Online video communities have evolved to a point, where people no longer have a problem finding a video sharing site to browse. Today, people have a problem of choosing which one of the video sites they want to browse through. All of the videos in the internet made it online by human hands. Users upload videos to different sites, hence, increasing the popularity, and database of that site. But what pushes a user towards uploading videos rather then simply enjoying watching their content? The truth is, there are many rewards for uploading videos. The most obvious one is the fact that after uploading a few videos, a user makes his way into and becomes part of the community. After all, video uploads are the biggest contributions to a video community. Once a part of that community, users can climb the virtual ranks and become famous within that video sharing site.
In the internet world of fast spreading multimedia, video files have become the ice breakers in conversations. Video comments have become a main tool for conversation between users. Therefore, by uploading a video, not only do you provide entertainment time for others, you also open the door to a conversation between people who have never met each other, yet, they find common grounds within the video content provided. Sites like www.YouTube.com focus primarily on video content, that leaves the aspect of community unattended, uninvolved. Sites like www.Myspace.com focus mainly on conversations and interactions among users. Yet that leaves out the function of a video community. The medium between the two would be sites like www.Clipta.com which prides itself in being called an online video community vs. video sharing site. Clipta’s users are given profiles that can be edited in more detail, messaging system that goes beyond forum chat, and rating/comments system which focuses on user interaction.
Even despite all the benefits, the fact that contributing to a community you can call your own, is a pleasurable experience, cannot be denied. Many users do not care for their own rank or how known they are, yet even one friendly comment can make the time spend uploading worth a smile. In the end, although users rely on video communities for entertainment, those same communities exist because of the users contributions.
