UCampus

Evolve or Die?

Just flip a switch and get worldwide distribution, almost without doing any work, that's how we see the future. YouTube is going to be available everywhere."

JamaalHappens

Posted on 10/19/2012

Google CEO Larry Page's stress on the importance of YouTube as a driving force in media distribution is a troubling idea for artists; filmmakers, writers, comedians and all of the like.

"To millions of people worldwide, "Gangnam Style" is a raging YouTube meme that continues to gather momentum... As of Thursday afternoon, the video from Korean rapper PSY had racked up 482.3 million views."

Page is surely a leader in the "YouTube or bust" movement, but there are surely more hard working, starving artists upset about the technological advancement (or hindrance) we all know and love. Scrolling through the comments, as we all love to do, supporters and adversaries express their heated opinions.

"This is bad news in my opinion. No one wants to address the fact that this will destroy jobs and will definitley not replace all the ones lost. Also, its horrible for any artistic medium insofar as that these viral hits and instant gratifcation lack just about all of the punch and emotional resonance that alot of the great older works of art had."

Swagpuffs replied:

"This has nothing to do with the "evil" Apple and Google. They don't determine what gets popular and what doesn't they're simply discovery mechanisms not tastemakers. That would be like blaming a record store for the popularity of Britney Spears."

James Pakele nicely added:

"Plain and simple... Evolve or die..."

What do you think of the emergence of YouTube and its use as a medium to distribute "art"... entertainment? In my opinion, YouTube saturates the internet with quick fixes for the brainwashed and spoon fed masses. It supports our capitalistic society. Why market and distribute works that provoke positive outcomes in the world, when you can make a quick million on a viral music video?