Many media outfits are labeling this time in history as the age of Web 2.0. This state denotes the loss of inhibitions, and the use of the Internet as a medium of free speech. In Web 2.0, everyone has their own virtual counterparts online, everyone reaches out to each other online, and everyone carries their identity over from the real world, the virtual one. Web 2.0 has also ushered in the age of online videos, where sites such as Google videos and YouTube cater for the common human need to make one’s voice heard, as well as to spy on the lives and experiences of others.

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.