Welcome to the 83rd issue of B.

A decade ago, when a friend told me that YouTube would someday dominate the world, I didn't fully agree with it and wrote off the idea altogether. I was sure that only well-trained experts could produce quality videos, and that it would be nearly impossible to share such large data files, as opposed to text or images. Of course, I was dead wrong, and today, I’m fascinated by YouTube and enjoy what it adds to my daily life. It’s a company and brand that truly offers so much to talk about.

People, regardless of age or nationality, are watching more YouTube all around. In a sense, the growth of the platform bespeaks not only a change in the IT world, but also a complete paradigm shift in media. There are several elements that came together as a springboard for YouTube, including advances that put high-quality video creation tools into the hands of ordinary users. Add to that the YouTuber revenue model, which turned the simple act of creation into a job and became the overarching business model for the corporation.

From where I stand, the most important and notable feature that sets YouTube apart from traditional media is the main feed and the stream of recommended content. In contrast with legacy media, such as television networks that only offered users a choice between channels, YouTube has a unique layout that suggests algorithmically selected content below the video that’s being played. This makes the video-sharing platform a completely different media experience because the power of programming and distribution that was once wielded by old media has been transferred to a user data-based recommendation algorithm. Content filters through several formulas before making it onto a given user’s recommended content list, making watching a video to the very end quite significant.

But if that’s the case, how have so many YouTube creators with high subscription rates become full-fledged, one-person media companies? Once, I would have guessed it was their flashy and provocative content, but I discovered that the common denominator was simpler: YouTubers are “real” people. Thinking about it, it’s so natural and human to want to keep watching someone relatable over instant laughs or quick thrills. That’s why I think YouTube has ironically brought about the most “human” form of media. And this new media experience that caters to the preferences of each subscriber is brought to us by artificial intelligence, so anyone out there who still irrationally detests AI ought to reconsider their position.

So now, to prospective YouTubers on the hunt for top-of-the-line cameras and editing tools in hopes of making big bucks: I implore you to take pause from all that and reflect for a moment. Instead, think about whether you’re living a life that’s uniquely and deeply “you,” even if in the smallest of ways, and if that “you” is truly and genuinely “real.”

Suyong Joh
Publisher