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"If TV is a monologue then YouTube is a conversation," says Benjamin Cook. "The communal side of TV has been outdated for 10 years. Something like Doctor Who, The X Factor or the Olympics will suddenly get everyone crowded round the TV again, but in general TV just feels more distant to me. I will sit in bed and watch Charlie McDonnell's latest vlog and you feel far closer – like you're watching a friend."

at the end of 2010 when the site introduced TrueView, a system that allowed users to skip almost two-thirds of its adverts easily; the innovation being that Google could now charge much more for the ones people did watch to the end

"One thing that's completely different is that a lot of creators involve their audience in the creative process," says Sara Mormino, director of YouTube content operations in Europe. "So they ask the audience questions, they ask them to comment and they are also able to look at the stats of exactly who is watching.

Feedback is immediate and unfailingly honest, and they tailor their performances every time they post a video. Such an environment has given rise to rabid fandom.

When you speak to the YouTubers, it's hard not to think that old-style broadcasters should be concerned by the lack of interest in and sometimes disdain for their product. What this generation (and their audience) loves about the platform is that they grew up with it; it feels like it belongs to them. They make the videos, unmediated by grown-ups, and put them out into the world where they are judged by their peer group.

n January 2012, Elisabeth Murdoch's production company, Shine, bought ChannelFlip, a media agency that represents some popular YouTubers, and is expanding rapidly

on the TV front – we work with connected TV ecosystem companies like Shazam, Cisco, and others that are building Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) into HD and 4K displays. In the increasing model of TV/mobile co-viewing/browsing, a sponsor could deliver a message that is first seen on the TV but is also sync’d to become a Call-To-Action (CTA) on the mobile device of the viewer.  And as the ad will know the location of the user, they could tailor the message to direct the customer to the nearest retail location of the brand advertiser.”

In 2011 we worked with Fox TV and our member company Loopt on the show 'Bob’s Burgers.' They approached us with an LBM idea –they wanted to build a fanbase as the show was just starting.  So, we partnered with the California-based chain Fatburger in 64 locations to rebrand them as Bob’s Burgers.  On one of the episodes, one of the animated characters checked-in on their mobile device.  We’re also worked with Bravo on shows like Real Housewives and Top Chef – to drive viewers to real-world retail locations that the characters on the show frequent.”

Let’s take a big retailer like The GAP – they spend $$$ on great TV ads with great music.   Instead of The GAP saying 'Check in on Foursquare today at the GAP and save 20% on a pair of jeans'  – essentially giving their margin away, wouldn’t it be better if I could say 'Hey, you know that great commercial you saw that got you into the store? Let me give you a free copy of that song as a download right now.'  So we’re seeing a shift from just discounts and coupons and moving toward an exchange of valuable content.  The producers and broadcasters of that content have a huge opportunity to participate in that.”

Regarding the potential for backlash against location-based marketing, Khan is optimistic:  “The way we look at it is, if you can demonstrate real value and relevance to an individual user, they will be willing to share their location data. It’s almost a mathematical equation.  You have to articulate opportunities around the value exchange.   Four years ago, the stats for Foursquare showed that more than 82% of the location data (check-ins) were driven by men.

With an average of 80,000 social interactions per episode (and more than 250 telecasts per year), “SpongeBob SquarePants” was the program with the most social activity. But, the average “X Factor” episode generated more than 615,000 social interactions. (This list excludes sports and special events and includes data sources from the day of the telecast only.)

Second Annual Year End Stats Report