YouTube almost needs no introduction these days. The site is as ubiquitous as many of the previous sites we discussed—Amazon, Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. Links to its videos have been passed around email accounts. In case you have lead a very sheltered existence, we will take a brief look at what YouTube does, some features, and its Web API.
In a nutshell, YouTube is a site that allows users to share homemade videos with the public via the Internet. Users upload any video they wish (with much respect to copyright laws) and other users may view and comment on them. The latter has led YouTube to become a strong social networking site in addition to just sharing videos.
Some of the available features of YouTube include:
Video Tagging
YouTube relies on its user community to describe the videos in its repository. This is done by allowing users to associate descriptive words and short phrases with a particular video. This process is known as tagging. For example, if I am watching a clip...