do you YouTube?

there's a whole host of "post your own video" sites out there;
non-archival quality free streaming video sites like YouTube,
Myspace recently added video hosting functionality, and many more.

so, is copyright infringement and free IP distribution an issue?
what happens to content provider's revenue streams when YouTube users post low-quality feeds of their IP?
there's no standard "preview format."
does viral marketing make-up the difference?
can internet ads target more specifically than traditional regional/local broadcast ads?
whom do our dollars reach?

these questions pop-up and are blocked wherever firefox-using bloggers exist (probably in the Blogosphere* that i keep hearing so much about on my beloved 24-hr News Recycle fest of CNN).

*okay, that links to the NY Times - but [unfortunately] i saw it first on some CNN gabfest (CNN's search engine isn't very good - and couldn't find it)...

anyway, before i get even more side-tracked, here are a few YouTube feeds that got me thinking about this post:
Look Around You: Maths



Hey Clip


now, this is the first time i've ever embedded YouTube (has the levee breached?); and these feeds weren't actively searched out by me. like so many other things on the Internet - you never really have to seek-out content. it is virally brought to your attention.

i thought on my initial viewing of the above feeds that (in respective order):

1) i wouldn't ordinarily be exposed to obscure (to my American sensibilities) British television programming - and thus wouldn't ordinarily be able to ponder that there might be a number bigger than 45,000,000,000 (!).

2) there would be a network of users who - though goofy - exchange adeptly edited video that makes one want to listen to the Pixies.