've only done 50 blog posts, some of which aren't even about Youtube, and already I'm starting to hit a wall for new ideas. I can't imagine how hard it must be to produce something every single day that is original and worthwhile. I definitely won't complain anymore when a Youtuber doesn't post in a while, or if they might recycle an idea.

I'm starting to realize now that I am a legitimate blogger as well! 60 or so blog posts is a lot of material I put out! If someone really had a desire, a surprising one, they could spend hours just reading my writing. That's one of the things I love about all the new media platforms like Youtube. Everyone on the web is now a "creator". We all are now creative producers with the opportunity to be discovered for our thoughts and succeed based off of those. It's a pretty inspirational idea to think that someone someday, perhaps years from now, might read my blog or subscribe to my Youtube channel. I am a Youtuber and a blogger. I am a creator. Now I just have to wait until I get discovered.

Is Vevo a Youtuber?

If one looks at a list of the most subscribed channels, they will find that a large portion of the highly subscribed channels consist of musical artist's VEVO accounts? When I have talked about the purpose of Youtube recently, it always is about sharing ideas and videos and introducing new talent to the populous. Therefore I think it is against the purpose of Youtube for the subscribed lists to be dominated by VEVO accounts. They should place the VEVO accounts on a separate list so that more individual Youtubers and aspiring creators can earn their place on that hallowed list.

One of the main problems I have is that VEVO is not a creative individual, it is a large corporation. VEVO was formed as a video hosting service by several music companies such as Sony and the Universal Music Group. They do benefit off of having the large amount of views and revenue that comes from that. They also serve a vital purpose by creating a platform for musical artists to display their music videos. My problem with them is that this corporation is taking away recognition, something not really needed by a corportation, from creative individuals. 

Another problem I have with VEVO is that it is extremely spacious. Not only do they take away fame and recognition from other aspiring Youtubers, but they do so on as large a scale as possible. I would be much less bothered with VEVO if they presented all of the artists on one channel, something that would be absolutely possible with the playlist system. Instead, VEVO creates a separate channel for each different musical artist. This flood of well-subscribed channels blocks out others from the top list, like a fame-hungry attention seeker. 

It is so widespread that 1/5 of the top 50 channels are all VEVO accounts, which serve no other purpose than to just post the music videos as the artist releases them. The last time Rihanna's VEVO (11th most popular Youtube channel) even posted anything was 4 months ago, Eminem's VEVO (16th most popular) last posted a music video 3 months ago, Katy Perry's VEVO (17th most popular) 1 month ago. They don't post any original or consistent content. It is just another form of advertisement for the artists, and blocks out regularly uploading and aspiring Youtubers from fame.

This problem is compounded now by the mandatory subscribing channels that Youtube has created. All Youtubers have to subscribe to this channel. The leading individual channel is Pewdiepie at 25 million, but three channels: Music, Gaming, and Sports, now top the list with around 80 million a piece. These accounts also do not post original content, but merely advertise other videos. With these accounts added in 2/5 of the top 50 Youtubers are not even Youtubers! 

These channels are corroding the purpose of Youtube, to introduce new ideas and creations to a vast audience. They have overridden a large portion of the top Youtubers list and easily take all of the top positions. Individuals producing creative content have been replaced by large companies who rarely, if it all, post videos, and mainly as a form of advertisement. We need to remove these 20 accounts from the top list onto their own list, so that more individuals and creative partnerships can continue to grow and expand.

Top Channel's list- http://vidstatsx.com/youtube-top-100-most-subscribed-channels

What does Youtube mean worldwide?

Something I recently found was very interesting to me. In Mat Pat's video "Game Theory: How Pewdiepie Conquered Youtube", he talks about how part of Felix's (Pewdiepie) success was that he came from Europe but posted his videos in the US. This meant that Youtube sponsored him to US viewers as well as Western European viewers, both of which compromise a large portion of Youtube watchers. If Youtube sponsors different videos to different areas based on the creator's background, nationality, and subject matter, does that mean that Youtube, in China for example, would look different than the Youtube that I see.

Many of us take for granted that most of the Youtube videos that we watch are in English, and to be fair a large portion of Youtube videos are in English because it is a very prominent language, especially online. However there is also a large number of Youtube videos that are in foreign languages. So why don't we notice these videos? This is because the programmers at Youtube, in a very wise fashion, decided that we, as Americans, probably wouldn't be interested in videos that are spoken in Bengali or Arabic. As a side effect of this, we might miss out on some of the clever and innovative ideas or videos put out by foreign users.

Due to the fact that the programmers separate what people see based on the common interests of their country or the Youtuber's relation to their country, this means that their Youtube would reflect the unique cultural landscape of the place or country in which they live. I think it would be extremely interesting to do an analysis of how the cultures of different countries relate to the Youtube videos that are sponsored in their areas. For example, I do know that Youtube videos for KPop (Korean Pop Music- Gangnam Style e.g.) are extremely popular in Asian countries, yet get little showing in America except for some niche groups.

 I almost feel as if I am missing out on large parts of Youtube, as if they are hidden to me because of my cultural background. I consider this completely contrary to the point of Youtube as a video sharing service meant to bring varied ideas and creative people together. Something I would look forward to in the future is a mass translation of all Youtube videos, but the effort required for that would be monumental. The subtitle system does work, but it doesn't allow for all the importance that comes with inflection.

This all stems off of a larger argument explained in HowStuffWork's article "Why don't we all speak the same language". There is a set of pros and cons with adopting a more universal culture. If we made all Youtube videos in one consistent language it would encourage interaction between creators and give viewers access to watch all videos regardless of cultural origin. However even with the adoption of a single language, this would eliminate the cultural heritage of some languages and cause the cultural diversity that we prize on Youtube to dissapear into homogenization.

It is an interesting prospect to consider how different Youtube must be for other cultures, and how someone writing a blog about Youtube from a different country might be experiencing something absolutely different from me.

How Stuff Works Article - http://people.howstuffworks.com/speak-same-language.htm

Are we too distracted?

For all the wonderful aspects of the internet, there is one feature that has condemned it among many. It is a huge distraction.

It would be interesting to run an experiment or find an experiment in which people are given access to the internet while doing homework and others only have tv and other traditional entertainment, and to see how much work they complete comparatively.

I recently talked about the sheer amount of stuff that we can access, thanks to the internet. That leads to a very important question. What is worth looking at and what isn't? I don't have an answer for this question. Personally I am on the internet too much. The fact that I made this blog about Youtube videos was because I thought I knew about this subject to be able to talk about it in-depth three times a week for a whole school year, which is a lot in total.

There is a reason that I get to sleep at 2 am some nights. There is a reason Stumbleupon-induced sleep deprivation is a running joke. There is a reason that there are Youtube playlists in which you can watch days worth of videos. There is a reason that people become emotionally attached to Youtubers. There is a reason that I am typing this blog post three hours before it is due. Part of that last one is due to procrastination, but also it's because I was watching a dumb video on Youtube when I realized I needed to do a blog post.

Youtube is distracting. Is it a detriment to our society as it drains vital mindpower and attention away from the youth that will one day run the country? Is it a welcome relief in the high-stress lifestyle we all live?

The key, as with all addictions, is to find the moderation point. If you are hurting your social life, physical health, or career by watching too much online videos than you should stop. If you are always working, maybe you need to sit down and have a good laugh over a kitten video. This moderation point may shift as you age, get married, or switch jobs, but it is vital to find it.

The internet is an extremely powerful tool, we must be wise and judicious in the way that we use it or we risk letting it envelop us. Let the internet be an enhancement to your lifestyle instead of a hinderance. There are plenty of ways that we can use the internet to make us more efficient, mentally acute, and physically fit. It is up to us to use it correctly. Be smart web surfers. Thanks for reading

How effective is online learning?

How effective is online learning actually? I s it worth the effort and time that it takes to develop these websites for the school. I want to delve into how much benefit the individuals in our school and in our district are benefiting from the new online tools. I would want to look at this using personal testimonials and more statistical GPA analysis.

There is a new trend that has started to occur across the country. Some people absolutely adore it, while others hate it with a burning passion. I'm feeling lukewarm on the subject, but I understand both sides. The issue of course is online education and how it should figure into our daily school life.

For the first time this year I am really deeply involved with online learning. This is mainly through my AP Chemistry class and our use of tablets (another idea I'd like to talk about later). However, most people are being forced into becoming acquainted with it through the use of the Canvas website this year. We watch videos of lectures on Youtube, we can get our assignments and missing work, edit and submit homework, and even take tests. I honestly feel like I could reach all the information I needed for the school year from my own home.

This is one of the great things about Canvas. I am missing a day of school tomorrow and, hopefully, I will be able to find all of the work I need online. This is so much easier for both the student and the teacher. It also provides some platform for collaboration and communication among students. However, that aspect has a long, long way to come.

My problem with all this online learning is that it is much, much harder to learn when it is simply a video rather than a face-to-face instruction from a teacher. It is so easy to get distracted while watching a video, or become frustrated with the fact you can't ask questions. In my mind, there is no substitute for a classroom setting until we somehow learn to implant knowledge directly into our head. We desire and need that interaction with our fellow students. It is our collaboration and struggles that allow us to truly learn something. Any student will tell you that the things they remember the most are what they did in the classroom, not just watching the video at home.

It is the same reason why can't just sit at home and watch Youtube all day. Even though I like Youtube, it is no substitute for the real thing. You can watch first-person perspectives of extreme skiing or hangliding, but you can't feel the wind on your face or the joy of accomplishing that. We need to have a classroom so that we can physically achieve our goals of learning. So while I do see how Canvas can be a useful tool for organization and communication, I don't see online learning as a replacement to our current education system any time in the next century. Thanks for reading.

Do they deserve it?

We all feel a certain sense of satisfaction when someone in a Youtube video who is being a jerk finally gets what is coming to them. It's that certain pleasure you get from knowing that karma works and good people get good things and bad people have bad things happen to them. For example, there is a robber who, while robbing a gas station, had his tires stolen off his car. The money was then stolen from him by another person, and he was later arrested. Classic karma, right?

Well I think that we may be a bit too hasty to judge all these people on Youtube. I mean obviously the robber was in the wrong breaking the law, but I'm talking about the "jerks" on Youtube. People who are recorded at some of their worst moments. Thinking back, I'm sure we have all had moments we regret. We have said mean things that we didn't mean, we have done awful things in the heat of the moment due to peer pressure, tiredness, or just young inexperience. Does this mean we deserve the amount of hate and notoriety these "jerks" get on the Internet.

Not only does hate come in real life, but it often reaches out into the real world. We all know, and probably have made fun of, Rebecca Black. She was a viral hit in a bad way for her annoying single "Friday". Sure, it wasn't the best or even a good song, but the lashing out of the viral community against her for laughs or simply out of cruelty was not warranted. She was tormented by her peers and friends for the video, and some people even sent death threats in 2011.

I can not imagine being in the situation of notoriety that Rebecca Black had to suffer through. I applaud her though for keeping her head held high and following her passion for music. She still makes songs for a record label, something that I wish I could accomplish. Not only that, but she confronted all the issues with "Friday" and even was cool enough to satirize and parody her video in the new song "Saturday". That takes a lot of courage, self-acceptance, and pride to be able to laugh at yourself on a national stage. As a personal opinion, "Saturday" was infinitely better than "Friday" and even a little bit catchy at some points.

As often as there are people who are able to overcome the hate there are people who fall into depression from their internet notoriety. Amanda Todd became notorious for some explicit pictures of her that were leaked online. The pictures were definitely a mistake, but one that we should forgive in a child. She was tormented by her peers and the online community which drove her to depression and eventually suicide.

I think we could all benefit in a larger understanding of the circumstances surrounding these videos. Hopefully, seeing all the ramifications of our videos will make us slightly more cautious posters and watchers.