Disney launched earlier this week (11/12/19) and reportedly had 10 million subscribers in the first 24 hours of its availability. This number is expected to continue to grow over the next few weeks. How will the streaming landscape be affected by Disney 's release? What effect will Disney have on Netflix and the upcoming HBO Max? Will Disney push these companies out of the streaming business? Will Netflix and HBO Max be forced to adopt new strategies to entice customers? The article would speculate/analyze how Disney is changing the streaming landscape and business.
The name YouTube perfectly described the platform of my youth. People making and posting content of themselves meant to be shared online. And not necessarily with the hope of going viral. What has it become now? Small YouTubers are overshadowed by corporations and businesses. Individuals who become successful now all sell merch and maybe even have exclusive content unlocked for a price with "join" button or with their Patreon. Youtube's algorithms give me dumb suggestions I don't want to watch because of all the clickbait out there. How has this happened? Is this a problem? Is it inevitable evolution of the medium?
I have to say that I agree with your complaints about YT 100%. However, to address your topic suggestion, it would be worth looking at various video sharing platforms to compare how these might turn this over commercialisation of YT to their advantage. What do platforms such as D-Tube, Bit Chute, Vimeo and even more controversial platforms such as 153news offer content creators? Also, would these 'alternate' platforms, in time, face the same problems you highlight about YT, if they gain more popularity or even grow to directly challenge the dominance of the almighty Techno-God Google? – Amyus5 years ago
I would also be clear to delineate when the shift of Old vs. New YouTube occurs, as different people may place the change at different points. I think I noticed the differences more during the "adpocalyse" occurrences where users lost as much as up to 80% of their revenue and had to find alternate means of support. – Emily Deibler5 years ago
Analyse how the wildly popular Critical Role series shows storytelling in action. How does a story so heavily dependent on improvisation remain emotionally impactful and coherent? Is there one author in the DM, or a multiplicity? How does the role of chance inherent to DnD change the narrative process?
Possibly a look at how a reader is made to engage with some texts, such as ergodic texts (https://www.articleworld.org/index.php/Ergodic_literature). Compare with how the DM's audience of players must engage with and shape the world they play in? – liamjblackley5 years ago
It started in America with Childish Gambino’s “This is America” hit. It was a controversial music video saturated with modern issues for black Americans.
However now there are two other “This is” videos coming from Nigeria and Iraq. Let’s explore the significance of these three videos. The major theme that can be gathered from Gambino’s video is the way media attention diverts is from the truth. How does this theme carry over into these other videos?
Dungeons and Dragons has been a long established franchise that has experienced noticeable rise and falls of popularity structured around changing cultural interests. With the mainstream appeal of fantasy films and "soft fantasy" programming on television there has been a slow interest arising around the old RPG paper and pen games. However, it was not until the occurrence of the show 'Critical Role' by Geek & Sundry, as streamed by Twitch, that a noticeable and traceable resurgence has occurred. The popularity of a show about watching voice actors play DnD live has lead to a release of new manuals, gaming equipment and surge of fan material. Is this the start of the mainstreaming of DnD?
This would make a great article. It might also be good to talk about Felicia Day and her contributions to geek culture; both before and after the creation of geek and sundry. Also the show Community lured a few people into the game. – AGMacdonald7 years ago
I've heard multiple sides to this. On the one hand, a fun hobby is regaining popularity. On the other hand, Critical Role and shows like it (Acquisitions Incorporated, for example) may give people the wrong idea, because not all games have a Game Master as skilled as Matthew Mercer, let alone a cast of that caliber (they're professional voice actors who have been doing this together for years). So a possible question is, should shows like Critical Role be the motivator for the mainstream resurgence of DnD? – noahspud7 years ago
I am interested in how you might prove Critical Role as the source of this resurgence, as I think you might need to look at cultural trends that come before the first episode of critical role even airs. The 2011 new york-times best seller Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and, even, the wild success of Felicia Day's own "The Guild," seems to be a strong indication that this resurgence touches on a significantly wider interest in the production of the fantasy world.
Rather than asking is DnD now mainstream, I think I am more inerested in why is DnD mainstream: why are we once again interested in the creating the fantasy world? What about the world we live in now encourages us to be interested in this kind of table top gaming? – Dethlefs7 years ago
It is interesting how nowadays technology has revolutionized the way children play. Children are engaging – more and more, day by day- in watching other children play on Youtube videos rather than playing with their own toys. Is it considerable that by doing this children become less social, do not excel well with hands-on learning, lack of imagination, develop motor skills slower than children who play with their own toys or play games non involving technology?
I think context is important - for example, people say the same thing about video games, but it was one of the only was I was social as a child. Looking at the reasons why a child might be spending a lot of time watching videos or how they interact with them would be important to note. – LoganG6 years ago
This is an interesting topic that ties in to larger conversations about the effect of an increase in voyeurism that has appeared through the proliferation of the internet and social media. On the surface, it doesn't seem too much different than a super keen football fan that never misses a game all season. However, this phenomenon seems particular to a younger demographic. I doubt there is much research that has examined this question, but perhaps there is some information on the psychological effects of compulsive reality TV or sports watching that could translate. On the surface, the answer to your question seems to intuitively be "yes" - but there may be other skills that they are developing through the act of watching and being involved in that community which may well be valued at some point in the future. Either way, a fascinating topic to explore that has links to all sorts of larger societal questions (so much so that it might almost need to be scoped down more!). – petethicke6 years ago
Video production is a true full-time activity. Personally, I find that work as a youtuber is important because youtubers allow people to see the world from another angle, to reflect on topics and question themselves. However, a youtuber doesn't always get a decent salary out of his or her freelance job. Does it mean they're not working? How is this job different from being a actor, a writer or a painter?
I wonder if anyone could get any YouTubers to interview for this? Either ones who have given up traditional work, or any YouTubers just starting out. You can look at how far some of the YouTubers are willing to go in order to make that salary. – CatEllen6 years ago
Great, interesting topic! There are a number of philosophical questions behind your topic: What is a "real job"? What is meaningful "work"? What roles do various factors -- you make reference to salary and to social value, for example -- play in determining whether or not we see something as a "real job"? etc. – JamesBKelley6 years ago
A relevant topic to explore! Plenty of YouTubers usually have to accumulate a certain number of subscribers before they actually start getting paid. So maybe you could look into that process and search up some famous YouTubers and check out any videos they have created describing how they became successful on YouTube? You could also start by comparing and contrasting the differences between being an actor, writer or a painter and how these jobs are similar or different from being a YouTuber? – chloet26 years ago
Could explore the difference between what people might see as a job or as a paid hobby. What are the objective definitions of 'job' and 'hobby'? It is subjective? Maybe some youtubers see it as a career where others see it as a pastime. It is necessary for someone to be paid to be working? I don't think so, but you could discuss it. How does money-making relate to making something a job? What different kinds of youtubers are there? (Yoga instructors, makeup artists, etc) What is the distinction between being a youtuber and using youtube as a platform for your career? – Carinci956 years ago
With social media being readily accessible in today's age, it can be hard to stand out and have original ideas. Getting noticed is also getting more difficult, and creating consistent content can prove to be problematic.
I think this is a good conversation to have, but I would also suggest drawing in the framework of what has made successful youtube channels. – SaraiMW6 years ago
Hank Green, one of the forefathers of Modern YouTube, has admitted that he has no idea how to start a YouTube channel without going back to 2007-08, when the site was first picking up traction. This is one of my favorite things about the Internet in general: no one actually knows what they're doing. The popular people on YouTube hardly ever expected to become as popular as they did, except for the ones who were famous for something before starting a YouTube channel. There is no formula for success. But most of them have some form of advice; check out the vloggers' Q&A's, for starters.
Best of luck to whoever takes on this article. – noahspud6 years ago
I think part of what makes this job fascinating is the freedom it gives you to be yourself and express your ideas. Because everyone is different and has his own experiences, each YouTube channel will have its own identity and its own audience. Some youtubers, I think here of SolangeTeParle, also chose to incarnate a fictive caracter and make a channel about him or her which gives room for so much imagination and creativity. – yara6 years ago
