Whether viewers are watching a sports highlight or a news story, broadband video has emerged as a useful diversion. People are stealing away 10, 15, or 20 minutes of their day to watch a few snippets of streaming video, and this is happening most frequently between the daytime hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Being a search guy, I think of online video differently than others might. I love video on demand,, streaming trailers, sport clips, music videos, "Saturday Night Live" skits. Love it all. But what does this popularity tell us? Online video is the killer app--not fixed-place TVs, no matter how fancy or precise they get.

First it killed the radio star (think MTV and look at the radio industry today). Now it's doing a number on the Web. The truth is, what the world doesn't need is more video junk. What we all yearn for is video that is relevant to us and engaging. Enter the video newsletter.

If you've been keeping up with recent news and announcements about in-stream video advertising, you know that pre-roll ads get all of the attention. For just a minute, I'd like to discuss the overlooked mid-roll ad format. It's not such a radical concept. I'd say it's been pretty successful in that other medium, TV.

I recently promised myself that I would never again say "tipping point" or "perfect storm." Enough already. Yet, just as I've slipped on that daily gym workout resolution, I just can't think of another term to describe what is happening with online video than to call it a perfect storm.

Everybody is talking about when and why to use video, and I certainly have opinions about that, but nobody is talking about HOW to use video. The "how" part is not just a technical discussion, it's all about creating the best user experience.

Consider this: A mere 12 months ago, few people anticipated the viability of mobile TV and user-generated video content channels like MTV's Uber. Video iPods weren't here yet, video search was truly in beta, and MySpace Music was so underground, it wasn't on most planners' radar screens.

There has been no single recent initiative in rich media more important than the implementation and delivery of video in online ads.

Unless you've been living on a remote island for the past year or so, you've undoubtedly been bombarded with the news that online video is rushing to become one of the key tactics in an overall interactive media buy. Yet with all the hype, why isn't inventory flooding out the door, with every single media planner scrambling to gather up every last impression?

Everybody who works in Internet media is holding out hope that video on-line and on-demand is, at long last, the killer ap that provides breakthough advertising opportunities. So far, though, all we have is hope.