CNN, AOL Following YouTube Lead

"In the past year we've seen video has exploded on the Web," said Josh Freeman, vice president of AOL Video. "We're trying to integrate all elements," instead of specializing in user-generated video or movie trailers, or having a video store. AOL's goal is to get viewers to think about tuning into Internet videos the way they turn on their television, he said.

CNN is introducing CNN Exchange, an area of the company's Web site that will feature user-submitted video, audio and articles.

"User-generated content has the potential to play a pivotal role in journalism whether it's online or offline," Mitch Gelman, senior vice president and executive producer for CNN.com, said in a statement. "With CNN Exchange, we've essentially created a one-stop shop for CNN.com users to share their contributions with other Internet users."

One look at an Alexa graph of YouTube's traffic explains the sudden rush to add support for user videos: