We have entered a new phase in the development of the Internet. Communicating on the World Wide Web is no longer the static, text based medium we've grown up with over the past dozen or so years. Technology has delivered the resources to allow easy use of good quality streaming video and multimedia.

From marketing tools, to movie clips - from online infomercials to streaming TV and live webcasting. Like it or not, we are in the grip of a major shift in online communication and we will all have to embrace this technology as our 'first-generation' static (text-based) websites gradually become extinct.

Time scale? Probably two years.

The fact that Google has invested so much in Google Video is testament to the belief that streaming video will soon be a natural element of daily internet consumption for the millions of internet users around the world. This mindset is confirmed by their recent purchase of the popular YouTube website for a cool $1.65 billion...What a bargain! Why? Because Google knows how important it is to be positioned at the front of the online video curve.

YouTube was originally founded in February 2005 for video fans to see and share their home-grown productions. Within two years it has grown into a site where more than 70 million videos are watched every day (figures are climbing day by day so when you read this, the real numbers could be way above that).

Most experts agree that worldwide technology is rapidly moving to the point of true convergence between the Internet, television and telecommunications systems that will provide one single service or application for a truly multimedia world.

The huge benefit of YouTube-type technology as opposed to other video formats is in the ease of playback. Based on Macromedia FlashPlayer 7, online video can be played on more that 85% of computers connected to the Internet.

This offers a distinct advantage for viewers who can immediately play video files on their computers rather than have to download and install additional software. It provides true point and click functionality.

Online video is here to stay. YouTube's rapid growth has far exceeded that of other household name websites such as Craigslist, Myspace, even eBay and Blogger. This is indisputable proof that Internet streaming video and multimedia is here and here to stay.

The reason for this short summary is to demostrate the huge influence online video has had - and will continue to have - on the both the Internet and more traditional marketing media such as network televison for example. Media professionals predict that Internet video will be the biggest, fastest growing worldwide marketing medium for the next few years.

A majority of video clips uploaded to Google Video, YouTube and similar sites are by amateurs searching for their fifteen minutes of online fame or simply wanting to brighten up someone's day with a laugh. With a little creative thinking, clever marketers can use this global video channel to bring a flood of traffic to websites and laser-target their message to millions of potential customers, for almost zero cost.

However, there's more to this than simply uploading a video and hoping people stumble across it. The basic rules of keyword research and relevant descriptions apply just as much to this form of online promotion as they do to promoting a website.

Whether you're selling a product, a principle or an idea, there's absolutely no doubt that (for the moment) online streaming video services provide online marketers with the perfect vehicle for massive global publicity - though it may only be for a limited period, as it's highly likely that the door to this particular free ride will be slammed shut within the next few months as more people catch on!