In a decade that saw social media move from the fringes to the mainstream, YouTube is the innovation that touched the most lives, became a driving force for change around the world, and ultimately ends the decade with an opportunity to be as disruptive in the next 10 years as it was in the past four.

YouTube’s biggest threat right now is in fact the old media companies, who are putting content online under their own brands. YouTube’s “professional” content selection remains relatively weak, but that’s likely to change, and as soon as 2010. The company is rumored to be working on both subscription and a la carteoptions for premium content, and given the vast lead the site has in audience, it’s hard to imagine the media companies not making deals. The music industry already has with Vevo, a re-imagining of YouTube designed for music videos and big brand advertisers.

Beyond that, here’s where else YouTube is likely going in the decade ahead:

To the big screen: There’s a good chance that the next TV you buy will include internet connectivity. And YouTube is prepared for it — earlier this year the company released YouTube XL, a version of the service optimized for the big screen. Coupled with the move towards hosting premium content that you’re used to getting through your cable provider, by the end of the next decade, turning on the TV might simply mean turning on YouTube.

To the small screen: Many smartphones already make it exceptionally easy to view YouTube clips. As smartphones become more widely available and mobile broadband speeds increase around the world, the audience for YouTube will continue to expand — many times over in markets where mobile is more important than the desktop.

Live video: Considered a hobby for early adopters in 2008, live video turned into a new medium for celebrities in 2009, becoming one of the year’s hottest trends. Propelled by integration with social media sites, services like Ustream and Justin.tv have been able to attract hundreds of thousands (and occasionally millions) of viewers to live broadcasts. Don’t expect YouTube to take this lying down. The company has already started experimenting with live video on its own, demonstrating its massive scale with a U2 concert broadcast that garnered 10 million viewers.

To read more, visit Mashable take on YouTube in 2009. In the mean time, here is our You Tube #1 for 2009.

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