It has been said that "media is the new creative." To clarify, the idea is that in this age of hyper-audience fragmentation, the "who" you're speaking to is now as important as the "what" that's being said. As a creative director who was once employed by a media agency (Universal McCann), I couldn't agree more.

One of our favorite topics to talk about and debate, whether it is here on the Video Insider, on other blogs or in conferences, is YouTube. Whether it is the merits of the acquisition by Google, copyright issues or just the general fascinating scale of the service, YouTube is a topic that we have yet to tire of discussing. Google's well-known opaqueness when discussing key statistics and figures about YouTube only adds to the controversy.

Can the delivery of digital media files over terrestrial IP networks provide an alternative to satellite usage? We are seeing an ever-increasing demand for managed file movement, spurred on by having to get content to online portals and mobile devices.

By all measures, 2008 capped a banner period of growth for Internet video. In the span of a few short years, consumers have done what all the experts said was impossible: radically alter their video-watching behaviors, frequently trading in the "couch potato" experience of watching TV on the sofa to view snippets on the mobile phone or catch a missed show on the computer. Yet despite a tremendous amount of growth in the number of online video views, the global economic turmoil has -- and will continue to have -- an enormous impact on the digital video market.

Last year, we discussed video contests and their benefits to online marketers -- specifically, contests featuring user submissions. At the time, Microsoft's "I'm a PC" ad was running, with Microsoft employees, celebrities and user submissions being featured in both online and TV ads. Given the potential benefits -- real-life endorsements, actionable learnings and viral distribution being a few key ones -- it makes sense for any marketer to look closely at video contests as a viable tool. The only issue, at least to date, has been a lack of case studies and best practices to follow. That is, until now.

I consider myself a pretty loyal person. When it comes to job, family and friends I believe a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship is the way to lead a happy and healthy existence. I try to apply this philosophy to all aspects of my life. All, that is, except one: my television/internet service provider. When it comes to this relationship I am reduced to an unfaithful, social-climbing tramp that is afraid of the word commitment. I have been through them all, or all of them that have been available' (in my area): Cablevision, Comcast, AT&T, TiVO, satellite, Verizon, etc. I am …

On this July 4th, during the worst economic climate in decades, city event planners around the country asked themselves if they were ready to spend money on large fireworks displays. Many cities were not, and canceled long-standing traditions. We occupy the same economic climate as those city event planners, and it's about time we started asking the same questions about whether our viral campaigns provide enough bang for the buck.

n-stream video advertising is in much the same place now that standard rich media was in 2000. Pubs had different sizes, specs and formats, requiring clients to create "one-off" ad units for each publisher -- not a scalable solution. To compound matters, there wasn't widespread certification of third-party vendors, making it hard for advertisers to run rich media campaigns across sites that all had individual specs.

A few weeks ago, when I was in New York, I had the opportunity to sit down with the producer of the most successful game show on television. The meeting made me think about television, and led to the realization that I could easily identify the most successful reality, drama, news, sports and game shows on television without even thinking. The realization also made me wonder: what's the most-watched show on the Internet? The reality is: Nobody knows. More, I am not sure that many folks would even agree on the definitions in the question.