YouTube as GOD?

Posted by Howard
on March 12th, 2008

So today YouTube is saying that everysite should be a YouTube. It is a smart, obvious chain of events in their pursuit of video dominance. The nerds are gaga. It’s what nerds do when API’s get released.

When Adam at Wallstrip explained to me Wallstrip everywhere and was blogging the stuff a few years ago, I bought in. Fred Wilson did too and away we went. I was no expert but it just made sense. The web is not TV. Fat pipe, shmat pipe.

Obviously having great content matters, but it’s harder and harder to make destinations profitable. There is just so much competion for the eyeballs and so many ways for users to organize the content they like in one spot. This is not new news to web application and service companies, but the nerds are now all gaga because YouTube is finally doing it. This bear market will do in sites like TheKnot.com and TheStreet.com unless they adapt to their content delivery…yet again. The poor web bastards can never sleep. The freaking game is changing by the hour, not decade. The TV guys have had it way too easy for 50 years.

Here are two good explanations of YouTube’s move and Everything/Everywhere – Fred and Dan Frommer (AlleyInsider.com, former Doubleclick founder).

I am biased, but I don’t buy into the fear of YouTube as dominant video God of all things because of this release or coming releases. You can’t be all things to all people. There will be fear and dislocation, but the move creates opportunity.

The Knot.com and millions of other businesses will not roll over to YouTube for video hosting because they can’t be hand held and because they won’t just give up all the data to Google quite yet.

It pays to stay up on the news and hype, but don’t just believe the headlines…at least if you want to make real money.

‘The Future is Web services Not web Sites – is OLD news – and YouTube has the luxury as leader of playing catch up, pound the chest and intimidate. Microsoft had the same advantage. It’s why I own Google right now (sorry Rachel and max), but why I am not running around scared for VSocial.com or TubeMogul.com (which I am an investor).

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