How YouTube Live Died.

Okay, so maybe November 22nd’s YouTube Live premiere isn’t exactly an in-person event — but I sure was looking forward to it like it was. YouTube Live brought together famous musical acts (Katy Perry, Joe Satriani), a few amateur musicians who gained near-celebrity status on the popular video community (S.Korean guitarist Funtwo), popular comedy segments (including the loved-hated Charlie the Unicorn), and tons of other random famous bits (Will It Blend, Chad Vader) — all in just a lackluster 90 minutes. While Katy Perry gave a fantastic opening to the event, it quickly turned into a mind-numbing assault of “the best of YouTube”. Without any specific focus, the event turned into a mish-mosh of mediocre randomness, and about halfway I was tempted to just log on to Good Ol’ Regular YouTube to find videos that I actually like. The only thing that kept me going was the lure of “YouTube + Live + International = A Chance to See International [YouTube] Celebrities Live!!” — which never happened, either, because there was only a San Francisco (read: American) and a Tokyo event (which lied; it wasn’t even live, despite the title, “Youtube Live“) Overall, the YouTube managed to turn an amazing idea into another boring ol’ American internet TV experience, when with a little more money, a little more direction, and a little more actual international live performances could have made the experience so much more worth it.