YouTube: I think I get it.

I'm a late adopter. I'm an early watcher--I watch pretty closely as companies and trends develop. But I don't necessarily use those things.

So, I'm just beginning to use YouTube in earnest. It's fairly extraordinary, in the way that Napster was, back in its hey-day. When Napster first came out, you could pretty much type in any song you wanted and almost immediately own it. It didn't matter how obscure. It seemed to always be available. That's the power of the crowd: the probability that someone, somewhere is thinking the same thing as you is high, but hidden unless there are connections in place.

YouTube's got a little of the same feeling. I was chatting with a CD here the other day and we began talking about 80s bands. I mentioned seeing the Pogues on Saturday Night Live forever ago, and laughing about the performance. I went back to my desk and for kicks typed "Pogues Saturday Night Live" into YouTube and found this:

I suppose I should be paying for this (which was the Napster problem, naturally). But what a great experience. Napster felt like it was right. I never had any doubt that the experience was illegal. It just has to be. But since the experience was so strong, it means that the model should be rethought. YouTube is starting to evolve, and it will be interesting to see where it goes. It already is starting to feel like a social networking site: I've got friends and feeds and all.

Garrett French is getting deep into YouTube and I think he's pulling me in. His thinking on the site is pushing its borders pretty far.