While almost half of all internet users have viewed video online, only 20% of those users have watched a full length program — according to a Wired article.

Popularity, at least in terms of the internet, still strongly favors convenience over depth of content. When people are looking for long, in-depth stories or extensive coverage on a topic, mainstream media still draws a much larger audience than web-based alternatives.

This cultural movement is of vast importance to traditional advertisers who are trying to leverage the “new web”. Viewers are consuming content in tiny bites within ever decreasing kernels of free time, especially those viewers in the highly lucrative 18-35 year old male demographic.

What I see from this is that the traditional 30 second ad spot is completely inappropriate when much of the media being consumed is only 2 minutes long. This is where consumer generated advertising can completely change the landscape. Just take a look at the commercial spoofs that you can find on sites like YouTube. While these are not always the most flattering of product placements, they do keep the company’s brand at the top of people’s minds.

Company’s should see the internet as a tool to recruit and support brand evangelists. Already, tons of people are willing to spend their time (for free) generating brand related content. These consumers are passionate about these products and this sincerity is what makes advertising effective for a crowd that has been saturated by sleek, corporate sponsored campaigns.

The “new web” is about people talking to other people, if advertisers are going to use the web to its full potential they need to find a way to get involved in this conversation.

UPDATE — MediaTalk shows yet another example of why consumers are the future of sales.