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Why Google's Smart for Buying YouTube
Someone told me the other day that, for a guy who seems to have an opinion on everything (and whether I have any business doing so be damned), why haven't I said anything about Google buying YouTube? Frankly, I was more interested in the non-stop Internet punditry that would commence than actually think about the viability or reasons -- good or bad -- of this acquisition.
But I have an opinion!
This is a damn good idea for Google.
YouTube is not about its content -- YouTube represents the future of television viewing behavior. So think less about videos of people falling on their collective asses or attempting to skateboard down a metal railing into the Grand Canyon. (Don't get me wrong. That's good stuff.) Think more along the lines of being able to craft your own "television" program comprised of content from a variety of sources in shorter formats that when assembled gives you your own custom 30-minute experience. Say, today you want to spend a half an hour watching all of Michele Bachmann's displays of public embarassment, you can. Tomorrow, you want to spend a half an hour watching all of the best goals of this past world cup, you can. And finally, the next day you want to burn up an entire hour watching your favorite comedic heroics of Will Ferrell, well, have at it.
All of this happens on your time, at your controls, laser focused on the whimsical meanderings of your current state of mind. Kind of like channel surfing TV.
People used to call that cable t.v. It's not. It's your own television. It's Your Tube. Of all the hype surrounding the acquisition, I have heard very little about what YouTube's namesake really represents: the total and complete control over your own personalized television experience assembled from an unbelievably diverse set of content sources -- amateur to semi-professionally produced to, yes, illegally stolen copyrighted material. From the outrageously disturbed to the absolute sublime, the 100 million(!) videos pulled down each day are truly representative of the diversity of human content desires that modern day television cannot whatsoever replicate.
Google understands this. They understand that this format only works in the long haul if there is a robust search overlay on top of YouTube that continues people's ability to create custom visual experiences. YouTube without Google would have died under its own weight of uncategorized content. Pretty soon, that unique personalized experience you enjoy would have become a tedious and decidedly unfavorable experience.
The timing is right. Google wants to own search. Period. Text, images, and video. YouTube has mass. Content, people, and a proven user experience. Google may have just purchased the future of casual entertainment.
Posted by Andrew at October 23, 2006Web Results eNewsletter
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