Generation Y(outube)

They should rename my generation to GenY(outube)... I think one of the most 'innovative' things to happen to the internet in recent years has been the addition of multimedia websites.  Wikipedia is spectacular... but the robustness and potential for youtube is just unreal. 

Years ago, you had to rely on a TV commerical or word of mouth for product reviews and information, instructional VHS's and audio tapes were the only way to recieve any instruction aside from written literature. Now, we have the beast that is Youtube... Youtube (in case you haven't been online since 2001) is a collective website of user-generated multimedia content.. IE a butt-ton of user-submitted videos. These range from instructional videos, to 'Vlogs' (Video logs, or visual blogs) to America's Funniest Home Video-esque clips. While there is a plethora of useless content out there... there is an amazing amount of useful information on youtube. 

The other night I was wondering about the difference between the various Bike-Back protector's out there... sure enough, Youtube had product reviews of all the various manufacturers and models. You could see the person model the protector, see how well it articulates to the back, the natural curvature as well as get a good estimate on how protective it was. Also, small things, like strap-placement (for shoulder comfort), were evident on the video that you might not have thought of elsewise. 

Counter-steering is an often confusing concept in driving a motorcycle... so take 5 minutes and search on Youtube and you'll find 10's of helmetCam demonstrations of how countersteering works and real-world applications

Great Video showing the power of countersteering (nevermind the lane splitting... thats legal in NJ though, or the random pictures of girls on bikes....):

 

New to bikes and don't even know how to maintain the Chain and sprocket? Don't worry.. there's video's showing about 6 different techniques. Don't know how to change the oil in a ZX6R? There's a video showing the entire oil-changing process. 

It's just one of the most inovative uses for the internet, and it's all user driven. 

So... if you need to see how to do something (If you're a visual learner like me).. go to youtube and check out some videos; odds are, if you need to watch it done, it's on Youtube.