Does YouTube Represent the Demise of Television?
YouTube: A Model of Collaboration and Non-Economic Production
Apr 22, 2009
YouTube, the Internet based video streaming site that garners revenue through advertising, still generates much of its content from individuals who are not compensated for their work. Only 3% of the content is generated is sponsored "partners" and some make good money for their work.
However, most of the original content is non-economic work representing a growing movement globally. More people are using technology to network, collaborate with others, and engage in work that replaces economic compensation with the personal satisfaction stemming from the a sense of accomplishment, creativity, and meaning. Today non-economic work is having a profound effect the continued growth of content for the Internet, shareware software, and even advancements and discoveries in astronomy.
Collaboration Can Undermine the Traditional Economic Formula
At the core of the YouTube model is the idea that there are smart creative people who are looking for a place where they can do meaningful worker share their expertise. YouTube is full of intelligent content with high production values as well as informative how to videos on language, music, carpentry, automotive repair, and almost anything else you can dream up.
Sure YouTube also has plenty of whining teenagers, personal confessions, and pirated videos. However, this content does not take away from the viability of the YouTube model. In the book Wikinomics, Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams present vibrant examples of collaboration in the website Wikipedia, the operating system Linux, and even a mining company.
The key to the YouTube model is that businesses work cooperatively with people who want to contribute their unique talents and knowledge. Companies are beginning to understand the value of opening the door to people who want to freely contribute content or knowledge.
The YouTube Economic Impact
The YouTube model for collaboration cannot be ignored. If businesses do not find a way to harness the influence of these non-economic producers then businesses will lose market share to non-economic forces. In the long run this can lead to the demise of an industry.
Ipsos MediaCT reports that television viewership continues fall as Internet video viewership continues to rise. Traditional television content production and the millions of dollars in productions costs associated with television programming are being displaced by Internet videos. Many of these videos are produced by individuals not financially compensated for their work. Television can control sports programming and big budget television programs. It cannot corner market on news, entertainment, game shows, and reality shows.
These genres are areas non-economic creators can move in and produce online videos. The economic concern is that some types of business will be completely replaced by non-economic workers. The encyclopedia is one example of a business that has all but vanished.
