Internet video is growth category

However, like many things related to internet, the trick is figuring out how to monetize the medium. But eMarketer definitely sees a trend in the use of online video. In 2003, only 18.8% of the US population watched internet video content at least once a month.

That number will top out at 47% this year, break the halfway point next year with 53.3% of the population tuning in (that's 155.2M people), and will rise incrementally to 61.2% by 2011. eMarketer's David Hallerman said there are problems with attaching advertising. "One uncertainty is about what the audience will accept, with questions about where in the content the ad will run and how long it will run for. The other is the difficulty gathering together enough video ad inventory, with questions about ad placement and how to monetize the billions of user-generated video streams."

SmartMedia observation: We were searching the web for clips of John McLaughlin just the other night - not the Sunday morning TV guy, the Mahavishnu Orchestra John McLaughlin. We can assure everybody that we did not click on any advertisements which may have come within mouse range. Will the YouTubes of the world be able to find a way to overcome this problem?

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