From talking to insiders this week, it seems the lesson the major media companies took from the success of YouTube is that people finally want to watch video online. While that's true enough, there are five other lessons they should be learning from YouTube.

1) Convenience Trumps Content
Although what people watch is important, there's a reason why a clip of someone singing along to some obscure tune has been watched more than 10 million times on YouTube, and many of the promo clips on "official" sites are getting page views in the low tens of thousands. It's all about convenience.

One of the smartest things YouTube did was to make their videos entirely site-agnostic. Sure, you can go to YouTube.com directly--and tens of millions do--but you're more likely to see a YouTube video somewhere completely divorced from their site.

YouTube engineers have created multiple ways for viewers to share video clips. They're easy to email, it's easy to find the URL of the video page and each video page includes code that allows you to easily embed the video anywhere you want.

It's a masterful idea, in that it not only encourages people to post the video, but each embedded video window includes a prominent YouTube logo bug. It's branding at its purest, and it's entirely free.

The networks are still focused on building traffic and the brand for their "home" sites. So you can't embed the video or use it in any context other than visiting the home site. In many cases, you can't even share the video via email. There are networks that embed the videos in a stand-alone video player crammed with content from their partners. The entire experience seems to be driven by sales and marketing concerns, rather than providing ways for the viewer to enjoy and share their favorite clips.

2) Sales Is Important, But Not As Important As Building An Audience.
How did YouTube build a monthly audience of 34 million unique users? In part, they did it by foregoing short term revenues and pressures from the sales side of the business.

I can guarantee that if YouTube had been launched by a major media company, it would have included an ad prerolled in front of every video. Every page would have included flash banners, intrusive skyscraper ads with sound-driven roll-overs, and all the other bells-and-whistles you'll find on all the network sites.

And yet by keeping the presentation simple, by giving up the short-term revenue gain from pre-roll video ads, YouTube built a huge audience of casual visitors. When you don't require visitors to jump through multiple hoops to watch a video, when you don't make the pageweight so heavy that the page loads slowly even with a broadband connection, you encourage frequent repeat visits and impulsive video watching.

3) Listen To Your Audience, Even When They're Telling You Something You Don't Want To Hear
The best example of this happened a month or so ago, after Bill Clinton made an appearance on Fox News. His interview with Chris Wallace turned into a huge story, and the clips were posted multiple times to YouTube.

News Corp. then demanded the clips be removed, yet relented after it became apparent that they were giving up a lot of potential buzz.

I understand the contractual issues of posting scripted programs. But there wouldn't have been a need for anyone to post it to YouTube if Fox News had posted the entire interview as soon as it aired, and provided a way for people to post that clip on their blogs and websites. The audience had a need, and if they couldn't get it from official sources, then the YouTube's of the world stepped in.

By listening to their audiences--and giving up a bit of control--they could have fulfilled the audience need and furthered the Fox News brand. Even better, they could have followed it up by making available a clip of Wallace discussing his thoughts about the interview. Making that follow-up clip easy to post and share would have extended the conversation and the provided Fox News with another news cycle worth of discussion online.

3) Viewers Don't Mind Shameless Promotion. They Just Don't Want To Be Treated Like They're Stupid
Despite the fact that their obvious promos, viewers on YouTube will watch trailers and other promos, but only if there is a perceived value or buzz factor. They love early looks at buzzworthy films and TV shows, but there's a reason that unofficial clips tend to do better. Most promo clips online, especially those of TV shows, tend to look like nothing but recycled TV spots.

Rather than just shoveling 60-second promos online, it's much more effective to think outside the traditional promo department box.

NBC has done a solid job with their clever series of promos featuring "Bill, The Promo Guy." Yes, they're hokey and not as funny as I suspect NBC thinks they are. But they're clever and effective.

How effective? This "Bill" spot for "The Office" and "My Name Is Earl" has received 300,000 views. This traditional "behind the scenes" look at "Twenty Good Years" has received a total of 511 views.

4) Fans Want To Interact With Their Favorite Programs, And Sometimes They Do It In Ways You Might Not Anticipate
It's no surprise that some of the most popular "remix" video clips are ones that rework and reference popular movies and television shows. Partly, it's done because viewers want to feel as if they're part of their favorite programs. And it's also because there are a lot of people who want to see if they have what it takes to create a buzzworthy clip. So they take footage or images from their favorite shows and movies, and rework them in ways the copyright holders couldn't have anticipated.

Stephen Colbert's recent Star Wars green-screen video contest is a textbook example of how you can bring the audience in your program and make them part of your conversation. I'm not arguing that every program has to promote itself the same way. But there are many ways that the networks could easily enable viewers to experiment and remix video segments in ways that still strengthen the underlying brand.

As an example, look at this video. A guy took a scene from the television show "Airwolf," and digitally replaced Jan Michael Vincent with himself. Does it infringe on the underlying copyright. Probably. But does it get people talking about the show again? Definitely.

5) Remember To Keep Dancing With The One That Brought You
The TV networks have jumped on the video and blog front with both feet this season. But for many viewers, the real test will be when some of the new shows are canceled. Typically, the network quickly pulls all mention of the canceled show from their site. Which makes sense if this was 1970. But if you have an audience of people who are devoted to a program, why not service them, even if you had to pull the show?

YouTube has shown that people will watch clips of long-forgotten shows, and there are tens of thousands of sites devoted to shows that are no more. Why let someone else grab that traffic and potential revenue, just because you aren't airing the show anymore?

When a network cancels a show (or pulls it forever), it should be also offering up fans video clips that let them know they aren't just being discarded. Do some interviews with the writers, discuss what might have happened the rest of the season. Stream unaired episodes, along with commentaries that can downloaded as mp3's (as SciFi.com has done in the past with Battlestar Gallactica). Treat your viewers not just as eyeballs, but as partners, and they'll not just remember, but reward you the next time you're pitching a new show.

These five facts are what the networks should be thinking about this season. Just as TV isn't the only place to watch television programs, network sites aren't the only places fans discuss and appreciate the shows. And at the end of the day, you either make yourself a part of the discussion or you watch from the sidelines and grab the smaller piece of the revenue pie.