YouTube is an American video-sharing website based in California. It was founded by three former PayPal employees – Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in February 2005 and is now run by it’s parent organisation Google. It has since evolved from being just a website to more of a streaming service, available on all types of devices from Televisions to mobile phones. It has progressed so much that in certain age groups viewing figures have overtaken television; 67% of 13-24 year olds watch YouTube rather than satellite TV.
The main feature of YouTube is watching videos. But you can also subscribe to channels so that when they upload a new video it will show up in your subscriptions feed. Think of it like a TV guide but just showing the channels and videos you are interested in. You can also create playlists of your favourite videos, add them to a watch later playlist ready to watch when you get home from work. Channels can also publish live videos so you can watch things like sporting events as they happen. The rise of smart connected TV’s also means you can now stream YouTube videos to your TV so it’s like watching any normal TV channel. The more you use YouTube the better it gets to know you, so after time the majority of suggested videos that come up are actually things you would like to watch. It uses a very clever algorithm to do this.
The feature to create a YouTube channel is free to anyone who has an account. So you can have your very own channel and upload videos to it. However, actually getting views on those videos and earning money from it is a whole different ball game. Depending on certain criteria you can monetise and place adverts on your videos, in turn making money from it. The number of independent people starting up their own channels has risen sharply in recent years, spawning the phrase ‘YouTuber’. Its official definition being “Someone who uploads YouTube videos, particularly someone who has some what of a fan base”. The beauty of it is that anyone can create a channel, but if you want to reach the dizzy heights of fame like some of the channels below, it requires a lot of hard work and determination.
Here’s our pick of some of the best YouTube channels out there.
Automotive
Our top automotive YouTube channels are – SOL (Supercars of London), Mr JWW, Seen Through Glass, Shmee150, Hoonigan and Petrolicious. Check out some of their videos below.
Technology
These are our pick of the top technology review channels – Techradar, Marques Brownlee and Android Authority.
Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle
Now this is a subject we are not too familiar with 😉 but we have been told that these are some of the top fashion, beauty and lifestyle channels on YouTube – Zoella, Chiselle Lim and Ingrid Nilsen.
Sport
These are our favourite channels for catching up on sports – Formula 1, Sky Sports Football, ICC Cricket, PGA Tour Golf, BTCC and FIA World Rallycross Championship.
Other
Another of our favourites is the Slow mo guys, who film things in slow motion. The results are fantastic with high quality videos and detail.
Thanks for reading our latest blog post. If there are any YouTube channels that you like but we have missed we would love to hear from you in the comments section below.
