This quote from TVWeek:

Considering that giant Google spent $1.6 billion for YouTube primarily for its user-generated content, that might come as a bit of a shock. But given that even smaller sites such as ManiaTV have begun to eschew free-for-all user-generated video, it seems to add up to an admission that, while your cousin Joe’s video may draw a lot of eyeballs, it will never draw a lot of paying advertisers.

“There’s a huge audience built around user-generated content but no evidence that it is a profitable business,” said Peter Hoskins, who recently succeeded ManiaTV’s founder, Drew Massey, as CEO.

Hmm, I’ve seen plenty of advertising in shows like the “Funniest Animals” which rely SOLELY on user-generated content. So there HAS to be some money in cat-and-dog fighting videos…

Tags: ads, google, journalism, user generated content, video, web 2.0, youtube

ads, google, journalism, user generated content, video, web 2.0, youtube

Previously, it was possible to get a video ad instead of an image ad (granted you have opted in for video). This one is different and is probably tied to Google’s acquisition of Youtube.

It will now be possible to put AdSense ads INSIDE streaming videos. So you could host your own video and put an AdSense pre-roll and then another one at the end.

I still haven’t seen it in action but if Google is successful in monetizing video, it could be huge. The economics of video, however, are much different than text so it remains to be seen if the results will actually be worth it.

Tags: ads, adsense, google, user generated content, video, web 2.0, youtube

ads, adsense, google, user generated content, video, web 2.0, youtube

A lot of guys said Marc Cuban is crazy to say that.

His main point was that Google will turn into a GIANT target for all content companies who have their content pirated and put on display at Youtube.

It seems Marc is not so crazy after all as the first big claim has landed in Google’s lap. A cool billion dolllars in damages coming from Viacom.

A snippet from Viacom’s statement:

YouTube is a significant, for-profit organization that has built a lucrative business out of exploiting the devotion of fans to others’ creative works in order to enrich itself and its corporate parent Google. Their business model, which is based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws. In fact, YouTube’s strategy has been to avoid taking proactive steps to curtail the infringement on its site, thus generating significant traffic and revenues for itself while shifting the entire burden – and high cost – of monitoring YouTube onto the victims of its infringement.

In his latest post (aptly named You Go Viacom), Marc says:

…they should continue to sue the hell out of Google. Google blew it. They had no confidence in user generated content generating enough traffic to drive Youtube so they closed their eyes to the obvious. There is absolutely no value to a media company in letting users actually upload video.

Tags: copyright, google, Marc Cuban, streaming, UGC, viacom, video, youtube

copyright, google, Marc Cuban, streaming, UGC, viacom, video, youtube

Now, I have a sample that could actually let me calculate it in a scientific manner. This list of youtube music videos contains 11,500 songs, spanning all genres.

I plan to revisit it in two weeks, assuming it’s 100% fresh now. I must confess I’ve tested it quite a bit though I haven’t touched Donna Summer or some of the other disco legends!

Tags: google, gootube, Marilyn Manson, online, playlists, video, youtube

google, gootube, Marilyn Manson, online, playlists, video, youtube

Most of the speculation centers around two anticipated products, both dubbed with Apple’s signature “i” prefix: iTV and iPhone.

The iTV is reportedly a digital video recording device and according to industry experts times more likely than the fabled iPhone.

Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research, said:

While our analysis continues to indicate (Apple’s) first cell phone is technically complete, its `go-to-market’ strategy continues to be a mystery and likely a gating factor.

That’s my gut feel as well – the iPhone has to wait till later in the year. As a consolation, we could soon be staring at a big screen iPod, better suited for video.

Tags: copyright, google, google video, gootube, iPhones, iTV, music, Steve Jobs, youtube

copyright, google, google video, gootube, iPhones, iTV, music, Steve Jobs, youtube

On any normal Gootube page, you see the video and then comments below it (if any). On CBS videos, however, you don’t get to see the comments. You only see the links to the pages where the comments are supposed to be. Clicking them reveals more EMPTY pages of comments.

The only way to see comments on CBS videos is to click “View All XXX comments”. This is really odd considering I was able to read GREAT comments about Craig Ferguson’s show only a few days ago.

It looks like the comments war has been ranging for a few months already. Here’s the excerp from the NY Times:

CBS began moving and filtering comments on some videos in mid-October, shortly after announcing its licensing agreement with YouTube, in order to remove “profane, unconstructive criticism,” and off-topic political vitriol, said Quincy Smith, the president of CBS Interactive. To many users of sites like YouTube, of course, being profane, unconstructive, off-topic and vitriolic is the point.

All I can say as a Youtube regular, the new pages are butt-ugly. Now, that’s a profane comment CBS would probably want removed.

Tags: CMG, directors, google, show, user generated content, youtube

CMG, directors, google, show, user generated content, youtube

There’s little need for an elaborate argument. Just check out the Most Viewed and Highest Rated pages. The most viewed video of all time is The Evolution of Dance which is OK but once you look at the rest of the “countdown”, you will start questioning the other user’s taste and … sanity.

In short, a very high number of views means the video appeals to the LCD (lowest common denominator) crowd. The ratings are a better indicator of the quality of the video but only marginally so. They suffer from the LCD syndrom too.

This isn’t to say there are NO hits on Youtube. On the contrary, shows like Ask A Ninja or Chad Vader are very good.

My point is that most good shows are good because they are unique. You can’t see them on TV. The reason you can’t is because they are cater to a niche audience. Today I saw an amazing extreme snowboard video. It will never get 36 million views or 50,000+ ratings. Within its niche, however, it’s amazing.

Tags: CMG, directors, google, show, user generated content, youtube

CMG, directors, google, show, user generated content, youtube

They in this case is no other than Yahoo’s BoD. The big news is that Yahoo’s CFO, Susan Decker, gets promoted, while quite a few senior people leave. Here’s the details:

Sources told CNBC’s Jim Goldman that Lloyd Braun, head of Yahoo’s media and entertainment group, was asked to leave the company on Tuesday morning after Yahoo first suggested he take a lesser role. Senior Vice President John Marcom, who ran Yahoo’s International Business operations, also was asked to leave. Yahoo also announced that Chief Operating Officer Daniel Rosensweig, once considered a rival to Decker to succeed Semel, will leave the company in March.

Yahoo posted a 37% drop in quarterly profit and its long-term options don’t look too good either. MySpace and YouTube, are effectively Google’s playground now, so there isn’t a quick M&A fix for Yahoo.

On top of that I’m always suspicious of companies run by CFOs, especially when they’re in a high-growth market. My gut feel is that CFOs work best with milk cows. I already feel sorry for Jumpcut and del.icio.us.

Tags: google, jumpcut, online, social, video, yahoo, youtube

google, jumpcut, online, social, video, yahoo, youtube

The guys behind popular DIY shows (like Ask a Ninja or Chad Vader), demand bigger dressing rooms, better microphones… See the whole list of demands:

If you have trouble with Mark’s Scottish accent, I suggest you rent Trainspotting. Do get the version with subtitles!

Tags: CMG, directors, google, show, user generated content, youtube

CMG, directors, google, show, user generated content, youtube

The article speculates that it’s all related to Google keeping its leading position in search. I think these guys are probably right – though not 100 percent. I bet a lot of this new space will go to some of the new applications that Google is building.

More importantly though, between Google buying Youtube and their own video service, I think Google’s thinking about the future of video. (Don’t forget NBC launched their youtube clone).

Text indexes are one thing. Storing, indexing, analyzing, encoding, hosting, and delivering video is quite another. With the growth of broadband people want to see a lot more than a list of text bits mixed with hyperlinks.

Tags: bandwidth, google, google video, online, video, yahoo, youtube

bandwidth, google, google video, online, video, yahoo, youtube