This is a love letter. It’s unconventional, yes, but my emotions are deep and true. This is a love letter to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce‘s YouTube channel.

No, I do not live in Oklahoma, nor do I have any interest in local politics (it’s Queen of the World or nothing). Let me explain myself: I’ve been doing a lot of data collection and analysis work lately, which means I spend a lot of time on Google and social media. YouTube seems to be a conundrum for so many businesses because it’s often overlooked as a social media platform – yet, that’s pretty much how it functions. I haven’t seen a commercial on an actual television since hockey season ended, but if someone sends me a YouTube link to a good one, I’ll not only sit through it, I’ll watch it again and post it to Facebook if it’s good enough.

Since YouTube’s revamped itself in preparation for what the company views as its future – that is, multiple-device functionality – I’ve been working on a project to coax organizations into making use of the web site as a marketing tool, as well as using the tools YouTube provides to the best of their purposes.

Simply put: A lot of people are afraid of the internet and I’m trying to help them.

Getting to the point: Why I freakin’ love the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and their Tube-Fu.

First of all, they’ve embraced the new front page. So few people take the time to complete their introductory page and it makes a huge difference. In addition to making a channel appear less cluttered, the intro video and blurb capture the visitor’s attention by default. “Be part of a city on the rise,” the GOCCC says, to which I say, “Really? You want me?” If I’m being honest with myself, the answer is probably no, but I still got excited about the idea. In this economy, the idea of a city on the rise is downright titillating.

In addition to the intriguing front page, somebody went to the trouble to supply visitors with a full list of related links AND regularly updated content with everything from career fairs, information for young people just starting out in the business world, conferences, chamber dinners and meetings, and, best of all, they have an annual event called SchmoozaPalooza. I can tell I’m almost in my thirties by how exciting I think that event sounds. It almost makes me want to move to Oklahoma City. If only it weren’t in Oklahoma.

But wait! Before I make up my mind about that, this channel has testimonials from new arrivals about why people should move to Oklahoma City. Say whaaaat?

Maybe I’m getting way more enthusiastic about this than is warranted, but I’m pretty sure that any organization looking to make use of YouTube should look at this channel before they do anything. This is how it is done, ladies and gentlemen.

Can someone take me to a punk show kegger? I think I need it.