Slow down, Reuters. In an article about the online popularity of OK Go's treadmill video, Yinka Adegoke wrote that people "can learn from OK Go's experience, which shows that Web users can catapult a band to fame, challenging the popular assumption that videos need to cost thousands of dollars or be directed by Hollywood film directors."

Millions of YouTube views does not equal fame. The definition of fame is better defined by the demand for a non-free good (album, song, concert ticket, T-shirt). What does a few million no-charge YouTube views give an artist? Notoriety maybe. Visibility definitely. Not fame.

Further down in the article, Adegoke focuses on the ability of YouTube to increase fan interaction. Very true, but the level of fan involvement is certainly not a measure of fame. Ask any cult favorite. Bottom line: there's just too little cost involved (a few minutes of one's time, the neglible cost of bandwidth) in viewing a video at YouTube to assign much value to it.

Now, doing that treadmill routine on the MTV Video Music Awards -- which will happen because of YouTube popularity -- is a whole different ballgame. That carries some heft.