Video sharing site YouTube has revealed it has passed the one billion monthly user milestone, with the Google owned service making the announcement via an official blog posting.
One of the world’s most visited websites, YouTube has confirmed that the latest milestone means almost half of all internet users now access the video sharing service on a monthly basis, a staggering figure that, in terms of sheer numbers, would see the YouTube community create a population to become the world’s third largest country, behind just China and India.
“Today we’re announcing a new milestone,” an official YouTube spokesperson declared via the company’s official blog. “YouTube now has more than a billion unique users every single month.”
The company added: “In the last eight years you’ve come to YouTube to watch, share and fall in love with videos from all over the world. Tens of thousands of partners have created channels that have found and built businesses for passionate, engaged audiences.”
Suggesting that a rapid rise in emerging technologies has helped push the company to one billion monthly users, YouTube has claimed that the increase in smartphone activity has helped spur the latest milestone achievements.
“The way people consume content is changing,” the company said. “For the first time, an entire generation has grown up watching content on their own terms. This generation is defined by the Internet, mobile, and social – consuming content when and where they want.
“Nielsen calls this group Generation C because they are not just defined by their age group, but by their connected behaviour.”
They added: “Gen C tunes in to YouTube throughout every part of their day. YouTube usage by Gen C on smartphones mirrors usage on PCs and peaks during prime time hours.
“Gen C watches YouTube on their smartphones as a complementary activity to their lives. For example, 41 per cent tune in to YouTube on their smartphone while waiting for something/someone, 18 per cent while commuting from work or school, and 15 per cent tune in while commercials are running on TV.
“On smartphones, most of Gen C engage with YouTube as a destination by actively searching for videos on YouTube (47 per cent). Viewers are also discovering videos socially – 9 per cent of respondents said they watched a video on their smartphone because it was shared by friends in an email, while 18 per cent watched a video because it was shared on a social network.”
More than a simple big figure achievement, YouTube has suggested that it is already reaping the benefits from the latest milestones. “Advertisers have taken notice,” the company stated. “All of the Ad Age Top 100 brands are now running campaigns on YouTube.”
Launched in 2005 before being bought out by Google a year later, YouTube had achieved a 30 million strong user base in its opening 12 months.
“From the aspiring filmmaker in his basement and the next great pop musician, to the fans all around the world who tune in, subscribe and share their favourite videos with the planet, thank you for making YouTube what it is today. You have truly created something special.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
