Conference panelists – especially on feature panels hosted by celebs like Carson Daly – often adopt the persona of the Underappreciated Genius.  We’re all here to discover their skills, it seems.  They forget we’re really there for juice about their companies.

Hurley was the opposite.  From the moment he sat down you could tell: Zero ego…or, at the very least, zero interest in displaying it.

The longer the panel inched along, the more we wanted from him.  Wisely, he offered little substance for the first 45 minutes.  He watched his fellow panelists like a student mildly interested in a lecture.  None of this really matters, his expression seemed to say.  He began the YouTube thing for fun, people quickly forget.  Money wasn’t the issue, fame certainly wasn’t the issue, and lawsuits were never a concern. 

Pure fun, that’s what he and co-founder Steven Chen were after.  Business models?  That’s still to come, he repeated several times.

The panelists began to engage Hurley with subtle (and not-so-subtle) jabs.  Robertson criticized Hurley’s point that YouTube Celebrities can, in fact, make a living from their content.  No one will make real money from YouTube, Robertson interrupted.  Hurley just smiled, lightly.  There was no ego in that smile, either.  He just didn’t care to quip.  Why should he?  Everything is just fine, Michael.  That’s Hurley’s gift.

Robertson moved on to the 9-digit club (a reference to billionaires, of which Hurley is now a part), and the 10-digit lawsuit club, welcoming Chad to the latter. 

Hurley wasn’t amused, nor was he pissed.  He is utterly without fear…and this despite the steady flow of lawsuits.  Sure, $1.65 billion helps that…but still…for some it would be an unbearable burden.  He’s the most closely watched person in Silicon Valley right now.  Many would enjoy seeing him fall.  But it’s unlikely.

Hurley reminds you of great quarterbacks in the 4th quarter.  The story of Joe Montana telling his mates in the huddle before the Super Bowl XXIII game-winning drive that John Candy was watching from the endzone comes to mind.  The epitome of calm under pressure.  You get the feeling Hurley either doesn’t care about the potential problems YouTube faces or he already knows the coast is clear. 

His lack of participation in the discussion moved him to the back of the line.  What’s left to be said about YouTube that hasn’t already been puked about a million times?  What could we ask of Chad that isn’t dissected in thousands of publications every day?

We discovered one secret to the Google-YouTube strategy…and you had to pay close attention to hear it, because Chad Hurley isn’t one to stand on a pedestal and shout his ideas.  Daly and the others would poke and prod to get a straight answer about YouTube’s advertising plans.  Well, that’s Google’s problem, Hurley seemed to say.  How will advertising go on YouTube, Robertson asked him again?  Hurley deferred to Google on that one…they’re the ad experts, after all.

A guy behind me chuckled and whispered to his friend, “He doesn’t know the answer!”

“We’re not in a hurry,” Hurley said, sensing the crowd’s displeasure.  “We’re interested in building our community. We’re trying to improve discovery.  We’re trying to improve the experience for people on our site.”

So there it is: Google trusts YouTube to continue improving the online video experience, and YouTube trusts Google to build a business.  Makes sense.  You wouldn’t tell Steve Jobs how to market a new technology, so why would YouTube tell Google how to advertise?  And why would Google claim to know anything about internet video?

We’re getting a better picture how things work in Mountain View, you see.

We praised YouTube’s simplicity, its presentation.  Seeing Hurley onstage defined the thinking that put those subtle pieces together.  Hurley, after all, is simple, his public presentation is easy, his mood is light and unconcerned.  Brin and Page noticed that.  They didn’t just sign YouTube, they signed Hurley.  They didn’t replace him with a lifelong CEO, nor did Sequoia, YouTube’s venture backers.  Everyone noticed something in him that was on full display at OnHollywood.  It’s not too obvious if you’re not looking for it.  I’d guess, by the audience reaction, most people missed it. 

Hurley has something you can’t quite define, but it’s there.  The kid’s all right.  So is Youtube.