Do you consider Youtube as a social networking site?

[wasi90lk]

Youtube is primarily a video sharing site. But over the years, it has turned into a social networking site like Facebook.

Do you think Youtube is a social networking site?

 

[Nymph]

If you think about it, any platform that possesses the function of sharing, rating, or reviewing content coupled with a medium to chat or "create a network" among different users with a profile through a comment system can be viewed as a social network. This is because I think it is the criteria that all existing social networks have. For instance, technically, Blogger is a social network since it fits that criteria.

I suppose a site like this would have to outright call itself a "social network" to be viewed as one. When it comes to Youtube, its primary function is having its users create and share videos. In that regard, it's just a "different type" of social network.

 

[Viktori]

I agree it has become a social networking site. I think it has always been one, though. It's just that they mostly communicated with videos back then when the commenting section wasn't as polished as it is now. I think that ever since they started indicating and promoting video responses, that it was the point that they crossed over into social territories.

 

[jamesmajin]

Yes, I think it is a Social Network. You can share videos, create a profile for yourself and interact with other users. It is a network of videos and video watchers so yes, i think it is.

 

[mikong]

We cannot deny the fact that Youtube has become one of the most sought after sites in the world wide web. It has become an avenue for advertisers as well as students who simply want to make their jobs easier wherein powerpoint slides of their sought after topics were provided. More than that, it has transformed itself by giving chances to people to be recognized. This transformation allowed others to become socially active, enough to say that Youtube has indeed become a site to bring people closer regardless of the distance and race, it is an avenue that we can all participate and simply be humans.

 

[ozadin]

I consider it a social networking site. There's a comments section which you can interact with your fans, and viewers, there's a description box where you can advertise just about anything, whether it's your blog, website, or fan page on Twitter or Facebook, they allow it.

 

[alpac]

YouTube has slowly turned into a social networking site. It is a good platform to promote your blog or site. If you can find a highly watched video that is related to your site, then you can ask the owner to allow you to put a link in the description (provided there is none currently) for a fee.

 

[TheDerpMan]

Youtube is turning into a social networking site due to Google pushing for Google+ integration through small things such as using your real name for profiles. Although it will take a while, Youtube may one day be considered a social network. The comments section is almost entirely community run. Comments which contribute to the discussion are voted up and others that are spam are flagged for spam by the users.

 

[davidj212]

I agree that it is a social media website. I get on Youtube every single day of the week, and I'm always subscribing to new channels. Every time a subscribe to a channel, I can chat with the owner of the channel, and when we chat about their videos and other things that go on, we kind of create a friendship through that. I also have a few friends with Youtube channels, and we prefer chatting through our channels rather than chatting on Facebook or text messaging. So I definetly think that Youtube is a social media site, and it's the best one in my opinion.

 

[Sidewinder6661]

I definitely think YouTube has become a social networking website. Not only with comments and channel subscriptions, but now there are also interests that you can subscribe to for more video suggestions. I noticed recently that there's a "social" tab, too ,which tells you what your friends have liked and shared through Google+. I don't think it will become as popular as sites like Facebook and Twitter for the social side of it, since most people just go there to watch videos, but it's definitely taking steps to become more interactive and social.

 

[caparica007]

Yes it is a social networking site. I know a few people that prefer to be on youtube commenting each others videos than on Facebook. A site like youtube must generate millions, and the more users they have commenting, clicking and viewing the better for them.

Independently from their primary function I believe many sites will evolve in this way.

 

[Yorozuya]

I'd rather consider youtube as a search engine for videos Just think about it, you can rank your vids for certain keywords on youtube's internal search, you can get backlinks from other videos (video responses), not to mention social media shares and embeds. YT is a great way to drive some free traffic to your site, and I think every marketer should be using it. I don't really consider it to be a social networking site, but it definitely has some features that allow their members to socialize.

 

[Chynamp]

I don't think it started that way, but I think YouTube has turned into a social networking site. It allows people to interact through commenting, subscribing to channels, and liking videos. I know people who spend hours on YouTube a day just like others spend hours on Facebook. It is also a great way to advertise online. I definitely feel like YouTube can be considered a social networking site.

 

[cefmac]

I wouldn't consider it a social networking site as the emphasis is on the sharing and creation of content, rather than on networking directly with other people. I would consider it social media though. I think there's a distinction.

 

[RomanAnthonysMama]

I would definitely consider YouTube a social network since you can still add friends (or "subscribe" I should say), and you can also comment and share statuses I'm pretty sure. I would say it's just like any other social network, only you can add video. It's kind of like Instagram being classified as a social network, only it's solely videos instead of images. I guess social networks have been redefined lately!

 

[donaldplozha]

It is social but not a real social network. It is more of a video sharing website, but with a socializing part included (likes, comments).

 

[Cammie27]

I think it has a social element, but I don't think it quite rises to the level of social networking. It is still primarily about sharing content, not interacting with other users. It would be interesting to know what the balance is in actual user traffic, though. How many people use it for subscribing, commenting, and otherwise connecting to other users, and how many use it simply as a video "search engine" or file sharing site?

 

[sardonicone]

OH most certainly - it started out as basically a close knit group group of people networking and sharing video blogs
and just exploded from there. There is a lot of commercialization and marketing there, but it definitely still is about
social networking as much as it is about self promotion.

 

[Nixon Marcion]

YouTube is definitely a social networking site. Just the fact that its so interactive and people have the ability to share and like the videos as well just makes it social. By the way people comment on the video post and even build relationships there as well. The only thing i haven't seen yet is a YouTube chat, which I won't be surprise if it exist or if they create it. People are on you tube daily and businesses are now seeing YouTube as an ideal place to connect to people, therefore it is a social networking site.

 

[yellena]

Everybody seems to agree upon the fact that Youtube has become (or always was) a social network but when I think of that site the first thing that comes to (my) mind is never that social aspect of the whole concept. Yes I use it a lot, just like everybody else, but I'm not so active on it. I go in, check out what I want and get out. It's not the same as Facebook or Twitter for me.