YouTube

Above is the video that Mitchell and I showed in class. It doesn't really cover any of the down-sides of YouTube, however. The cons that we discussed in class were that it promotes bullying through the mob mentality (see Rebecca Black), and also that it creates and outsider vs insider community when not everyone has access to the same videos.

I would add that the clip that got the biggest laugh in class was the bicyclist who ran head-first into a traffic sign. I find the social implications of this type of humor disturbing. It says something about humanity's violent nature and lack of empathy that people getting injured is such a commonly popular form of comedy. This isn't new to YouTube, it's been around since the Tree Stooges and before, but I don't think it's good for us as a community.

 P.S. Yesterday was the seventh anniversary of YouTube's first video. Happy Birthday YouTube!