Web 2.0 is all about sharing, and the role that Youtube dot com played in increasing communication between people has been invaluable. We all know that videos consume a lot of bandwidth and computer resources, but a service like youtube made viewing videos online easy, fun and effortless. It also inspired people to be creative. Have something to share to the world, take your cam phone and create a 2 minute video; upload it to youtube and tag it in such a way that people will find it.

I have seen Youtube.com evolve from being a video depot to a video sharing site, and I am not at all surprised at the transition was encouraged by the millions of youtube users who continue to make friends with other video enthusiasts. This service has definitely improved the way people interact online. Instead of just photos, people have been taping their daily endeavors and sharing these with people.

Accessibility is the main thing that made youtube popular, and I think the no-porn rule helped a lot. Reporting porn is very easy, and more often than not, Youtube management will listen to users’ views of what is unacceptable and lewd. Our families and friends watch youtube, and I don’t think there’s an easier way to show people videos and discuss them together. If we wanted to tell our friends about a particular clip that we made, we can just invite them over to the page by sending them the link. Putting the video up in  youtube is easier than mailing the big video file to a person.

It has also become a repository for online tutorials. Demonstrating how well you know your blog topic through a video or talking about an interest and showing how it should be done increases credibility. There are many marketers who have used the service to increase their audience size. People who would ever have known about them see their videos, comment and subscribe. Building friendships is also easy, and there are certain advantages to “friending” other people. People can limit access to their videos to their community. The best way to help people find your videos is to tag them well. Appropriate tagging, putting in relevant titles, and descriptions are skills that every “Youtuber” should know.

There us no doubt that video sharing helps bloggers and web entrepreneurs create new connections and develop networks. A video is very personal and sharing a part of yourself and your knowledge with others becomes an experience that they don’t easily forget. You can use your youtube profile to boost company sales, promote products and even services. The potential for collaboration is limitless. People who were not friends with each other in the past collaborate and create videos together.  Some even claim to have found long lost friends through communities in youtube. It’s like facebook, but a more creative and fun.