Newswise — Since it was founded in February of 2005, YouTube has established itself as a formidable presence on the web. As one of the web's fastest-growing sites, many companies and organizations (including the White House, which this week uploaded commercials from its anti-drug PSA campaign to YouTube) are looking at the free, community-oriented site as a platform for implementing new advertising models and targeting new demographics. And with Ted Kennedy, the government, and "LonelyGirl15" all telling their stories on YouTube, the demographics are varying indeed. The numbers are certainly there: according to Nielsen/NetRatings, the site logs almost 20 million visits each month.
Dr. Jeff Rutenbeck, dean of the Division of Communication and Creative Media at Champlain College, says that "we're now seeing the convergence that REALLY matters: the convergence between 'mass' media and 'personal' media. The meteoric rise of services such as YouTube and MySpace suggest a tectonic shift in our approaches to personal expression and mass distribution. Savvy users today have never had a bigger chance to make a bigger impact on the biggest canvas possible. And with that comes the pressure to be as broadly literate in as many expressive modes as possible. The popularity of these sites also issues a call to action: bridge the digital divide, or we risk the creation of a media universe that appears on the surface to be democratic but is, at its core, among the most exclusive the world has ever known."
Dr. Rutenbeck can also discuss:
· How this generation of digitally savvy users is incorporating personal media into their lives, and what this means for mass media, particularly those companies that are still attempting to charge for content or not willing to make their content available on demand;· The role of today's digitally literate as "prosumers" —producers and consumers—rather than merely consumers, and the increasing value of digital media literacy.· The current wave of independent/individually produced content, and how it will evolve from this point;· The exponential, democratizing nature of YouTube, and its paradoxical potential for creating an even more exclusive and discriminating digital culture.
An expert in the use of new media for information, community building and content delivery and a historian of the evolution of media, Jeff Rutenbeck is the founding president and the current chair of the board of the International Digital Media and Arts Association (iDMAa) and the founding dean of the Division of Communication and Creative Media at Champlain College. Prior to his recent move to Vermont, he founded and directed the Digital Media Studies program at the University of Denver. He holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Washington, an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a bachelor's degree in history from The Colorado College.
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