YouTube Fact Sheet
Overview and Features
Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and e-mail. YouTube has quickly become the leading destination on the Internet for video entertainment.
Everyone can watch videos on YouTube. People can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests, and discover the quirky and unusual. As more people capture special moments on video, YouTube is empowering them to become the broadcasters of tomorrow.
Some of the site's features include:
- Video embedding, which lets users insert a YouTube video into MySpace accounts, blogs, or other Web sites where anyone can watch them
- Public or private videos – users can elect to broadcast their videos publicly or share them privately with friends and family upon upload
- Subscriptions allow users to keep track of their favorite users' new videos
- Quick Capture – Users with a webcam and Flash software are able to instantly record video responses or normal videos onto the site rather than having to prerecord then upload the video
- TestTube – This is an area on the website where YouTube engineers and developers conduct alpha testing for new features in development. Users are encouraged to participate in the development process and are welcome to evaluate the feature.
By registering, users are able to upload and share videos, save favorites, create playlists, and comment on the videos. YouTube is building a community that is highly motivated to watch and share videos. The YouTube service is free and will be supported by advertising.
The YouTube Community
YouTube is a place for people to engage in new ways with video by sharing, commenting on, and viewing videos. YouTube originally started as a personal video sharing service, and has quickly grown into the leading video entertainment destination on the Internet. Our users determine what is popular on the site, and can unleash their creativity and broadcast their talents to a global audience.
YouTube is creating a community for personal video, musicians, amateur filmmakers and comedians, and professional content owners. Our service is extremely viral, so if someone has a lot of talent and their content is really creative, users will be more likely to share the videos.
The explosion in consumer devices with video capability is giving users control over the videos they record, watch, and share, and YouTube is dedicated to making their experience as easy and entertaining as possible.
Unlike traditional broadcast channels, which have set windows for their programming, people can watch what they want, when they want on YouTube. We are focused on building the best user experience and the best platform for people to share their videos around the world. Anyone can broadcast themselves by creating content and distributing it through YouTube. And the community decides what is popular through their ratings and comments.
YouTube is an open community and encourages users to send in their thoughts and comments about their experiences on the site. YouTube understands that each and every user makes the site what it is and welcomes them to get involved to help create new features and be a part of new developments on the site.
YouTube also is actively exploring a variety of ways to help the community to monetize content, and expect to announce something in the coming months that users will embrace. At the end of the day, it's all about the community and we will continue to do what we can to make the user experience a prosperous one.
Traffic and Stats
As you can imagine, interest in the site continues to increase at a dramatic rate. While we're more focused on providing our community with the features that they are asking for and giving them the best possible user experience than we are in crunching numbers, we continue to be the leader online video.
Timeline
YouTube was founded in February 2005 from a garage in Menlo Park, and development began immediately. We started a public preview in May of 2005 and officially launched the company and service later that year in December. In November of 2006, YouTube was acquired by Google and continues to operate as an independent subsidiary.
Demographics
Our user base is 18-55, spanning all geographies. With such a large and diverse user base, YouTube offers something for everyone.
Business Model
YouTube is pursuing advertising as its business model, and is exploring a range of possibilities including PVAs (participatory video ads) promotions, sponsorships, contextual-based advertising, traditional banner advertising, etc. But more than anything else, we're committed to providing the best consumer experience to watch, upload, and share videos. When building a community, it is critical to get the model right.
Content Partners
YouTube is a stage for everyone, including traditional media companies, filmmakers, record labels, movie studios, comedians and more. With the shift happening in digital media entertainment and a new clip culture evolving, professional content creators are recognizing the potential of promoting themselves and their programming on YouTube to reach a vast, new audience. As such, YouTube has evolved into a powerful monetization and promotional platform.
One type of partnership is no more important than any other, just as one type of content is no more important than any other. User generated and "amateur" content carries as much importance as professionally created videos. We are focused on providing the greatest depth and breadth possible for our users, and the thousands of partnerships we have with content creators and media companies, both big and small, are a testament to that.
YouTube and Google
YouTube is an independent subsidiary of Google, Inc., having been acquired by the leader in search and online advertising services in November of 2006.
Google and YouTube share the vision of enabling anyone to find, upload, watch and share original videos worldwide, and the dedication to innovate with video to offer compelling services for our users and for content owners.
The exciting and powerful platform YouTube has built complements Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
By working together, YouTube and Google will be able to offer a better, more comprehensive experience for our users and new opportunities for content owners and advertisers. From individuals with video cell phones to major studios with professional content, we're excited to create the world's next generation video platform together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is YouTube's copyright policy?
We don't control the content on our site. Our users post the content on YouTube—including videos, comments, and ratings. Our community guidelines and clear messaging on the site make it clear that users must own or have permission from copyright holders to post any videos.
We take copyright issues very seriously. We prohibit users from uploading infringing material and we cooperate with copyright holders to identify and promptly remove infringing content.
How does YouTube handle inappropriate content (i.e. porn, graphic/violent images, etc)?
Our policy prohibits inappropriate content on YouTube. Our community understands the rules and effectively polices the site for inappropriate material. The users can flag content that they feel is inappropriate and once it is flagged, YouTube reviews the content and removes it from the system within minutes if it violates our Terms of Use. This combined with our proprietary technology helps us to enforce the rules. We also disable the accounts of repeat offenders.
How does YouTube monetize today? How will you monetize YouTube? Video ads? Banner ads?
Today, YouTube serves untargeted ads on some of its pages. We're committed to preserving the quality of the user experience and we are also interested in exploring how we can further benefit content owners through different ways of sponsorship. We have conducted a variety of tests to determine what monetization strategies are best for content providers and best for users, and we will integrating the results of those tests into our future efforts.
What does the acquisition by Google mean for the community?
YouTube's business was built, in large part, by our community. The user experience will not change—we are committed to this and will continue to listen to our community's feedback. The community is still in control on YouTube, and, at the end of the day, they decide what's entertaining.
Our independence empowers us to continue to build the best, most entertaining video experience on the Internet. Google's resources and technology leadership will provide us with the flexibility to expand and improve that experience further.
Will YouTube now have a stronger international presence?
YouTube continues to operate independently, completely within the United States. However, we are committed to "internationalizing" YouTube by translating services and features into each country's native language.
What are the criteria you use to establish what will be a featured video? Is it purely driven by the most-viewed/rated/discussed/etc, or are there other factors?
Videos that appear in the "Featured Videos" section on the home page are chosen through a variety of sources. While users can send videos the YouTube editorial team for consideration, they also can rate and share videos to help make them popular on the site. Our editorial team reviews the videos users have made popular and features the most entertaining and compelling content on the home page.
