Mobility and Language Form Future of YouTube

Even though YouTube co-founder Steve Chen was born in Taiwan, the enormous video sharing website is currently not available in his native language. Ironic, huh?

Well, that may soon change.

Currently, half of YouTube's users reside outside the United States. Therefore, YouTube is reportedly considering the development of alternate versions of the site in different languages. A Mandarin site for Taiwan is reportedly first on the agenda, presumably because of Chen's ties to the island and the language's massive growth.

According to Chen, YouTube is already a tool "that can break the language barrier."

One other reason for expanding: There are already over two hundred similar websites in China alone. Chen, however, is confident that YouTube will be able to keep its audience by offering the most appealing content. (Source: taipeitimes.com)

However, expanding YouTube into multiple languages won't be the company's only attempt to globalize service.

By next year, people will be able to look at videos on the go. That's because mobile access to the website is expected to be available in many parts of the world by 2008.

Chen speculates that subway or bus commuters will stick mainly to videos that are between thirty and sixty seconds, while people traveling longer distances on trains will probably opt for streams that are up to ten minutes in length. (Source: iht.com)

YouTube was originally formed because video files had become too large for Chen and co-founder Chad Hurley to share over email. They were both awarded "Person of the Year" honors earlier this month at the 11th annual Webby Awards. (Source: allheadlinenews.com)