The granddaddy of viral video and the leading cause of productivity decline recently turned five years old. If you're don't know what I'm referring to, please steal a computer or better yet, develop some better comprehension skills. Your local community college is a good place to start on both.

YouTube has become a cultural staple, not just for the Internet but in almost every facet of the global consumer media. It's not only been copied, but it's also been utilized, rehashed, twisted and berated by every other media conglomerate in more ways than the left over parts of an IKEA furniture kit.

TV, of course, is no exception. Here is just a brief glimpse at the people and properties of Television City who loved and loathed YouTube, often in the same breath.

Ever met a lonely television blogger? Of course not, that's because studies have now proven that watching television and writing long essays about it makes you feel less lonely. Sure, I'm sitting here all alone in my house with the latest episode of Legend of the Seeker paused on my television, but I feel like you're all here with me ... wait a minute, I better put some decent clothes on. Sorry about that. Apparently, the bonds I feel with Richard and Kahlan help ease my need to connect with real people.

So now I don't have to go out in the real world and make real friends, or ever hang out with them. I have thousands of friends on hundreds of channels! So fat, lazy Americans spending more and more time sitting around at home watching television is good for us. Sure the research says that it's no substitute for real interaction, but it's close enough. We need to get ourselves nice and complacent for when the machines rise up. And it'll be much easier if they know where to find us; sitting at home alone with our Friends.

I sometimes look around the internet and am amazed by the sheer volume of content. People can write about almost anything -- especially when they're obsessed with a specific topic. And a lot of people seem to be specifically obsessed with television.

Not that I can judge. I'm TV addict who writes for TV Squad. But I sometimes wonder if it all really matters. Is anyone listening to any of us? And more importantly, do we have any influence on the television world at large with our opinions and criticisms?

As a devoted TV addict, I headed out last week to cover the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) and listened in on a panel discussion which looked at the explosion of blogs and TV fan sites and questioned their impact (if any) on the industry.