“The TV, at least in my house, is the largest, dumbest screen on the wall,” Suzie Reider, original YouTube chief marketing officer, now Google director of media solutions, told attendees at Monday’s first Canadian YouTube upfront.

Unlike the television, she insisted, YouTube is everywhere.

The media and industry can argue that TV is actually everywhere these days, with live streaming apps, broadcasters streaming content directly from their own sites, and the ability to watch video content from any device, anywhere, anytime.

But YouTube’s argument on Monday was one of scale. According to stats for the Google-owned video streaming platform, more than one billion unique users visit YouTube each month.

YouTube isn’t like TV at all, Reider said.

“TV is one way. YouTube talks back – there’s video responses, there’s comments, there’s different ways to interact,” she said.

While the platform connects with users across a range of psychographics and demographics, YouTube execs emphasized that its core audience is Generation C, a generation of 18-to-34-year-old consumers who live through curating, connecting, creating and a sense of community.

YouTube doesn’t replace TV, said Marshall Self, Google Canada’s head of media solutions, it helps accelerate it.

Content creators should “use the platform for what it’s really strong at. And that is being participatory. Then they’re not viewers, they’re fans,” Self told Playback.

YouTube is a social network, a play space for content creators and brands (or both, together) to engage a fan base in a two-way conversation, and then use that fan base to build a brand, or as Reider said, “shape the culture.”

Self added that shorter content, which he called “snackable” does better on the whole, and leveraging tech like custom video annotations can increase audience development.

According to the presentation, comedy is the most subscribed-to category on YouTube. In fact, Canadian web series Epic Meal Time is #7 on YouTube’s top 10 comedy list.

“Niche doesn’t mean small anymore. Niche means focused,” said Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick, in a video presentation. “TV just has to be watchable. YouTube content has to be shareable,” he added.

Some of YouTube’s most shareable, and valuable, content, revolves around educational content and live-streaming of major cultural events.

For example, make-up instructor Michelle Phan, who built a fan base by posting instructional how-to make-up videos, has more than 4 million subscribers to her channel. And Salman Khan’s Khan Academy videos, which began as a way to tutor his cousin in math, grew into its own brand, with more than 1 million subscribers to the channel.

Live-streaming cultural events, execs said, creates an opportunity for a ripple effect of users generating more content in response to what they’ve experienced.

An example? Felix Baumgartner’s Red Bull Stratos Jump currently has more than 34 million views on YouTube. It spawned a video recreation – in Lego – which now has more than 9 million views, and was covered by mainstream media including The Guardian and Time Magazine.

The same thinking can be applied to entertainment properties or brands, who can use the platform to respond to culturally relevant topics and also push their own content forward, execs said.

“YouTube today is what specialty was 30 years ago,” said Self.

“The magnitude and impact is already there.  [YouTube] is the new water cooler,” he added.