26

Perhaps it’s timely that I’m done reading Kevin Alloca’s book Videocracy. Days ago, news broke that Doge, the Internet meme, had died. YouTube, which started off as a video-streaming site, has evolved to become one of the sources for many things, including news, How-To tutorials, an extension of your science tutor and an extension of our lives. Perhaps there were other video-sharing sites like France-based Dailymotion, but it was not until YouTube arrived that allowed its users a space to express themselves in Internet video format, covering as many topics as possible. In fact, how users use YouTube can greatly impact the types of features available. In the days pre-YouTube, many of us were limited to timed slots… and that’s it. Remember the TV guide? Some of us had the privilege of subscribing to pay-TV, which at one point, had many varieties of channels and shows. Central to music video viewing experience is the MTV channel, which of course, preceded YouTube. Alloca gives us much on the history, which is an important part – to show how things evolve/remain the same. Many of us can surely speak of its benefits, in terms of how much it has changed our lives. Not only are users presented with a new way to capture video, the vocabulary has also expanded to include “Livestreaming” and “memes”, which would not have been possible without YouTube. As Alloca is its Head of Culture & Trends, it is only natural for him to give largely his viewpoint and everything bright about YouTube. However, I wish content policy got more than a brief mention. Alloca could have expanded slightly on content policy and what makes a video get taken down or censored. For the most part, the writing was solid, but I had trouble with on some occassions where the writing felt too informal.

If you ever pick up this book, be sure to have YouTube open in your Internet browser. Otherwise, the multitude of videos Alloca discusses can make you feel lost.

Even though it’s a 2018 book, you can still pick it up, especially if you like history, interview quotes, statistics and footnotes.