As brands get more creative with online video offerings, and more savvy in promoting them through social media and other outlets, a funny thing is happening: viewers are watching more ads. Take pre-roll and display ads out of the equation completely, and viewers have still watched 800 Million branded videos since 2011 began, according to MediaPost . That’s astounding.

This week’s videos are sure to please, and we have content for everyone. We’ve got cat videos for the animal lovers, we’ve got time-lapse videos for the artistic audience, and even a few clips for the romantics among you

Sometimes we get so used to talking about how popular video is, and how fast it’s growing online, that we actually lose perspective a bit on exactly how rapidly it’s moving. You might even say we’ve been taking the Internet for granted a bit. Because, if Cisco’s predictions are anywhere close to correct, our obsessive use of online video is going to cripple the Internet in just a few short years.

Let’s say you’re the star and the face of one of the most universally-praised online video campaigns in all of history.

First there were the ad agencies—big brands paid them to dream up marketing creative for everything from print to radio to television. Then came the niche agencies designed to help just with the emerging media market of online videos. And now that most of the major U.S.

Brightcove has been a trusted provider of video hosting, distribution, and monetization for publishers and brands for several years.

The only acceptable way to announce that you’re running for president is to do it with social media. President Obama led the charge, with his video announcement in early April on YouTube

For reasons I have not yet put my finger on, I still occasionally tune into Saturday Night Live. It hasn’t been the truly great show it once was in over a decade, but out of some kind of routine (or self-punishment) I still check it out

So everyone’s talking about this new Spring 2011 Global Internet Phenomena Report from Sandvine —a self-described “leading provider of intelligent broadband network solutions for fixed and mobile operators.” The big, gaudy stat everyone’s running in their headline is that Netflix makes up 30% of U.S. Internet traffic during peak hours

While there’s plenty of evidence that brands are embracing online video as a new and powerful medium for advertising, the overwhelming majority of video ads are still created for television–that is to say, they’re created as a one-size-fits all solution. A brand makes a commercial, and we all see that same spot no matter who or where we are.