Online videos can take on various forms depending on their content. Most of the online videos now available can be classified under the categories listed below.

• Blog videos are personal online videos that involve an individual or groups of people talking to a camera and documenting experiences through a visual medium. Other blogs will involve writing out stories and experiences, diary style, for other people to read online. Some blogs will involve posting pictures, along with captions, still in the style of a diary or exhibit for other people to view or common on online.
• Trailers or previews of up and coming movies have long been available online for avid movie watchers to see again and again. Directors and producers have taken this a step further by creating movie production blogs, where directors document their progress on a film, or present final scenes for movie watchers to see and critique.
• It can be difficult to watch your favorite news programs or shows if you are busy at the office and can return home only late at night. Some TV production companies have now come up with streaming video, which can allow you to catch up with the shows online. Streaming video entails watching news footage, segments of a show, or the show itself live through your Internet browser or media player. Streaming video work best with fast Internet connections, as Internet traffic can often interfere with the smoothness of video playing.
• Several sites now offer videos for download, so that those with slower Internet connections can bypass the difficulty of keeping up a streaming video. Video files, however, can take a long time to download. They will be of better quality than streaming video, as they can be viewed at the user’s own convenience. Streaming videos can often be grainy or pixellated depending on the bandwidth of the source site and the number of people accessing the video at the same time.
• Pornographic websites were one of the first to offer online videos, usually for a fee, and catering to the voyeuristic tendencies of users who access such sites. Pornographic online videos have long been circulated on the Internet, and may be downloaded from different sites without any warning as to their contents. If you are guardian or parent to young children, then you may want to closely monitor your wards’ Internet habits, since pornographic videos are so replete and abundant, your child may be a victim long before you are aware of it.

Online videos may also be classified according to the fee that should be paid before they can be viewed. Some online videos may be offered entirely for free, and can belong to certain sites that allow people of all ages, races, genders, and inclinations to post their videos. As a result, there are many videos to choose from, with varying degrees of quality.

Parts of online videos may be offered for free, with the entire video available for a fee. Other online videos may also be offered in whole for free, but with very low resolution and quality, while the high quality video will be offered for a fee. Yet other online videos can be viewed only when they are purchased. These videos will often be of very high quality, and may take longer to download.

The world of Web 2.0 is a place of free expression, but is also more susceptible to the dangers of excessive, uncensored free speech. If you are interested in viewing online videos, look for them at reputable sites, and do not offer to buy anything unless you absolutely need the video and are convinced of the source’s trustworthiness. Online videos can make your stay online more interesting and exciting, so choose those that can inform and entertain you, not those that may cause you nightmares or headaches further on. Also check out what kind of online videos can be found at YouTube, you'd be surpised at the variety of entertainment on this massivly popular site. 

When you want to walk someone though a process to be completed on a computer or inside database software, or for that manner anything that can be illustrated on a computer screen, you will wish to walk the learner through the entire process. For that to happen, you need to implement a screen capture of the steps to take yourself and record the events on the screen simultaneously using screen capture software.

Building such walk through training is achieved by means of screen recording software or demonstration software. One of the market leaders in this arena is camtasia. It has been the leader for a number of years and is therefore regarded by everyone in the E-learning industry as one of the most user friendly tools.

You have a lot of options available in camtasia you can convert serious stuff into funny videos. You are free to choose whether you wish to record the entire screen or a part thereof. You can choose to add voice-over for ease of understanding the steps involved. The output is of course, a simulation movie.

Using this software you can easily provide captions, callouts, highlights text fields for the user to type in, mouse rollovers etc. You have the ability to produce only portions of the video and you can even provide navigation buttons beyond what is actually shown on the screen and edit the bitmap images for all presentation controls .This software is really a complete learning tool

Last but not the least, this software supports diversity by providing multilingual support . English, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, French and many more languages are supported. So, language is not a hurdle for delivering excellent simulations, if you happen to choose camtasia. The help files are good and the interface it quite intuitive and there are many learning tools available with which you can learn how to use camtasia in a matter of minutes.

Terri Roberts has been developing many Camtasia videos and offers a comprehensive training program.

- Terri Roberts

This is why it's essential that parents find ways to have fun with their kids with the use of the internet.  With so much learning possibilities, the internet could be harnessed to supplement school lessons, teach proper social behavior and integrate ethics and values without lecturing the child.  It can also be a way to strengthen family bonds by allowing families to work and learn together.

The trick for parents is to choose sites that are reliable in terms of family-friendly content.  It can be a bit confusing to discern which internet videos are appropriate for children of different ages, but with a little prior research, parents will be able to pick which content to show their kids.  Commonsensemedia.org has a grid criteria based on content to determine the age-appropriateness of videos.  You can check out their site to find out which video content to show and which ones to stay away from.

There are many sites that you can check out for internet videos families can enjoy.  Here are some that offer a variety of choices and information:

commonsensemedia.org
This site is run by a non-profit, non-partisan organization and is focused on creating a way to promote family-friendly tools and information.  It does not advocate media censorship, but it does promote internet videos that provide educational and wholesome fun that is geared towards family entertainment.  Videos are rated according to age appropriateness and reviews are also provided on site.

The site also provides sneak peeks of the latest TV shows and movies, along with recommendations for games, stories, shows and other sites.  From kids to teens to young adults, this site offers a good choice of internet videos that's just right for families.

video.aol.com
AOL has also taken cue from the popularity internet videos have been enjoying.  This site contains all the videos you could want, including 'Best of the Web' videos, learning and adventure, special interests, news, sports TV and even the latest viral videos.  Family members will have all the reasons to stick around and watch because there's hundreds to choose from.  The site also features 'Clip of the Day' and 'Hotlist'.

One small issue, though – you'll need a lot of memory.  Some of the best video clips last as long as 2 hours, but they're worth downloading if only to go back to again and again.  Kids' features include animation and well-loved cartoon characters from Nickelodeon and Warner Bros.  There are free clips that can be viewed and others that you'll need to pay for.  Recent features include Madeline, Shrek, The Jetsons, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

Warnerbros.com
Warner Bros. offers variety in terms of mixing entertainment, learning and problem solving.  Many of the videos on its site are downloadable for free and much of what's available are animated features.  Aside from the more famous characters in the Warner Bros. lot, there are also other video heroes, heroines and villains that are just waiting to be discovered.  You can download short video clips and games that are age-appropriate since many of the videos are rated and come with a short content description.

familyfun.go.com
For families who like to do activities together and for those who like crafts, this is a site to check out.  There are lots of 'how-to' videos to choose from, including crafts, weekend projects and simple hobby tips.  There's something for every member of the family to enjoy and learn from.

National Geographic
National Geographic is more famous for its wildlife features, but there are videos that offer a lot of priceless information on geography, travel, world culture and history.  There are short video clips that may be downloaded for free. 

There are also other contents on the site that are flash-animation or slideshow files, but don't discount their value.  They are a great source of information, some of which are not included in the videos.  Kids of all ages have plenty to discover on this site.

metacafe.com
This site features videos that promote learning and fun, such as a clip showing how marbles are made, how to perform card tricks and magic escape tricks.  You'll need to turn on Family Filter though, so you can keep out some videos that kids might find more challenging to understand.  The videos are rated according to viewer preference which more or less gives you an idea whether they're good to watch or not.

veoh.com
This site includes all sorts of internet video topics, such as arts, animation, education, comedy, family, sports, religion, technology, news and travel.  It has a good mix of internet videos with varied ratings, so you'll need to use discretion.  Some videos are about topics that very young children may find disturbing or difficult to understand.

If you aren’t familiar with the YouTube website, you may be curious as to what type of videos they have to offer.  As with the vast majority of online video sites you’ll find that most of the videos are of the homemade variety.  The reason for this is because these movies are made by your everyday internet users.  We all have different experiences in our lives so you are sure to find a wide variety of videos available to choose from on YouTube.

The YouTube site does it’s best to make finding the video you want easy.  When you’re on their site you’ll notice they have divided the videos into categories.  These categories help to make it easy to find online videos by examining the ones that have been viewed the most, ones that are rated the highest, or those that have the most comments. You’ll also find other categories that further breakdown the video selections into specific subject categories, based on the content of the video. 

Everyone likes a good laugh, which is probably why the comedy category, is the most popular category on YouTube.  Comedy is always a good choice because most people visit online video websites looking for entertainment.  What better way to be entertained than with an online video that gets you laughing so hard you almost fall off your chair!

The Pets category is another popular choice, as people do love their pets. You’ll find a wide variety of different animals featured in videos on YouTube, including cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, and birds, just to name a few.  Often these videos can also be considered of the comedy variety because many of the videos will feature animals that have not only special talents but funny talents as well.

We certainly can’t forget the travel category either as that is another big part of our lives. The “travel and places” videos will often include videos that vacationers have captured while they were in another country.  While locations outside of the USA are quite popular, you’ll also find videos that focus on different places in the USA as well.

Then of course there is the entertainment category on YouTube.   A lot of people have created videos that they think are a good source of entertainment. It’s also quite common to find a collection of scenes, accompanied by music, of popular TV shows, soap operas, and also movies.
 
There is also a music section, which is a great place for those who are documenting themselves or perhaps their friends singing or participating in singing competitions.  YouTube even has a special program for up and coming musicians.  This popular feature allows musicians to create their own music videos and share them with other Internet users. Those looking for entertainment will get to see an entertaining online video for free, but it also helps you become aware of a new band, that you otherwise you may never have heard of.

The categories we’ve discussed here just a few of the many that you can found at the YouTube website. They also have other categories such as arts and animation, vehicles, news,blogs, people, sports, and science and technology.  With so much variety to choose from you’re sure to find something you like.