YouTube Guide

There are many video sharing sites on the Internet, but without a doubt YouTube is by far the most renown and the most popular. In fact, YouTube's blog reported that 20 hours of video was being uploaded every minute as of May, 2009. These videos include amateur content such as home movies, video blogs and comedy sketches. It also includes full-length TV shows, films, music videos and sports clips from established media companies.

The best part is, all of the content can be accessed by anyone for free. Go to the YouTube homepage to begin, as seen below. There are three main sections displaying videos being watched now, featured videos and those videos with the most views in different categories. Simply click on a video that seems interesting to watch it. You may also enter keywords or phrases into the search box at the top of the page if you are looking for something in particular. Another option is to click on the "Videos" tab at the top of the page. This will bring you to a new page with a range of selected videos and a menu on the left of the page from which you can choose from different categories of videos, including comedy, news, sports and travel.

There is also a tab at the top of the homepage called "Channels". When a person uploads videos to the site they create an account with a unique name. These accounts are called "Channels" by YouTube. Once clicking on the "Channels" tab, you are presented with the most viewed channels. At the top of these videos in the middle of the page you can also click on "Most Subscribed" to see which channels currently have the most people subscribed to it. The menu on the left of the page can also be used to select different categories of channels.

Perhaps the most popular Australian uploading videos to the site is Sydneysider Natalie Tran with her channel called "communitychannel". You can check out Natalie's channel here. A selected video from her channel is also below.

You can leave comments for each video that you watch, and you can also rate it out of five stars. Be warned, YouTube does not censor comments that are left on the site, so you may come across abusive and offensive language at times. You need to become a member of YouTube if you would like to leave comments and rate the videos that you watch. You may also subscribe to your favourite channels once you become a member.

The biggest advantage of becoming a member of YouTube though is that you can upload and share videos for free. Whether you would like to share your overseas holidays with family and friends, show everyone that hilarious home video you have stashed away somewhere or share your expertise by creating a series of educational videos, YouTube provides the perfect platform. To get started, click on the "Upload" button located in the top right of most YouTube pages and you can upload a saved video file or start recording a video from a webcam. YouTube even offers to split advertising income with those who attract enough viewers and subscribers to their channels. More about their partnership program can be found here.

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Questions? Comments?

Are you a member of YouTube? Would you like to be, but have some questions first? Want to talk about the good and the bad about YouTube? Would you like to share your favourite videos on YouTube?

Join the community discussing YouTube on our forum here.

YouTube Guide

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