Youtube Video Award Winners

I know I've been going a little heavy on the videos these last couple of days but I assume anyone reading this blog is interested in more than just what I think about politics and religion; plus it's the weekend and there's very little in the way of news right now. That being said, the 2nd annual Youtube video award winners were announced this weekend and I've gathered the ones that I found particularly entertaining and interesting (for a full list of winners, click here):

Adorable: Laughing Baby This kid laughs himself so hard that he repeatedly falls over from the effort. If you're anything like me, you hate too cute videos of other people's kids but a laughing baby will make you smile at a funeral:


Sports: Balloon Bowl This one proves that it doesn't take a lot of money or effort to create something just this side of magical:


Creative: The Original Human Tetris Performance I assume this one probably took more time to film than any other winner. Every time I watch this I can't help looking for the perfect spot for every piece:


Inspirational: Blind Painter This guy has what I can only describe as an indomitable human spirit in the face of crushing adversity:


Short Film: My Name is Lisa I felt my heartstrings being tugged on here. I later found out that it wasn't created by the little girl as I originally thought but it's still very moving:


Eyewitness: Battle at Kruger Forget what I said about the blind guy. You want spirit? Check out this display of teamwork:


Politics: Stop the Clash of Civilizations It turns out that we're all not so different after all:


To paraphrase one of the winners, these awards are becoming the new Emmys, Oscars, People's Choice Awards, etc. As video becomes more and more web-based I predict a movement away from traditional mainstream media award shows decided by individuals and organizations that have very little idea of what people actually want to see. Youtube is an award democracy; you pick the winners by giving them a little slice of your time, and those slices can really add up.