Just a single visit to Youtube, or Google Video at is enough to show that posting video clips online has become a big social activity.

But it can also give the impression that video sites are used only by schoolkids, computer geeks and loners who need to get out more.

Not so. Youtube and Google Video are used by a wide variety of people, from students to pensioners, to post movies of holidays and hobbies, or just to swap videos with friends and family.

The similarities between the sites has a simple explanation. Google bought Youtube last autumn, and runs the sites in parallel. It’s easy, it’s free, and it’s certainly a lot easier than burning and mailing a CD or DVD. All you need to post videos online is a device for capturing video, and a broadband internet connection.

Broadband is essential because video files are big, and even with broadband, uploading an average-sized clip can take several minutes. If you’re shooting with a digital camera that has a good-quality movie mode, every second of footage corresponds to about a megabyte (MB) of data. A 60-second clip could weigh in at 60MB – a bit different from still photos.

Shooting videos is easy, though. These days it’s not necessary to own a camcorder. Indeed, this can make things more complicated, since camcorder footage requires ‘capture’ hardware and software, which may mean opening your computer to fit an expansion card. Apple Macs can capture movies from camcorders as standard, using their built-in Firewire ports and iMovie software.

It’s easier to shoot movie clips of up to a few minutes using a digital camera. Most compact models have a movie mode, and many can shoot at a resolution of 640x480 pixels and a frame rate of 30fps – close to camcorder quality.

The advantage of using a digital camera is that movies are saved as files that can be viewed and uploaded straight away. There’s usually no need for conversion. Digital cameras tend to produce Avi, Mov or Mpeg files, and both Youtube and Google Video can upload these directly.

Alternatively, use a webcam. The quality isn’t usually great and the camera is tethered to the computer, but it’s fine if you want to swap ‘video mail’ with friends. This can be done at Youtube via the Quick Capture page.You can also upload videos from phones and other mobile devices, although this may be less straightforward and is likely to require a trip to the online help for instructions.