Tremor Media's CEO separates the fact from the fiction surrounding the online video advertising revolution.

There's no doubt that there is something of an Online Video Revolution occurring. From the $1.65 billion Google acquisition of YouTube to this week's eMarketer report on the explosive growth of ad dollars flowing into online video, it's a hot topic.

But there is a vast difference between what many see as the driving factors or biggest roadblocks and what is actually happening in the rapidly evolving market. Let's take a look at some of the main points as they pertain to advertisers, publishers and users.

Are advertisers driving the online video revolution?

Perception: Advertisers are flocking to online video.

Reality: Yes. It's true that the adoption rate is far greater for online video advertising than most forms of new media we've seen; the reality is that there is a huge discrepancy between ad buys and consumer attention. According to Carat, only five percent of ad dollars are going to digital while 33 percent of consumer time and attention is there. Over the next several years this discrepancy will be corrected and billions of dollars will be transitioned online, a significant portion of which will be for online video.

Perception: Online video advertising metrics are the Wild West. There has been a lot of grumbling about the lack of good online video advertising metrics and there have been numerous outcries to align the metrics of online video with those of television.

Reality: Online video advertising metrics are far more measurable, specific, accurate and actionable than television. Advertisers can get detailed information about reach, frequency, view time, impressions, uniques, interactions and clickthroughs. While many providers can help advertisers translate these numbers into a GRP equivalent, it sells the interactive elements short. While a GRP translates well to TV, it suffers from the lack of the ability to measure responses by viewers. Online video provides actionable insight into the immediate and latent impact of that specific ad impression.

Perception: Content is being created to satisfy this insatiable demand for new media. Everyday there's more news of big publishers pushing video content online.

Reality: So much of this focus is on user-generated video or the major television networks, but the trade media is missing the real point and the real opportunity: A significant amount of the online video inventory (that advertisers are comfortable with) is coming from medium-sized publishers. According to Lee Gomes in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, the majority of businesses that survived the dotcom bubble were smaller niche companies that have become modest but profitable enterprises. This is the same phenomenon we're seeing in online video publishing: the long-tail wagging the dog. Publishers of all sizes are in fact adding video to their sites and niche video portals are being created on a daily basis for a very clear reason. Online video ads command the highest rates in the market and these publishers are capitalizing on this incredible demand that currently exists on Madison Avenue.

Perception: Pre-roll isn't the right media for advertisers. Many feel that they are too long and users will not tolerate them.

Reality: It is true that a 30-second pre-roll ad in front of a 45-second piece of video content is a bad user experience. Advertisers have a long way to go to realize the true benefits of online video advertising. We are, however, seeing more ads that are 15 seconds or less; as well as custom video ads that aren't just repurposed TV ads. Leading online advertisers have never been afraid to experiment with new formats, and video ad units should be no different. If properly targeted and customized to fit the content length that users are watching, pre-roll ads can be an effective format for the advertiser, publisher and consumer.

Are publishers driving the online video revolution?

Perception: Publishers have plenty of video content and they are beginning to digitize more and more of it.

Reality: Publishers are barely scratching the surface of the video content they have offline. Huge numbers of medium-sized publishers are just learning how to manage that content and bring it online. The ROI of advertising can easily offset the costs of digitizing archived content, as well as find new audiences for the content similar to what many niche TV channels have done.

Perception: Venture capital money is flowing into publishers, vendors and networks.

Reality: This is certainly the case. This new money is funding high quality sites with advertiser-friendly content, which is being created at a rapid pace.

Perception: Online video is attracting advertisers and users in record numbers.

Reality: Online video hasn't had its "Seinfeld" moment yet and all of the focus has been on the extreme ends (user-generated and broadcast), but the consistency will come from the middle-- the medium-sized publishers who consistently provide valuable, niche video content.

Perception: Many publishers enter into the process of managing their video online with the idea that one tool can accomplish everything they need: encoding/editing, player, cdn, cms, ad insertion, ad scheduling, ad serving, ad sales, et cetera. Or they may not have a clear idea of the steps involved.

Reality: Typically a combination of a number of tools and services are required for publishers to manage the process and most publishers go through a series of hits and misses to find the right combination.

Are users driving the online video revolution?

Perception: Broadband penetration is responsible for more users viewing video online.

Reality: Clearly this revolution wouldn't be possible without the Moore's Law advances in broadband, but the reality is that users are only scratching the surface of online video viewing. There is still a big difference between "lean forward" and "lean back" viewing habits, but those are rapidly changing and evolving.

Perception: The online video revolution is driven by tweens and teens.

Reality: According to Nielsen NetRatings, one-third of YouTube's audience is more than 45 years old. But the younger demo is driving the behavioral change; in fact, among tweens according to YouthTrends, computer usage has nearly surpassed TV viewing.

Perception: Users focus on user-generated content. Media attention has clearly focused on the explosion of user-generated video.

Reality: There has been a significant uptick in professionally created video online and the vast majority of it is coming from medium-sized publishers in the long tail. Online video, as it expands into mid- and long-form, changes the entire dynamic of broadcast television. It minimizes the risk of signing, producing and ultimately canceling a flop of a program, much in the same way that online music has changed the way record labels find and invest in developing artists.

Perception: The rapid flow of users toward online video is driving advertisers and publishers to cater to them.

Reality: This is clearly true; the reason we're seeing the major broadcast networks rushing to put video online is because of user demand. But the movement has been very slow. As previously noted, the discrepancy between spending and attention is monumental and the discrepancy between offline video content and what's available online is even bigger. As these move closer to each other, the perception will, in fact, become a reality.

The online video revolution is well on its way. The driving forces for this movement come from advertisers, publishers and consumers and are feeding off each other to create the snowball effect that we are starting to see. It's certainly an exciting time to be in the space as the landscape is literally being shifted right before our eyes.

Jason Glickman is CEO of Tremor Media, Inc. Read full bio.