This is a particularly great article for a number of reasons; however, those reasons will be discussed after a brief discussion of its contents. This piece, by regular contributor Bob Garfield, gives an overview of the purpose of YouTube and what it is, video advertising (in all its forms), and the recent purchase of YouTube by Google, inc.

It talks about, among various other things, the 1.65 billion paid for it in Google stock, the outrageous number of 65,000 (which is the number of videos uploaded everyday onto YouTube), and the reasoning why YouTube has such popular viral videos. The last statement was proved in the article by this quote:

“It’s said that if you put a million monkeys at a million typewriters, eventually you will get the works of William Shakespeare. When you put together a million humans, a million camcorders, and a million computers, what you get is YouTube.”

This article would be superb to cite in a piece on YouTube, like I previously stated, numerous reasons. For starters, the article gives and overview of YouTube for those not formerly acquainted with the site. This is a great article, since it explains to reader how the entire process works. It would also shed some light on the culture of the site and the community that worships it. The article at about halfway through switches gears and begins to talk about the ramifications that YouTube is having in the Advertising industry, the recent decline of mass advertising, and the fall of TV Commercials. This would fit into an essay well because I believe it will certainly add depth to my explanation of the new culture that is arising in our society, the new digital culture, one of Tivo, viral video, and iTunes. All together, this article would be indispensable for any essay on remix culture. It’s a great read, that’s chalk full of good information, quotes, and anecdotes that would definitely spice up any essay about YouTube or other remix sites.

The main purpose of this article would be to introduce the concept of the “mashup” to the reader. Written as a somewhat filler piece for the March 6^th’s Newsweek, it’s short, sweet, and to the point. The author intends to write to a slightly older audience, and begins his article with this sentence: “Unless you're a geek, obsessed with DJs or under the age of 35, chances are you've never heard the word ‘mashup.’” This shows that the piece is actually perfect for my aforementioned plan of introducing the concept of “mashups” to anyone not acquainted. A great part of this article is that it actually breaks “mashups” into the three categories that it can be created within: Video, music, and “web apps.” Although the third category of “web apps” is great, (and a big, meaningful part of the internet and the Web 2.0 movement) I don’t believe that it would have much use in an essay about more artistic “mashups” and the new electronic remix culture.

    In any case, like previously stated, the article gives great examples of creative “mashups” such as DJ Dangermouse’s "The Grey Album," which took the lyrics from Jay-Z's "The Black Album" and mashed them with the Beatles' "White Album,” a plethora of Brokeback Mountain parodies (which are well within the bounds of fair use), and a “mashup” of Tom Cruise's appearance on "Oprah" where he confessed his love for Katie Holmes, juxtaposed against Oprah’s with her scolding of the author James Frey. As far as articles on internet sensations go, with many examples, and a sufficient definition, this piece is some of the best information an individual can find on the ever changing pop culture craze that is the “mashup.”