Time has names YouTube the invention of the year.
“…even though they built it, they didn’t really understand it…. the minute people saw YouTube they did its creators a huge favor: they hijacked it.”
The article concludes:
“Consumers are impatient with the mainstream media. The idea of a top-down culture, in which talking heads spoon-feed passive spectators ideas about what’s happening in the world, is over.”
Its an interesting lesson. Why debate what to do with media. Why not try an experiment. Open it up, and see what your readers do with it? Don’t find out what they want – see what they do.