Chapter 10 "Marketing with YouTube"

No one from our generation has grown up without YouTube. It has become a significant staple in our society and a necessity to make it through the day. Whether it be to watch episodes from your favorite sitcom or to watch a music video you made in high school. YouTube has become vital for our mental and social survival. Growing up, I never really saw YouTube as a social media platform. I was more focused on how to get three stars on an Angry Bird level. Still, there were some hints along the way that suggested to me that YouTube was able to bring people together like Facebook or Twitter. However, YouTube is unique in that it primarily focuses on videos rather than picture posts. I consider myself lucky to have grown up in an age where YouTube had little to no ad activity. Nowadays, YouTube is polluted with ads. It gets tiring and annoying at times. "No, I don't want Little Ceasars or a code for Old Spice body wash", I constantly say while watching a tip on how to cook cookies the Victorian way. Luckily, I have an ad blocker. Ironically, it was from a YouTube ad. Go Figure. 

Now that I got my experience and grievances out of the way, let's talk about the chapter. Chapter 10 was interesting. As stated previously, I never really considered YouTube a social media site, let alone a way for businesses to advertise themselves. Still, as YouTube has evolved over the years since 2005, it has become very popular for companies and businesses to advertise their products or services on it. It has also been very effective to connect with influencers to promote some products. I know that some YouTubers will take a short break to talk about products they use regularly. It is very tempting to see someone you follow enjoy a product that you may find useful. However, I'm Mister Cheapscake and don't like to spend a whole lot of money on something that could be too good to be true. The chapter does a great job in explaining how to use YouTube effectively and seems to be easy in organizing. One can choose their profile picture and manipulate thumbnails. Even connecting one video to another related video or a company site for a possible purchase. 

I probably won't use YouTube in my lifetime, whether to make content or buy a product. There seem to be a lot of uncharted waters on this platform. I think rewatching my favorite videos and listening to music will take up most of my YouTube time. Still, the value of advertising and selling products on YouTube is very high. YouTube is very popular and contains some of the top influencers across social media. Though, TikTok and Instagram may be edging ahead in some regards. YouTube has fought back effectively with the introduction of Shorts and TV services. I wait to see how YouTube evolves to the changing times. I commend this chapter for explaining YouTube in a new light.