"LIFE ETC."

In the Age of Cyber-Revolutions

After three articles on our transportation system and examinations, I'll enjoy a chance to look outside campus again on Life etc.

When we remember the news of past few weeks, a large amount catches our attention: 1.6 billion U.S. dollars. It is the amount paid by Google to the creators of Youtube to acquire the website. After the agreement, Google became the new owner of this new Internet phenomenon and added this new conquest to its empire which already includes Google Search, Gmail and Google Earth.

"Another clever website" is not a sufficient definition for Youtube. Essentially, Youtube is the latest cyber-revolution. We've seen many other cyber-revolutions in the past. Linux was created as the first serious open-source operating system in the 80s. The MP3 file format was invented at the beginning of the 90s and changed our way of listening to music forever. E-Bay, in 1995, created a new approach to cyber-economy. One year later, the first version of ICQ was released and it dominated online conversations until MSN, Yahoo and AOL Messengers challenged it. Google was incorporated in 1998 and became a cyber-empire in a few years. Napster (1999) took advantage of the MP3 file format, and became the first widely used peer-to-peer file-sharing program. Nothing has ever been the same with regard to copyrights since. Wikipedia (2001), the most serious free content encyclopedia on the Net, and Keyhole (2004), which was acquired by Google and renamed "Google Earth" a year later, can be added to the list of cyber-revolutions.

Even a simple examination of this list will show cyber-revolutions have changed our way of using the Internet and our social relationships forever. The only thing I need to do to prove Youtube's impact is to remind you of Turkish high school administrations' attempt to ban cell-phones during school time. Because, the videos captured via cell phones showing the miserable situation of the institution or the officer, can easily be broadcasted on Youtube and abase any institution.

Like any other revolution Youtube has both positive and negative aspects. The site increases the communicative capability of the Internet on the visual axis, gives amateur directors and actors/actresses a chance to prove themselves to the global audience and increases the transparency of state institutions.

But at the same time, it unfortunately contributes to the huge hole in the "ozone layer of our personal space." Any member of Youtube can record someone and broadcast the video on the website, which means (though the rules of the site do not allow pornographic use) there can be many ways to humiliate someone via a simple camera and putting a video on Youtube until that person discovers the video.

Consequences of the Youtube revolution, without a doubt, will have many social effects. It will lessen the already shrinking trust between people. Usage of cameras and cell-phones will face further limitations but, practically speaking, these limitations will fail to prevent negative impacts. And public exposure will gain more disciples in the near future.

Whatever the consequences of Youtube will be, it's obvious that it won't be the last cyber-revolution in contemporary history. It can be claimed that the Internet is creating its own commercial giants (Yahoo, E-Bay and Google) with no direct relations to "solid production," and that the more money that is accumulated within this industry, the sooner we'll face the impacts of the Internet on our lives. Are you ready to watch?