YouTube supporters fear changes for site

College sophomore Dean Tye can be seen on the Internet, engaging in a "dance-off" with street performers in New York.

Tye is one a large number of students and millions across the country who use YouTube.com, a video-sharing Web site - but its recent purchase by Google Inc. has students and experts speculating about the future of YouTube's tight-knit community.

Google purchased the site for $1.65 billion earlier this month, two years after YouTube was launched.

Tye considers himself to be a strong supporter of the service, but he says he is worried that much of what he likes about YouTube will soon disappear.

"Big companies are going to sue Google to get rid of copyrighted materials," said Tye. "I [also] fear that the basic interface will be messed around with - users might be asked to subscribe."

However, Wharton Marketing professor Peter Fader said he does not think it would be wise for companies to sue Google in an attempt to remove copyrighted work.

Companies "could file lawsuits but would be really foolish to do so," said Fader, explaining that YouTube provides instant exposure to companies.

Additionally, the community built around YouTube is likely to remain despite any potential changes, owing to the fact that the site exists for more than just social networking, Fader said.

"The best social networks are not social networks," he said. "The first social network I see is Napster. You go to YouTube for another reason, but then you stay for the conversation."

Still, students say they use the possibility of copyright issues interfering with the site is troubling.

"Over the summer, I watched a British TV show [called Sugar Rush] that got pulled down for copyright reasons," said Sarah Walsh, a sophomore at Bryn Mawr College, who added that she shared a video of the Rufus Wainwright concert at Irvine Auditorium Oct. 5.

Injong Rhee, a professor of computer science at North Carolina State University, said the continuing ability to view non-copyrighted work by other users will keep the community intact.

"Sharing unleashes new sources of content," said Rhee. "That makes it special."

Anticipating concerns, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen said in a video released on the site that keeping its close-knit feel is of upmost importance.

"We are keen on reorganizing all of our energy and efforts back into building out the community," he said.

Google's purchase of YouTube is only one part of a larger trend in which media conglomerates purchase independent Web sites. For example, Fox Interactive bought MySpace.com for $580 million last year.

And Fader says these larger companies should have no problem making the purchase worth the big bucks.

"But by putting YouTube front and center in your marketing plans, there are so many ways advertising could work," he said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.