My generation, those who were computer geeks at the dawn of computer geekdom, have often contemplated what life would be like for the next generation behind us, who grow up with multimedia and broadband internet the way we grew up with radio and television. Out of my involvement with AfterNET which has a good share if younger folks, curiosity about what life will be like for my son Nate, and partly because the child inside me refuses to die, I have maybe been more curious than most about this next generation of people, the YouTube/MySpace generation... That is why this post by a regular YouTube participant, and the many video replies to it really fascinate me.

For those of you not tuned into the YouTube generation, YouTube is a website where anyone can upload home-made videos. Others can watch the videos using their web browser, and post comments and even reply by videos of their own. There is a lot of random noise—people getting hurt, practical jokes, random phone-camera footage, and the like—but there is also a core of people who are just starting to ‘get’ the power the internet brings to people as a means of broadcasting, not just receiving, content. And, its not just YouTube, there are high-end interactive groups popping up all over the internet.

In some way a part of me feels that this little pocket of the internet has gained something new here, become self-aware. It has asked of itself the question, who are we, what is this place we are in?