Examining YouTube’s Workflow After Content Submission

How Does YouTube Work After a Video Is Uploaded

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

You use YouTube to watch videos, post your own content, and build up a following. That is how YouTube works for you. This article is about how YouTube works technically. There are a lot of steps which occur between you clicking ‘upload’ and a viewer clicking ‘play’. Understanding this process can be useful to YouTubers because it can help shed light on where problems may be occurring when you have issues uploading or watching videos. Generally when there is a problem it is on your end and there are multiple simple things you can do to fix it.

This article will explain what goes on behind the scenes when you upload a video, where that video really goes, and what happens when somebody clicks play.

How Does YouTube Work

1. What Happens When You Upload?

When you upload a video your computer or device packages it into IP packets. Packets are fragments of information containing both data from your video and the address you are sending it to, in this case YouTube. The packets are encoded into radio signals which are sent through a wifi or cellular network. Your video travels through switches and routers on the internet until they reach YouTube’s servers. Your video is then reassembled and stored.

If uploading takes a long time for you it probably has nothing to do with YouTube; there is a lot that needs to happen for your video to even get there. How long the upload process takes depends on a number of factors including how many devices share your internet connection, how strong your wifi signal is, and the age of your router. If your uploads are taking too long consider compressing your videos before you upload them. You can also try uploading from your college campus or public libraries as institutions like these tend to have fast internet speeds.

2. Where is Your Video Stored?

As it is owned by Google YouTube uses Google’s ‘Bigtable’, a compressed data storage system which allows it to store the 500+ hours of video uploaded to its servers every minute. Bigtable is software, though, not hardware. YouTube and Google both have massive amounts of data and it needs to be physically housed somewhere.

Google has Modular Data Centers all over the world where it keeps its servers. These centers could cost as much as $600 million dollars each and consume huge amounts of electricity. There are six of them in the United States, three in Europe, two in Asia, and one is South America.

3. What Happens When Someone Watches Your Video?

When a viewer clicks on your video their computer sends an encoded request through the internet to YouTube’s servers. After YouTube receives the play request it chooses which format to play the video in based on the viewer’s browser. Your video is again turned into packets, which are again sent as radio signals over the internet to your viewer. Your viewer’s computer or device reforms the packets into your video and their browser plays it.

If videos take a long time to load for you then there are a few things you can do to speed them up. First, consider changing the channel of your wifi router. Most people stay on the channel their router was set to when they first got it and so there is a good chance you and your neighbors are all on the same channel. This causes your networks to interfere with each other. You can also delete the temporary files on your computer. Besides helping you stream video faster this will free up storage space. Another thing you can do is make sure there are as few devices connected to your network as possible while you are watching videos. Besides mobile phones and laptops you may have appliances, like coffee machines and refrigerators, which are wifi enabled. Disconnect them temporarily and it will help your videos to load faster.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

You use YouTube to watch videos, post your own content, and build up a following. That is how YouTube works for you. This article is about how YouTube works technically. There are a lot of steps which occur between you clicking ‘upload’ and a viewer clicking ‘play’. Understanding this process can be useful to YouTubers because it can help shed light on where problems may be occurring when you have issues uploading or watching videos. Generally when there is a problem it is on your end and there are multiple simple things you can do to fix it.

This article will explain what goes on behind the scenes when you upload a video, where that video really goes, and what happens when somebody clicks play.

How Does YouTube Work

1. What Happens When You Upload?

When you upload a video your computer or device packages it into IP packets. Packets are fragments of information containing both data from your video and the address you are sending it to, in this case YouTube. The packets are encoded into radio signals which are sent through a wifi or cellular network. Your video travels through switches and routers on the internet until they reach YouTube’s servers. Your video is then reassembled and stored.

If uploading takes a long time for you it probably has nothing to do with YouTube; there is a lot that needs to happen for your video to even get there. How long the upload process takes depends on a number of factors including how many devices share your internet connection, how strong your wifi signal is, and the age of your router. If your uploads are taking too long consider compressing your videos before you upload them. You can also try uploading from your college campus or public libraries as institutions like these tend to have fast internet speeds.

2. Where is Your Video Stored?

As it is owned by Google YouTube uses Google’s ‘Bigtable’, a compressed data storage system which allows it to store the 500+ hours of video uploaded to its servers every minute. Bigtable is software, though, not hardware. YouTube and Google both have massive amounts of data and it needs to be physically housed somewhere.

Google has Modular Data Centers all over the world where it keeps its servers. These centers could cost as much as $600 million dollars each and consume huge amounts of electricity. There are six of them in the United States, three in Europe, two in Asia, and one is South America.

3. What Happens When Someone Watches Your Video?

When a viewer clicks on your video their computer sends an encoded request through the internet to YouTube’s servers. After YouTube receives the play request it chooses which format to play the video in based on the viewer’s browser. Your video is again turned into packets, which are again sent as radio signals over the internet to your viewer. Your viewer’s computer or device reforms the packets into your video and their browser plays it.

If videos take a long time to load for you then there are a few things you can do to speed them up. First, consider changing the channel of your wifi router. Most people stay on the channel their router was set to when they first got it and so there is a good chance you and your neighbors are all on the same channel. This causes your networks to interfere with each other. You can also delete the temporary files on your computer. Besides helping you stream video faster this will free up storage space. Another thing you can do is make sure there are as few devices connected to your network as possible while you are watching videos. Besides mobile phones and laptops you may have appliances, like coffee machines and refrigerators, which are wifi enabled. Disconnect them temporarily and it will help your videos to load faster.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

You use YouTube to watch videos, post your own content, and build up a following. That is how YouTube works for you. This article is about how YouTube works technically. There are a lot of steps which occur between you clicking ‘upload’ and a viewer clicking ‘play’. Understanding this process can be useful to YouTubers because it can help shed light on where problems may be occurring when you have issues uploading or watching videos. Generally when there is a problem it is on your end and there are multiple simple things you can do to fix it.

This article will explain what goes on behind the scenes when you upload a video, where that video really goes, and what happens when somebody clicks play.

How Does YouTube Work

1. What Happens When You Upload?

When you upload a video your computer or device packages it into IP packets. Packets are fragments of information containing both data from your video and the address you are sending it to, in this case YouTube. The packets are encoded into radio signals which are sent through a wifi or cellular network. Your video travels through switches and routers on the internet until they reach YouTube’s servers. Your video is then reassembled and stored.

If uploading takes a long time for you it probably has nothing to do with YouTube; there is a lot that needs to happen for your video to even get there. How long the upload process takes depends on a number of factors including how many devices share your internet connection, how strong your wifi signal is, and the age of your router. If your uploads are taking too long consider compressing your videos before you upload them. You can also try uploading from your college campus or public libraries as institutions like these tend to have fast internet speeds.

2. Where is Your Video Stored?

As it is owned by Google YouTube uses Google’s ‘Bigtable’, a compressed data storage system which allows it to store the 500+ hours of video uploaded to its servers every minute. Bigtable is software, though, not hardware. YouTube and Google both have massive amounts of data and it needs to be physically housed somewhere.

Google has Modular Data Centers all over the world where it keeps its servers. These centers could cost as much as $600 million dollars each and consume huge amounts of electricity. There are six of them in the United States, three in Europe, two in Asia, and one is South America.

3. What Happens When Someone Watches Your Video?

When a viewer clicks on your video their computer sends an encoded request through the internet to YouTube’s servers. After YouTube receives the play request it chooses which format to play the video in based on the viewer’s browser. Your video is again turned into packets, which are again sent as radio signals over the internet to your viewer. Your viewer’s computer or device reforms the packets into your video and their browser plays it.

If videos take a long time to load for you then there are a few things you can do to speed them up. First, consider changing the channel of your wifi router. Most people stay on the channel their router was set to when they first got it and so there is a good chance you and your neighbors are all on the same channel. This causes your networks to interfere with each other. You can also delete the temporary files on your computer. Besides helping you stream video faster this will free up storage space. Another thing you can do is make sure there are as few devices connected to your network as possible while you are watching videos. Besides mobile phones and laptops you may have appliances, like coffee machines and refrigerators, which are wifi enabled. Disconnect them temporarily and it will help your videos to load faster.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

You use YouTube to watch videos, post your own content, and build up a following. That is how YouTube works for you. This article is about how YouTube works technically. There are a lot of steps which occur between you clicking ‘upload’ and a viewer clicking ‘play’. Understanding this process can be useful to YouTubers because it can help shed light on where problems may be occurring when you have issues uploading or watching videos. Generally when there is a problem it is on your end and there are multiple simple things you can do to fix it.

This article will explain what goes on behind the scenes when you upload a video, where that video really goes, and what happens when somebody clicks play.

How Does YouTube Work

1. What Happens When You Upload?

When you upload a video your computer or device packages it into IP packets. Packets are fragments of information containing both data from your video and the address you are sending it to, in this case YouTube. The packets are encoded into radio signals which are sent through a wifi or cellular network. Your video travels through switches and routers on the internet until they reach YouTube’s servers. Your video is then reassembled and stored.

If uploading takes a long time for you it probably has nothing to do with YouTube; there is a lot that needs to happen for your video to even get there. How long the upload process takes depends on a number of factors including how many devices share your internet connection, how strong your wifi signal is, and the age of your router. If your uploads are taking too long consider compressing your videos before you upload them. You can also try uploading from your college campus or public libraries as institutions like these tend to have fast internet speeds.

2. Where is Your Video Stored?

As it is owned by Google YouTube uses Google’s ‘Bigtable’, a compressed data storage system which allows it to store the 500+ hours of video uploaded to its servers every minute. Bigtable is software, though, not hardware. YouTube and Google both have massive amounts of data and it needs to be physically housed somewhere.

Google has Modular Data Centers all over the world where it keeps its servers. These centers could cost as much as $600 million dollars each and consume huge amounts of electricity. There are six of them in the United States, three in Europe, two in Asia, and one is South America.

3. What Happens When Someone Watches Your Video?

When a viewer clicks on your video their computer sends an encoded request through the internet to YouTube’s servers. After YouTube receives the play request it chooses which format to play the video in based on the viewer’s browser. Your video is again turned into packets, which are again sent as radio signals over the internet to your viewer. Your viewer’s computer or device reforms the packets into your video and their browser plays it.

If videos take a long time to load for you then there are a few things you can do to speed them up. First, consider changing the channel of your wifi router. Most people stay on the channel their router was set to when they first got it and so there is a good chance you and your neighbors are all on the same channel. This causes your networks to interfere with each other. You can also delete the temporary files on your computer. Besides helping you stream video faster this will free up storage space. Another thing you can do is make sure there are as few devices connected to your network as possible while you are watching videos. Besides mobile phones and laptops you may have appliances, like coffee machines and refrigerators, which are wifi enabled. Disconnect them temporarily and it will help your videos to load faster.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Mapping Your Marketing Journey on YouTube

How to Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

How can you build a personal brand on YouTube that stands out?

YouTube is oversaturated. If you do comedy, fashion, gaming, vlogging, or any other major genre then you are competing with thousands of other channels. In order to grow you need to stand out, and that’s why it’s important to build a strong, clear, brand.

1. Your Brand is Your Unique Message
2. The Elevator Pitch
3. How to Start Building Your Brand
4. Being Consistent

Bonus Tip-Make A Creative YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

No Doubt, Filmora is the one of the best tools for newbie editors, vloggers and vine artists as it has all the features and tools they might be looking for. Some features make it the most reliable tool of all times. The split screen presets, royalty-free music, video transitions, filters, text templates, and advanced color tuning, etc are the first and foremost requirement of an editor who is looking ahead to build a personal brand on YouTube channel and earn some money from it.

Your Brand is Your Unique Message

Competing on YouTube is all about offering value. Viewers should be able to find something on your channel that they can’t find anywhere else. This doesn’t mean you need to bend over backwards trying toinvent brand new video ideas that nobody has ever tried before – it just means you need to focus on building your unique brand. That is what will make viewers subscribe to you instead of just watching one of your videos and then clicking away.

The Elevator Pitch

If you had 20 seconds – a short elevator ride – to describe your channel in a way that would make someone want to subscribe, what would you say?

Think about if you were trying to describe your new favorite show to a friend. You wouldn’t stop at saying ‘it’s a comedy’ or ‘it’s about lawyers’ – that doesn’t really tell them anything. You would describe the style of comedy, the personalities of characters you love, and the kinds of plots the show offers.

You need to be able to do that when you talk about your channel.

What is your style of comedy?

What is your attitude towards fashion?

What will a viewer get out of watching you make pasta that they won’t get from watching someone else make pasta?

Work on developing an elevator pitch for your channel. It will help you define your brand for yourself, and it’ll be useful if you make a channel trailer.

How to Start Building Your Brand

Building a brand should be intentional. You need to be yourself, but it’s not enough to just ‘be’. You need to create yourself.

In order to figure out what unique value you’re bringing to YouTube you’ll need to pay attention to your channel stats and comments your viewers make. It can also be a good idea to ask for feedback from friends who you know will be honest with you.

You will notice patterns. There will be things you do in your video that people consistently like more and less. The way you build your brand is by cutting out the stuff that isn’t working and focusing more intentionally on the stuff that is. If people like it when you do meme humor, for example, do more meme humor and make incorporating that in your videos part of your brand.

Banners and thumbnails are also a part of your brand. More on that here .

Being Consistent

The key to branding is consistency. People need to be able to set expectations.

For every video you do, ask yourself these questions:

Who are you?

What is your message?

What value are you providing?

Who is it for?

The answers to these questions make up your brand. They may change gradually over time – i.e. if you start making videos as a 16 year old, for other 16 year olds, then the ‘Who is it for?’ will change as you and your subscriber base get older – but in general the answers should always be the same. If your ‘message’ is positive and empowering, then it should always be positive and empowering.

When you intentionally create your personal brand on YouTube, you take charge of the message you’re sending.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

How can you build a personal brand on YouTube that stands out?

YouTube is oversaturated. If you do comedy, fashion, gaming, vlogging, or any other major genre then you are competing with thousands of other channels. In order to grow you need to stand out, and that’s why it’s important to build a strong, clear, brand.

1. Your Brand is Your Unique Message
2. The Elevator Pitch
3. How to Start Building Your Brand
4. Being Consistent

Bonus Tip-Make A Creative YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

No Doubt, Filmora is the one of the best tools for newbie editors, vloggers and vine artists as it has all the features and tools they might be looking for. Some features make it the most reliable tool of all times. The split screen presets, royalty-free music, video transitions, filters, text templates, and advanced color tuning, etc are the first and foremost requirement of an editor who is looking ahead to build a personal brand on YouTube channel and earn some money from it.

Your Brand is Your Unique Message

Competing on YouTube is all about offering value. Viewers should be able to find something on your channel that they can’t find anywhere else. This doesn’t mean you need to bend over backwards trying toinvent brand new video ideas that nobody has ever tried before – it just means you need to focus on building your unique brand. That is what will make viewers subscribe to you instead of just watching one of your videos and then clicking away.

The Elevator Pitch

If you had 20 seconds – a short elevator ride – to describe your channel in a way that would make someone want to subscribe, what would you say?

Think about if you were trying to describe your new favorite show to a friend. You wouldn’t stop at saying ‘it’s a comedy’ or ‘it’s about lawyers’ – that doesn’t really tell them anything. You would describe the style of comedy, the personalities of characters you love, and the kinds of plots the show offers.

You need to be able to do that when you talk about your channel.

What is your style of comedy?

What is your attitude towards fashion?

What will a viewer get out of watching you make pasta that they won’t get from watching someone else make pasta?

Work on developing an elevator pitch for your channel. It will help you define your brand for yourself, and it’ll be useful if you make a channel trailer.

How to Start Building Your Brand

Building a brand should be intentional. You need to be yourself, but it’s not enough to just ‘be’. You need to create yourself.

In order to figure out what unique value you’re bringing to YouTube you’ll need to pay attention to your channel stats and comments your viewers make. It can also be a good idea to ask for feedback from friends who you know will be honest with you.

You will notice patterns. There will be things you do in your video that people consistently like more and less. The way you build your brand is by cutting out the stuff that isn’t working and focusing more intentionally on the stuff that is. If people like it when you do meme humor, for example, do more meme humor and make incorporating that in your videos part of your brand.

Banners and thumbnails are also a part of your brand. More on that here .

Being Consistent

The key to branding is consistency. People need to be able to set expectations.

For every video you do, ask yourself these questions:

Who are you?

What is your message?

What value are you providing?

Who is it for?

The answers to these questions make up your brand. They may change gradually over time – i.e. if you start making videos as a 16 year old, for other 16 year olds, then the ‘Who is it for?’ will change as you and your subscriber base get older – but in general the answers should always be the same. If your ‘message’ is positive and empowering, then it should always be positive and empowering.

When you intentionally create your personal brand on YouTube, you take charge of the message you’re sending.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

How can you build a personal brand on YouTube that stands out?

YouTube is oversaturated. If you do comedy, fashion, gaming, vlogging, or any other major genre then you are competing with thousands of other channels. In order to grow you need to stand out, and that’s why it’s important to build a strong, clear, brand.

1. Your Brand is Your Unique Message
2. The Elevator Pitch
3. How to Start Building Your Brand
4. Being Consistent

Bonus Tip-Make A Creative YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

No Doubt, Filmora is the one of the best tools for newbie editors, vloggers and vine artists as it has all the features and tools they might be looking for. Some features make it the most reliable tool of all times. The split screen presets, royalty-free music, video transitions, filters, text templates, and advanced color tuning, etc are the first and foremost requirement of an editor who is looking ahead to build a personal brand on YouTube channel and earn some money from it.

Your Brand is Your Unique Message

Competing on YouTube is all about offering value. Viewers should be able to find something on your channel that they can’t find anywhere else. This doesn’t mean you need to bend over backwards trying toinvent brand new video ideas that nobody has ever tried before – it just means you need to focus on building your unique brand. That is what will make viewers subscribe to you instead of just watching one of your videos and then clicking away.

The Elevator Pitch

If you had 20 seconds – a short elevator ride – to describe your channel in a way that would make someone want to subscribe, what would you say?

Think about if you were trying to describe your new favorite show to a friend. You wouldn’t stop at saying ‘it’s a comedy’ or ‘it’s about lawyers’ – that doesn’t really tell them anything. You would describe the style of comedy, the personalities of characters you love, and the kinds of plots the show offers.

You need to be able to do that when you talk about your channel.

What is your style of comedy?

What is your attitude towards fashion?

What will a viewer get out of watching you make pasta that they won’t get from watching someone else make pasta?

Work on developing an elevator pitch for your channel. It will help you define your brand for yourself, and it’ll be useful if you make a channel trailer.

How to Start Building Your Brand

Building a brand should be intentional. You need to be yourself, but it’s not enough to just ‘be’. You need to create yourself.

In order to figure out what unique value you’re bringing to YouTube you’ll need to pay attention to your channel stats and comments your viewers make. It can also be a good idea to ask for feedback from friends who you know will be honest with you.

You will notice patterns. There will be things you do in your video that people consistently like more and less. The way you build your brand is by cutting out the stuff that isn’t working and focusing more intentionally on the stuff that is. If people like it when you do meme humor, for example, do more meme humor and make incorporating that in your videos part of your brand.

Banners and thumbnails are also a part of your brand. More on that here .

Being Consistent

The key to branding is consistency. People need to be able to set expectations.

For every video you do, ask yourself these questions:

Who are you?

What is your message?

What value are you providing?

Who is it for?

The answers to these questions make up your brand. They may change gradually over time – i.e. if you start making videos as a 16 year old, for other 16 year olds, then the ‘Who is it for?’ will change as you and your subscriber base get older – but in general the answers should always be the same. If your ‘message’ is positive and empowering, then it should always be positive and empowering.

When you intentionally create your personal brand on YouTube, you take charge of the message you’re sending.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

How can you build a personal brand on YouTube that stands out?

YouTube is oversaturated. If you do comedy, fashion, gaming, vlogging, or any other major genre then you are competing with thousands of other channels. In order to grow you need to stand out, and that’s why it’s important to build a strong, clear, brand.

1. Your Brand is Your Unique Message
2. The Elevator Pitch
3. How to Start Building Your Brand
4. Being Consistent

Bonus Tip-Make A Creative YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

No Doubt, Filmora is the one of the best tools for newbie editors, vloggers and vine artists as it has all the features and tools they might be looking for. Some features make it the most reliable tool of all times. The split screen presets, royalty-free music, video transitions, filters, text templates, and advanced color tuning, etc are the first and foremost requirement of an editor who is looking ahead to build a personal brand on YouTube channel and earn some money from it.

Your Brand is Your Unique Message

Competing on YouTube is all about offering value. Viewers should be able to find something on your channel that they can’t find anywhere else. This doesn’t mean you need to bend over backwards trying toinvent brand new video ideas that nobody has ever tried before – it just means you need to focus on building your unique brand. That is what will make viewers subscribe to you instead of just watching one of your videos and then clicking away.

The Elevator Pitch

If you had 20 seconds – a short elevator ride – to describe your channel in a way that would make someone want to subscribe, what would you say?

Think about if you were trying to describe your new favorite show to a friend. You wouldn’t stop at saying ‘it’s a comedy’ or ‘it’s about lawyers’ – that doesn’t really tell them anything. You would describe the style of comedy, the personalities of characters you love, and the kinds of plots the show offers.

You need to be able to do that when you talk about your channel.

What is your style of comedy?

What is your attitude towards fashion?

What will a viewer get out of watching you make pasta that they won’t get from watching someone else make pasta?

Work on developing an elevator pitch for your channel. It will help you define your brand for yourself, and it’ll be useful if you make a channel trailer.

How to Start Building Your Brand

Building a brand should be intentional. You need to be yourself, but it’s not enough to just ‘be’. You need to create yourself.

In order to figure out what unique value you’re bringing to YouTube you’ll need to pay attention to your channel stats and comments your viewers make. It can also be a good idea to ask for feedback from friends who you know will be honest with you.

You will notice patterns. There will be things you do in your video that people consistently like more and less. The way you build your brand is by cutting out the stuff that isn’t working and focusing more intentionally on the stuff that is. If people like it when you do meme humor, for example, do more meme humor and make incorporating that in your videos part of your brand.

Banners and thumbnails are also a part of your brand. More on that here .

Being Consistent

The key to branding is consistency. People need to be able to set expectations.

For every video you do, ask yourself these questions:

Who are you?

What is your message?

What value are you providing?

Who is it for?

The answers to these questions make up your brand. They may change gradually over time – i.e. if you start making videos as a 16 year old, for other 16 year olds, then the ‘Who is it for?’ will change as you and your subscriber base get older – but in general the answers should always be the same. If your ‘message’ is positive and empowering, then it should always be positive and empowering.

When you intentionally create your personal brand on YouTube, you take charge of the message you’re sending.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox