The Royal Channel

This is the coolest thing on YouTube.

Not just because I'm a ridiculous Anglophile, although there is that.

But truly, The Royal Channel is genius. It's a government really getting new media - and, importantly, one already in power, not just a desperate candidate.

(Which is not to take away from YouChoose - just to point out that there's less need for the monarchy to do it, and yet they are. I'm pretty positive there's no White House channel. The Office of National Drug Control Policy has one (which... yawn), but if you search for President Bush? Let's just say it's not flattering.)

But back to the monarchy, because frankly, I like them better. And moreover, they got this right. The execution is perfect. The design is in keeping with YouTube but representative of the monarchy. There's new content, but there's almost a century of very cool old footage and links to pre-TV transcripts. (The Queen Mother's silent-film wedding procession, with her getting into her carriage in her cloche hat - fabulous. As well as Princess Elizabeth and Margarets' message to the evacuee children at Christmas 1940.)

Watching the Queen's first Christmas TV broadcast in 1953 is not only interesting in comparison to her first YouTube-televised Christmas message this week - but also because of what she says about what the advent of a novel medium can do to a society. The more things change... you know?

But yes. This is a lot of thinking for a holiday week. So. If that's a little much, you can learn how to say "bra" in German with Posh! (Along with... which one was Geri?)