What did we do before YouTube? It’s as if our lives up until last year were a dream (of the nightmare variety) in which we had no visual connections to the fleeting past of pop cultural oddities and had no idea what some dude over there was doing with his digicam.

Social networking built on the principle of “you are what you watch” is what makes YouTube more than a repository for retro TV clips, video diaries and bathroom mirror antics turned loose on the outside world. But the content is what drives the community and what makes the site compelling. The chance to be seen, to reach out, and to gain the social cache of remembering (and having videos of) obscure pop culture nuggets ensures the constant flow of content. These are time-tested real world motivators that translate well to the YouTube environs.

In August, a 79 year old widower from Great Britain and a home-schooled teenage girl from the U.S. parlayed YouTube popularity into features in offline media.

Also this summer, NBC announced it would make content from its fall line-up available via a branded YouTube channel. Record labels are starting to grasp the promotional power of having their music videos on the site and YouTube has been active seeking their content. Big things appear to be on the horizon for YouTube.

More professionally produced content means more revenue for YouTube through branding partners and increased legitimacy in the eyes of advertisers, but for a site built on consumer-generated media it could be a dangerous proposition letting the pros in. It’s a thin line for YouTube to walk – catering to major media and advertisers while not alienating the core community that brought them far enough to be in this position. It should be an interesting plot to watch unfold.

Edward McElvain, Project Manager

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