YouTube the new search tool

YouTube is rapidly morphing into a popular search engine and a new entry point into the Web, reports The New York Times. Searches on it in the United States recently edged out those on Yahoo, which had long been the No. 2 search engine, behind Google.

Experiencing the Web — primarily through video — may not be mainstream, at least not yet. But the explosion of all types of video content on YouTube and other sites is quickly transforming online video from a medium strictly for entertainment and news into one that is also a reference tool.

As a result, video search, on YouTube and across other sites, is rapidly morphing into a new entry point into the Web, one that could rival mainstream search for many types of queries.

... You can now find an online video on virtually any topic. Web videos teach how to grout a tub, offer reviews of the latest touch-screen phones and give you a feel for walking across the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

emily | 9:10 AM | YouTube |
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