YouTube lets you share your videos with the world

Q: What is YouTube and why did Google pay so much money for it?

A: YouTube is a video sharing web site that falls under a new classification of web sites referred to as Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 is really just a collection of second generation web sites that offer more user interaction and social networking.

Much like blogging sites such as MySpace made it easy for anyone, even a noobie, to create their own web space, YouTube makes it easy for anyone to share their personal videos with the world.

If you are just looking to kill some time or have a good laugh, you can search on just about anything on YouTube and find a video that matches your interest. For example, I searched on Center Grove Marching Band and within seconds was watching one of their 2006 performances on my computer. I also searched for Indianapolis Mini Marathon and again, within seconds, was watching the start of the 2006 Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.

And if you haven’t seen the YouTube video of the two guys from Mooresville, dancing all around the city in public places, you have to check it out. It was one of the most popular YouTube videos about a month ago.

Putting your own video on YouTube is a snap. You just upload your digital video from your camcorder, digital camera or web cam to the YouTube web site and then add some information about the video such as its title, description, category and keywords otherwise known as tags. Click the upload video button and you’re done.

Once your video is on YouTube other people can search on keywords to find your video, watch your video and even leave comments on your video. YouTube will also create a web link to your video for you to put on your own web site or blog. Or if you feel really ambitious YouTube also provides some HTML to use to embed the video right on your web site or blog.

So why did Google pay $1.65 billion to buy YouTube? You’ll have to ask the Google founders that one but I can tell you that having the most popular video sharing web site in your back pocket can’t be a bad thing.

This post was originally broadcast Friday, April 6, 2007 on Tech Talk with Noobie, a weekly radio show on WCBK 102.3 FM in Martinsville, Indiana. Tech Talk with Noobie airs every Friday between 11:30 a.m. and noon. If you have a question you would like Noobie to answer on the air, simply e-mail your question to .