Article appeared on nytimes.com
By BRAD STONE
SAN FRANCISCO — Early this year, the most popular YouTube video of all time — a 2007 clip of a British toddler gleefully biting the finger of his older brother — was supplanted by a brash newcomer.
The upstart was Lady Gaga’s slithering, sci-fi-themed music video for her hit single “Bad Romance.”
The shift was symbolic: YouTube, a subsidiary of the search giant Google, is growing up. Once known primarily for skateboard-riding cats, dancing geeks and a variety of cute-baby high jinks, YouTube now features a smorgasbord of more professional video that is drawing ever larger and more engaged audiences.
