By the end of this week, we'll be in full holiday mode. One of my favorite things to do this time of year is cuddle up and watch a heartwarming holiday movie or TV special. Add a cup of cocoa, and I'm blissful. Lots of these holiday movies ar online, and I've brought them all together in this holiday movie guide.

There are only 10 holiday movies on the list, but now that I think about it, maybe I should add two more. Then I could watch one each night as I count down the 12 days until Christmas.

But which two to add? Help me out - share your favorite holiday videos, and where to find them online.

Sitting your relatives down for a video interview can be a fun Thanksgiving activity. It's a chance to get those classic family stories recorded for posterity, and to learn more about the lives of your older relatives.

Many people are uncomfortable being on camera - at first at least. If you ask the right questions, though, you can get them to open up and start talking freely about themselves.

The first thing, is to never ask questions that can be answered with a "yes" or "no." Instead, phrase your question in a way that will make the subject give a thoughtful and complete answer. These video interview tips will help you craft questions that will get people talking.

If you're not familiar with it, the novel Infinite Jest involves a video that is so compelling viewers will not stop watching it. They literally atrophy and die in their armchairs because the video is so amusing they cannot turn away.

Watching YouTube could get like that for me, so I have to limit my intake. I generally only watch videos that come from producers I already know and like, or ones that I read about in blogs or have recommended to me personally. If I started surfing YouTube haphazardly, I MIGHT NEVER STOP!

But that shouldn't prevent you from visiting YouTube and searching out the next new viral sensation. I've put together this YouTube Viewers Guide to help you sort through the millions of videos on the site and find the ones that are most appealing to you. Because with something as big as YouTube, you need to go in with a plan or you could get lost and never come out!

Used to be you'd have to pay millions of dollars for your own broadcasting network. Thanks to YouTube, you can have on for free. This Broadcast Yourself on YouTube Guide shows you how to set up your YouTube account, prepare and upload your videos, set up a YouTube channel and promote your videos.

It's easy and it's free. Man, am I glad to live in the age of digital video!

YouTube Direct is a new service that brings together citizen journalists and professional news organizations. If you witness something newsworthy, upload your videos to YouTube Direct, where they will be reviewed by professional journalists looking for footage. Already, ABC News, the Huffington Post, NPR, Politico, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and others are using YouTube Direct videos as part of their newscasts.

This is just one of many places you can contribute your videos of current events. CNN's iReport, ABC News' i-Caught, and the BBC's Your News all feature user-generated videos uploaded by citizen journalists. And if you're a dedicated citizen journalist, you can set up your own community jornalism video blog to feature your videos.

YouTube used to have a reputation for low-quality video, but that's been changing recently. And when the video sharing site rolls out 1080p streaming next week, you'll be able to share videos in the highest quality available. But now that they're improving video resolution, I hope they'll consider increasing file size limits. After all, a 2GB upload limit means your 1080p HD video has to be really short, or already compressed.

The US Census Department has awarded VBrick a contract worth nearly half a million for video hosting and streaming services. This is just the latest example of the rush of government agencies to online video.

Streaming video offers many advantages to government users. Agencies save money by conducting virtual meetings; departments share internal knowledge through video libraries; and towns broadcast local meetings and news over their web sites.

For businesses and government alike online video is becoming a commodity, not a novelty. As more companies embrace it, those that don't will be left behind. As a video producer, it's a trend I'm happy to see.

Awesome web site alert: VidCompare lets you look at video streaming and hosting providers side-by-sde. The site includes user reviews and lets you search for providers based on the criteria that are most important to your business. From small start-ups or large multi-nationals, VidCompare lets any business find an online video provider that will fit its needs.

Internet shopping for the holiday season is extra convenient if you're buying movies or other digital programs. Buy the product online, and download it instantly instead of paying for shipping and waiting a few days.

Amazon, iTunes and Netflix have offered this service for a while, and now Best Buy will start selling digital downloads in addition to physical DVDs. The electronics megastore announced last week that all internet-connected devices sold in its stores will include software that allows users to download hundreds of movies, including some new releases on the same day they come out on DVD.

Personally, I love digital delivery. It's more environmentally friendly, often less expensive, and a whole lot more convenient. My husband, though, is very attached to having a physical collection of his favorite movies, and swears that the quality of DVD is better than streaming. Sometimes that's clearly right, but most of the time I don't see a difference.

Do you have a preference for DVDs or digital downloads? Leave a comment and let me know which format you prefer, and why.

I've been working on a dream job setting up a new client with the equipment they'll need to set up an in-house video department. To say there's no budget is to exaggerate, but this is one of those large companies that has no problem seeing a lot of zeroes.

So I've been set loose to find a camcorder, microphones, editing software and accessories for $10,000. And it's not even like we're talking about super-professional equipment; they're looking for quality stuff that staff can use without a lot of training.

It's nice to take price out of the equation - especially since I'm so keenly aware of it when shopping for my own video equipment. I've spent all morning on the B&H website looking at cameras, tripods, mics, teleprompters, backdrops and lights, with my focus entirely on quality and function, not cost. I wish shopping were always like this!