The "You" in YouTube

While sites like Facebook and Twitter may come to mind first when discussing social media, the video sharing site YouTube.com is an interesting case. YouTube continues to cater to a massive community of hundreds of millions of people around the world. And despite features very different from Facebook and Twitter, the site continues its explosive growth.

When YouTube was founded in February 2005, its goal was to provide online distribution for digital videos. Recognizing the potential in online video content, Google bought YouTube the following year. Since then, YouTube has been serving up billions of videos. The company estimates that every minute, 20 hours of video are uploaded to the site. WhileYouTube's popularity is undeniable, how does it qualify as social media?

YouTube's status as a social media tool is tied directly to its popularity. Any person that has the ability to capture video can post it to YouTube. Have a video of your cat diving into boxes in awkward fashion? YouTube it. Have a video of the crazy Spanish tomato-throwing festival called La Tomatina? YouTube it. Recorded a video of yourself balancing four pencils upright on your head? YouTube it.

People enjoy seeing what other people are doing across the world, and that popularity is fueled by the ability to comment on and subscribe to videos. But the site isn't limited to observations with a camera. YouTube is also a Mecca for artists, political activists, and businesses. Artists can post animations and recordings of their creative process, while activists can upload campaign and awareness videos. Businesses can even market their products and services on YouTube.

As online video becomes more popular by the month, new viral videos are spawned more frequently on the site. But there is no guarantee that any one video will become a runaway hit, because hundreds of thousands of videos flood the site daily, diluting the content.

Becoming a YouTube viewer is simple. In fact, you can view most videos that aren't tagged as "mature" without an account. But by creating a user account you get the most out of your YouTube experience.

In the top right-hand corner of the home page, you'll see a "Create Account" link. Clicking on this prompts you to choose a username and location, enter a date of birth and gender, and agree to the site's terms of service. Afterwards, you'll have the option to either link your YouTube account to an existing Google account or create a new Google account using a valid e-mail address and password.

Once you've verified your account, you'll be able to update numerous settings for your account. Move your mouse over your username in the upper right-hand corner and select the "Account" option from the drop-down menu. This opens a page with multiple account options listed in a left-hand column. Browse through the options and update the settings most important to you as a viewer. If you plan on adding favorite videos and subscribing to other user accounts, be sure to check the "Email Options" section to let YouTube know how often you want to be notified of new content. You're now set to find and watch videos that interest you.

If you're looking for something specific, enter keywords in the search box and select the "Search" button. You'll be presented with a list of videos that match your criteria. Select a video and you'll go to the video's page where it automatically begins to play.

Once you're logged in, you can use a number of features located in the bottom left-hand corner of the video window. You can rate a video by clicking the stars, add a video to your list of favorites, or share a video. You can also add a video to a playlist that you've made or create a new playlist. To the right of the video window, you should see a gold "Subscribe" button. This is useful if you find a video provider that you particularly like. If you updated your notification settings, you'll receive an email when new videos have been uploaded.