Jean Burgess: YouTube’s Unfolding History

In 2005, YouTube was launched as a basic videosharing website. It grew rapidly, and shortly thereafter became a focal point for hype about Web 2.0 and the ‘amateur revolution’. A mere 5 years later, it is a significant player in the media ecology, massive in scale and increasingly diverse in its creative, community and commercial uses. But the ongoing conflicts between these various uses are increasingly casting YouTube’s future as a platform for participatory culture into doubt. This presentation tells the story of YouTube’s transformation from simple videosharing service to shambolic media giant, outlines its cultural significance, and speculates as to what this unfolding history might tell us about the future of participatory culture online.