Is YouTube Really A Web 2.0 Site?

As if social networking sites weren’t over-populated enough (hint of sarcasm) in the webosphere, TechCrunch just posted an insightful piece on the lesser-known, but deep-pocketed Web 2.0 sites that are worth noting. Among those profiled, the Palo Alto-based Ning, which visually reads a lot like Vox, but with a less hipster targeted demographic and helps members with guided instruction make their way through the sinuous road of social networking, and New York City’s KickApps, which plays for the more seasoned web guru i.e. developer and supplies users with applications to build communities/networking platforms on their own sites. Absent from the list was Spock, a cleverly named social networking site, which Irina Slutsky of PodTech invited me to see the other day. The site’s design was sleek, but when it came down to it, I wasn’t engaged enough to bother registering for the site. It could be that it was late at night and I was tired or simply that I pondered too long on whether or not it would become another Facebook- a site that I marginally interact with every few weeks when I get an email from an acquaintance who choses to correspond with me via Facebook rather than email.

I can’t tell if I’ve outgrown the typical dime store variety of social networking sites or I’ve simply matured as I’ve gotten older and now seek out more practical sites, like LinkedIn (for professional contacts) or MyBlogLog (to promote my own blog). Perhaps Facebook plays to more of a single crowd. Those I’ve spoken with that use it religiously are single, but this might also be a factor of age (as most of them are also younger), vocation, geography, peer pressure, etc. I do think that the most successful social networking sites are ones which carve out a niche for themselves, like MySpace. MySpace used to be the premiere site on the internet to find any current musician’s music and additionally allow fans to contact their favorite musicians via email directly on MySpace without going thru management or a publicist. In short, it erased the middle man and this level of direct contact was very appealing.

Up until about a year ago, when I wanted to listen to an up-and-coming musician, I could find them anywhere on MySpace. Most likely, I can still find them there. Now, however, when I want to listen to a new track, I find myself veering towards YouTube. Youtube is inarguably one of the most highly trafficked sites, but one of the only Web 2.0 sites (aside from Craigslist) that doesn’t seem to place a HUGE emphasis on its social networking components. You can join groups and communities on YouTube and this will bring traffic and exposure to your videos and the sites you upload them onto, but the level of interactivity between groups and communities is limited and doesn’t create any value-add. YouTube holds contests, which also help drive traffic, but again the connection to community isn’t linear. Even the big, fat tab that says “Community” on the site’s navigation bar, almost feels decorative, like a big Web 2.0 seal/proof of existence.