I've been so busy lately that I don't even have time to browse, much more blog.

But a friend of mine sent me this article that I found really interesting. It describes the phenomenon of YouTube watching and, in a classic marketing move, labels these YouTube addicts as "streamies". Knowledge Networks/SRI calls this the "watershed moment".

People are morphing over to this medium and are beginning to use in a way that is becoming important for advertisers to understand as they look for new ways to reach consumers.

Blah, blah, blah. So, only now, months after Google bought YouTube for $15 gazillion, do you recognize it as a marketing opportunity? Exactly how?

The research, which tracks the way average consumers spend their day consuming media, found that the highest percentage of streamies - people who streamed video or audio content online at least once during the past week - are most likely to be younger demos.

Forty-three percent of boys ages 12 to 17, and 40% of girls the same age qualify as streamies vs. 36% of men 18 to 34 and 16% of women 18 to 34, and only 21% of men 35 to 64 and 11% of women 35 to 64.

"Qualify" meaning they streamed video or audio content online at least once during the past week. If you're telling me that 43% of boys and 40% of girls are streamies, then the next American Idol should be on YouTube, because I believe that we're not too far away from "at least once *a day*." (There's my own episode of clarity.)

Furthermore:

Teen streamies spend 28% more time, young adult streamies spend 41% more time and older adult streamies spend 67% more time online than their non-streamie counterparts, he says.

These are the same kids that use Wikipedia as a reference.