YouTube- The Future of Marketing

To be honest, I dont know that much about youtube.  I have never posted a video nor would I even have the slightest clue on how to do so.  However, what I do know is that i have spent countless nights searching through all the latest videos that my friends have recommended or that I have been curious about.  Between watching movie scenes, the lastest music videos, or just watching a hilarious videos about a baby biting his brothers finger, youtube is an amazing resource that like facebook is another form of web 2.0 networking.  But how can this service benefit companies from a business standpoint?

Youtube is an amazing web site because it draws from viewers all over the world.  Knowing that millions of users from all over the world are visiting the youtube everyday, it would make sense from a business standpoint to get on the train.  While I dont know much about the inner workings of youtube, it just makes sense that marketing on youtube could be an efficient, affordable, and effective way of doing business.  I dont mean just by displaying a series of commercials that nobody would have any interest in, but by being more creative.  If i were in charge of marketing for a company, I would take time to understand the target market of the company and then find out what this market is watching on youtube.  For instance, some of the videos I have watched have had millions of people viewers since its opening.  I dont know but it would make senese to me to try to work out some sort of deal in which the makers of the video could market a certain product or service in future videos knowing that a lot of people are going to visit the site. 

Like facebook, myspace, ebay,  youtbue is one of the many web 2.0 sites that looks like it is here to stay.  Denying the potential oppurtunity that youtube offers would be unwise from a business standpoint.  I believe that youtube is only going to grow, and it is the future of marketing and adevertising online.