Monday, April 3, 2006
NYT stereotypes YouTube
The NY Times has published a really lazy article on YouTube. The author, Virginia Heffernan, depends on stereotypes and the "most viewed" videos report on YouTube to craft this piece in the site's "Critics Notebook."
"Skinny guys with moppy hair in modest houses have officially staked their claim to the latest medium for short, loud adolescent messages: YouTube."
"It turns out that most of the videos that get millions of looks are humorous posturings by kids who in other places and at other times might be collecting near-mint X-Men comics, or practicing Metallica licks."
The rest of the piece is spent simply describing each of the top videos. There is no mention of how YouTube fits into the larger web landscape (it is now bigger than the NYT website in terms of traffic). It is just a Beavis-and-Butthead-inspired caricature of a segment of YouTube's audience.
The NY Times has published a really lazy article on YouTube. The author, Virginia Heffernan, depends on stereotypes and the "most viewed" videos report on YouTube to craft this piece in the site's "Critics Notebook."
"Skinny guys with moppy hair in modest houses have officially staked their claim to the latest medium for short, loud adolescent messages: YouTube."
"It turns out that most of the videos that get millions of looks are humorous posturings by kids who in other places and at other times might be collecting near-mint X-Men comics, or practicing Metallica licks."
The rest of the piece is spent simply describing each of the top videos. There is no mention of how YouTube fits into the larger web landscape (it is now bigger than the NYT website in terms of traffic). It is just a Beavis-and-Butthead-inspired caricature of a segment of YouTube's audience.
¶ 7:26 AM 
About Shawn Morton
Married father of 4, social media strategist at Nationwide, consumer electronics enthusiast, hair metal aficionado.
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