YouTube was hugely popular even before the Google announcement, however, the deal generated a ton of press and media coverage. YouTube and Metacafe attracts users through their AFV-style video clips, but, with the growth of broadband and the addictive audience that these social video sharing websites provide, it looks like Google is the catalyst for making on-line videos and movies mainstream. There still isn’t a standardized on-line video/movie format or protocol, but this type of momentum will certainly help - especially for publishers who are struggling to find a recipe that works. And while off-line publishers and media companies are trying to find a way to monetize on-line video, users are embracing free on-line services like YouTube, Metacafe and Brightcove. For now, the best thing to do is to use these services and learn from them. You can find an interesting comparison of YouTube, Google Video, Metacafe and Soapbox here.