23/11/2016 Tech Time – YOUTUBE
YouTube is undoubtedly HUGE – it is the 2nd most visited website in the world (behind Google) and the 2nd largest social platform (behind Facebook). Today’s teens are even watching more YouTube than cable television!
Over the next 2 minutes we’re going to provide a quick overview of this online juggernaut’s global success and look at how the platform is expanding into emerging markets.
Since its launch in 2002 YouTube has been the home of the internet’s most famous viral videos, from “Charlie bit my finger” to “Gangnam Style”, and has survived where other platforms have perished (MySpace, AOL, etc). This longevity is due to its ability to adapt and flexibly take content to the user.
And today this domination is truly global:
- Over 1 billion users worldwide who watch hundreds of millions of hours of videos daily
- Used in 88 countries and supports 76 different languages, covering 95% of the planet’s internet-using population.
YouTube’s continual success is due to its aggressive attitude towards ensuring that anyone anywhere in the world can watch a YouTube video on any device, no matter the connection speed.
In September YouTube delivered on this promise by announcing its newest product, YouTube Go. This app is targeted at consumers in emerging markets like India, where the 1.3 billion population is becoming increasingly connected. Since 2003 India’s internet penetration has more than doubled from 15% to 34%, but internet connectivity is still highly limited in much of the country. 
YouTube Go is building on 4 core concept
- Relatable – unique and personable to each individual user
- Offline first – built to work with minimal to no-internet connection
- Cost-effective – minimizing expensive data usage fees in emerging markets
- Social – allowing users to connect with the greater YouTube community
If the accessibility of YouTube Go is a hit in emerging markets, then it could tap into an audience of hundreds of millions of new internet users who are hungry to make the most of their connectivity.
In the coming weeks we will look further into YouTube, focusing on the power of influencers.