YouTube is a video-sharing service that let users upload files to YouTube servers. The service started in 2005 and quickly become very popular. Unquestionable success of YouTube is an outcome of many factors but the most important is probably the fact that it gave users opportunity for expression through video.

From this perspective almost everyone can become famous and earn the respect of other users sharing the interest in particular topic. Hence, it could be argued that YouTube helped people to create a kind of social network that engage users to share not only videos but also their personal opinions and views.  Currently, marketers have identified the potential of the YouTube service and use it as an effective and contemporary Public Relation tool. By placing videos on YouTube companies hope to enhance its public awareness and build or improve its positive image. 

For instance, Hearst, the owner of Seventeen, Marie Claire and Good Housekeeping magazines set up in 20^th February 2008 the partnership with YouTube. Hearst Magazines has decided to begin publishing video content on YouTube in order to target younger audience. According to Rebecca (http://rrittenour.prblogs.org) “Hearst’s take on the increasingly-popular YouTube campaign is unique.Instead of using corporate videos and hoping their magazine readers will view them, the company is actually requesting that people send in their own videos about magazine-approved topics.  By doing this, Hearst not only involves its consumers, but actually makes them the stars of the show (or in this case, video). To help motivate people to send in videos, a vital part to the campaign’s success, Hearst’s magazines are offering prize incentives”.  

However, being critical the freedom of broadcasting almost everething at Youtube bring the real risks of loosing good publicity. Probaly one of the recent and the most dramatic examples of  the dark side of Youtube is a Britney Spears’”uncensored version” of  Gimmy More video made by “fun”. Britney is not my favourite singer…but this video is simply cruel.