Funny News Rules

Clearly, online video is quickly becoming a commonplace way to communicate to a wired audience. Over half of internet users watch video online, one in five do it in a typical day. Three-quarters of the growing number of those that have high-speed online connections use it to access video.

Despite the stereotype of the wildly popular amateur video, Pew Internet & American Life Project’s recent online video report tells us viewers prefer professionally produced content over homemade videos by over 3 to 1. Not surprisingly, the two leading types of content viewed are news (37%) and comedy (31%). 

Perhaps this explains the popularity of watching professionally-produced clips of John Stewart’s comedy-news program, The Daily Show.

But amateurs should not fear. "Anyone with a digital camera and an internet connection can create and distribute video that has the potential to reach millions of viewers all over the world," said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist at the Project and lead author of the report. "Online video tools are providing ordinary people with extraordinary ways to communicate with one another."

Just ask Nathan and Greg Hamel. Their 18-second video featuring “Billiam the Snowman” asking presidential candidates’ to explain their environmental policies found a major audience during the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate. At last count, their video had been seen by over 130,000 viewers and the brothers are working on a line of "Billiam the Snowman" t-shirts.

This is the first major report about online video from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. You can view the full report at: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/219/report_display.asp.