While we’re waiting, we’re watching

Anyone who doubted mobile video’s potential must have missed Friday’s headline that said YouTube now serves up 200 million video clips to mobile devices daily. Yes, daily.

Think about it. People are watching everything from short, silly clips of animals or kids doing what animals and kids do to full-length television shows and even movies — on their smart phones, iPads, iPods and anything else totable and Web-connected.

Look around the next time you're stuck waiting somewhere, like the line at the Department of Motor Vehicles or a doctor's office. You'll see people texting, surfing, reading and watching things on their gizmos. I've noticed more people packing e-readers and iPads. Some higher-end auto dealers’ repair shops have replaced old magazines with new iPads.

Not only are people watching video on the go, they are creating it, too. Most new smart phones serve as mobile video studios. With my iPhone, I can shoot and edit video and post it to my YouTube channel, all without using a separate computer. All I need is my 3G signal or to be in a Wi-Fi hot spot. I can even shoot and stream video live using an app and website called Qik.com (pronounced "quick"). It works.

If you’re already watching mobile video, I'm sure you've noticed the ever-increasing number of ads that accompany clips. You have to click through banner ads and sit through short commercials before seeing the clips you came for.

Those clips are the cost of doing business. Somebody's got to pay the freight.

For more about the mobile video explosion, see this AFP story on Yahoo:
YouTube mobile video viewing tops 200 million a day
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110114/tc_afp/usitinternetmusicgoogleyoutubevevo