A few years back, YouTube took the online world by storm by offering a unique video sharing service that was previously unheard of. It did not take very long for YouTube to become a culture in itself, much like the social networking sites that mushroomed all around it. And yet the novelty of watching videos online, on demand stayed the USP of YouTube. Another trend started by YouTube was video blogging, which simply put is me sitting in front of a camera, saying what I write down…and uploading it on YouTube for the world to see.
On May 7, 2008(or as YouTube says, 07:05/2008)YouTube launched its local Indian site, www.youtube.co.in to cater to its Indian audience. The site promises to deliver local features such as promoted videos, featured videos, homepage promotions, localized user interface & help center to its visitors. Also, content uploaded by users in India will be shown up in “top favourites” & “recommended content’ on the local YouTube site.
One thing that really sounded music to my years was the NPTEL. This is an initiative taken by the IITs and HRD Ministry, Govt. of India to enhance the quality of technical education imparted. With the large number of engineering colleges mushrooming in India, students at times do not get the best staff to teach them the tougher subjects.
This programme has created web & video based supplements for a large number of engg courses to help teachers and students prepare better in their own fields. The video course lectures are freely available via the websites http://nptel.iitm.ac.in & http://youtube.com/iit
The question now is, will the poor internet infrastructure in India hamper YouTube’s growth plans? Or do they have any plans to overcome this challenge? I put this question to Sakina Arsiwala, International Manager of YouTube, who was present to launch the site and had a one to one with select bloggers(including yours truly). Her reply was quite candid
We are aware that internet speeds in India are slow. But we have seen increased traffic from India in the past year, and the traffic just keeps growing exponentially. We also know that users in India are not able to view our videos seamlessly. If need be, we may look at improving our streaming technology, or adding more local mirrors to improve our users’ experience.
I certainly hope that internet speeds in India improve soon, and faster internet is available to a broader user base sooner. More so, since more students in far away places get access to e-learning programmes like the one being prepared by NPTEL.
YouTube India was announced yesterday, but it has a long journey ahead of it. I wish YouTube.co.in all the best for its journey ahead in India, and may it benefit a lot of people on its way along.