YouTube Is Going To Kill the Internet, Oh No!!!

Ever since Time named you person of the year, you've let it go straight to your head. Now you're responsible for messing up the Internet. That's right: All those funny videos you are uploading to YouTube and other video sharing sites are going to cause the whole Internet to explode.

Don't panic yet, says Qwest CTO Pieter Poll, but soon the networks will crumble under the weight of its current heft traffic growth. That means that if you watch videos like this dancing kid or this homemade music video or this Lonelygirl15 stuff that's still going on, then you're part of the problem!

On the other hand, you might be a little dismissive of Poll's ludicrous comments as nothing more than doomsaying so the telcos can get away with their insane Dr. Evil-inspired price gouging plans and attempt to kill off the net neutrality movement. And considering that Poll's comments are technologically misleading, I'd say that's a safe bet. (Adding "computing power" is not really the way I'd explain how bandwidth levels are increased.)

Besides, Poll is just plain wrong about video traffic being the big sinner in all of this. Rather, BitTorrent traffic is widely believed to consume at least a third of all Internet traffic and possibly more, depending on the study you believe. Watching a few clips on YouTube just doesn't compare.

I'm confident that technological solutions will present themselves (possibly as simple as simply adding more routers and more cables) as "the pipes" get clogged with more traffic, but slapping websites with the equivalent of a web tax isn't the answer, Qwest. In honor of Mr. Poll, take a look at this painful Japanese game show, this insane unicyclist, or these T.J. Hooker bloopers. You've earned it.