It has no production values, no nudity, and no laughs, and yet a three-minute silent video of a man opening a cardboard box has been watched online by almost half a million YouTube users. Because inside the box, swaddled in plastic and polystyrene, is a brand new Apple MacBook Air; and because it's a particularly popular example of one of the internet's oddest video sharing crazes: unboxing. Every time a much-anticipated new technology product arrives in stores — be it an iPhone, a Wii, or a Vaio — one or more of the lucky few who get their hands on it posts a video online of themselves opening the box, layer by layer, to reveal the desired product within. Whoever produces the most titillating tape can generate tens of thousands of hits from the less fortunate — anybody who can't quite afford it yet. It's a pastime enjoyed almost exclusively by men, who sit alone salivating in front of their screens as the ecstatic climax of each unboxing clip draws closer. No wonder the phenomenon's principal exponent, Andru Edwards — chief executive of the specialist, Seattle-based website unboxing.
On YouTube, Amateur Is the New Pro - The New York Times
A kid from Nebraska shows up in New York City to make it big. This kid was Bryan Odell, a year-old college dropout who lived with his parents. But central casting had nothing to do with it. As an aspiring YouTuber, he cast himself. Founded in and owned by Google since , YouTube today contains multitudes: 72 hours of video are uploaded onto the service every minute.
Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is professionally made porn which seeks to emulate the style of amateur pornography. The introduction of Polaroid cameras in allowed amateurs to self-produce pornographic photography immediately and without the need for sending them to a film processor, who might have reported them as violations of obscenity laws. These have enabled people to take private photos and then share the images almost instantly, without the need for expensive distribution, and this has resulted in an ever-growing variety and quantity of material. A more private and easy to control method of sharing photos is through Yahoo or Google Groups which have access restricted to group members.
Because the platform is relatively young, it might feel strange to think of any YouTube video as "classic. It's noisy, crowded, and vibrant, and everyone passes through it. And if you set up a shop there, you'd better be selling something good; otherwise, someone hungrier than you will take your spot. Andy Warhol said that in the future, "Everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes.