You Tube “views” may be small compared to other media, but those views are from active, engaged consumers seeking out content. Compare that mindset to the average television consumer, TiVo remote in hand, distractions abounding. Also, keep in mind the sheer breadth of content on YouTube. One video with a million views may not seem impressive, but what about a thousand videos that a million people have chosen to watch? The most popular video on YouTube has 76 million views (and counting); the hundredth most popular has 13 million (and counting). Those figures are up dramatically from 40 million and 3 million, respectively, a year ago. Imagine those numbers when YouTube’s been around for a decade or two. Compare this to television. Ten years ago, Bruce Springsteen sang “57 channels and nothing on…” A decade later we’ve got more channels… do we have anything more to watch? Do you know anyone who channel surfs any more? While Viacom may have slapped the hand of YouTube, other companies are embracing it. Search for any Letterman appearance you may have missed and you’ll find it uploaded by CBS itself. Like any medium, the Internet and YouTube in particular, has more than its share of tomfoolery, but watch some of the videos mentioned in this Washington Post article and see if you don’t come away with new respect for the emotional impact potential of this nascent art form (did he just say art form?).

This project began as a way for the innovation team to articulate ideas, capture experiences, and provide a source of both innovation and insight throughout our network and, as well, to the outside world. Your contribution will bring that idea to life.

This post acts as both a call to our invited contributors and a compass for this experiment.

It’s easy to get started. Take away the minefield of “no’s” that often surrounds corporate communication and replace them with these four content guidelines:

1. 70/30/0 . 70% of your content should be directly related to your discipline, while 30% of it can be interesting stuff you feel is relevant in a general sense. 0% client business.
2. The medium is the message . Blogging is best when it is clear, thorough, and succinct.
3. Always, always check yourself for spelling and grammatical errors . That may mean posting a day later than you had hoped.
4. Remember, you’re writing under the company name . Keep your personal life private and always respect the privacy of our clients.

Our contributors’ individual entries are not screened, so professional discretion is a must.

Looking at the blog as a whole, we’ve decided to put some guidelines in place

Overall, there are three ideas we must all keep in mind to ensure that our blog maintains a higher degree of credibility:

1. Be honest . Posts written under your name should be yours.
2. Stay on topic . If we start espousing political beliefs or going otherwise awry, then we may as well shut down.
3. Keep it coming . Posts should be maintain a regular schedule.

Essentially, that’s it. Keep the above principles in mind and we should all be able to turn this into a positive and fluid project for both the company and the greater marketing community.

It should go without saying, but perhaps it warrants being said anyway: Thank you, and have fun.