Helen's YouTube Debut (ie, "The Problem with Facebook")

As Helen noted in a comment earlier today, her first ever YouTube video--of last week's karaoke performance--is online. Watching it is the best minute and 19 seconds you'll spend all day.

The video's been available to our Facebook friends for several days, but there was no easy way to share it with people we know who are not on Facebook. That's not good--your core profile should be private, only shareable with people you want to see it and who are on Facebook themselves. But it should be easier to share the auxiliary products with others; if nothing else, that's yet more promotion for Facebook.

Important caveat: There might actually be a way to share videos with non Facebook users. But it would be much better for loyal Facebookies if that process were transparent and seamless.

I'm jazzed up about all this because of today's news that Microsoft is considering buying a share in Facebook. (Google is too.) If Microsoft gets a stake the site could become even more closed off than it is now. Who knows? Facebook might even incur the wrath of European regulators ten years from now, given the European reaction to Microsoft's software bundling practices today. But let's hope it doesn't come to that; all Facebook needs to do is loosen up.