The CNET News Blog have a post up discussing the fact that Google still haven’t found a way to monetize YouTube. You might remember the overlay ads that caused such a ruckus when Google tried them on a select few videos, and apparently it wasn’t a solid idea at G Headquarters either, since we’re not seeing them all over the YouTube vids.
However, they’re not completely at loss. The post quotes CEO Eric Schmidt, who is confident that Google’s yet unannounced products of this year will make a difference.
“We believe the best products are coming out this year,” Schmidt said. “They’re new products. They’re not announced. They’re not just putting in-line ads in the things that people are trying…Google believes that advertising itself has value. The ads literally are valuable to consumers. Not just to the advertisers, but the consumers.”
$1.65 billion for YouTube probably feels pretty heavy about now. Still, the value of serving so many videos, be it on youtube.com or on your blog, shouldn’t be underestimated. Think about it as a very lively TV channel, web style, which I’m sure Google does. This means that Google is facing the same problems as TV in the US (and more), with Tivo and other recording products that let you skip out on the ads. Maybe that’s one of the reasons Google have pushed into the TV advertising sphere? There’s knowledge to be gained, money to be made, and YouTube options for advertisers perhaps?
“Dude, I’m a blogger, stop yapping about how Google will make money on YouTube!”
Sorry dude, but it affects you. YouTube hasn’t explicitly told all bloggers and site owners that they’ll help them make money. Sure, there are clauses in agreements that YOU have said yes to, but that’s beside the point. Compare to Revver, which shares revenue with you, should there be any, and you’ll see the difference. I know video bloggers who choose YouTube because there aren’t any ads, as opposed to some of the other offerings available.
Maybe you don’t want ads with your video, then YouTube by far is the most used and probably most stable choice.
What Google will do with YouTube will change things for you, as a blogger, since you’ve embedded videos. You don’t want an ad rolling out that clashes with your content, do you? Well, Adsense may be good for text content, but analyzing a video is a different matter.
I’m pretty sure Google will make YouTube a good deal for them, one way or the other. Where you and I stand, as bloggers, after they’ve figured this out, is a whole different matter.