It was as if Vint Cerf, the so-called grandfather of the Internet, was talking to a group of dinosaurs.

Cerf, who helped build the Internet while working as a researcher at Stanford University in the 1970s, spoke to television executives at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival this past weekend and told them how the Internet’s influence was radically altering their businesses and how it was imperative for them to view this golden opportunity to be exploited instead of a threat to their survival (The Guardian report).

Online video needs a business model. So does most of new media. So Google’s attempt to bring advertising to select YouTube clips, unveiled today, is just another step in that direction.

And you know what? The ads are not that bad, all things considered.

After months of testing various video advertising formats, Google settled on an approach that it hopes is less obtrusive to viewers and keeps them in control of what they’re watching. It’s similar to the “ticker ad” concept that VideoEgg introduced nearly a year ago, or the ads that appear along the bottom of the screen during television shows.

A few months ago a columnist for the blog Reel Pop noticed three of the newest comedy shows on television all had their origin online or use the Web as a gimmick. VH1’s “Acceptable TV,” MTV’s “Human Giant,” and FUSE’s “The Whitest Kids U Know” are all web-to-TV success stories.

The New York Times noticed a similar phenomenon the other day at the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, where the hottest topic of discussion was sketch comedy and the Internet, not who is scoring the best TV deal.