Comments on: Wow! I’m surprised! Google + YouTube http://andrewchenblog.com/2006/10/09/wow-im-surprised-google-youtube/ Essays on viral marketing, freemium, and social gaming Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:46:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dave http://andrewchenblog.com/2006/10/09/wow-im-surprised-google-youtube/comment-page-1/#comment-875 Dave Wed, 11 Oct 2006 02:12:57 +0000 http://andrewchenblog.com/2006/10/09/wow-im-surprised-google-youtube/#comment-875 <p>Great post! Or you could just say it's more ad surface area for Google (at some point in the future). Or, maybe they just bought it so Yahoo/Fox/etc. couldn't. ;)</p> Great post! Or you could just say it’s more ad surface area for Google (at some point in the future). Or, maybe they just bought it so Yahoo/Fox/etc. couldn’t. ;)

]]> By: Glenn DeVore http://andrewchenblog.com/2006/10/09/wow-im-surprised-google-youtube/comment-page-1/#comment-874 Glenn DeVore Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:44:52 +0000 http://andrewchenblog.com/2006/10/09/wow-im-surprised-google-youtube/#comment-874 <p>I am surprised about the quick acquisition as well. When I first read the speculation rumors on the blogosphere, I laughed at the idea. With strong development capabilities, I had to wonder why Google would consider such a large purchase. Although YouTube had some valuable DRM IP, it seems that the main reason Google purchased them was for their massive user base. If this is true, you have to wonder if the users alone are worth a significant portion of the $1.65B.</p> <p>If we take a look at online video and compare it to another industry that popped up in the 1950s, namely the rectangle with flashy lights that sits in most of our living rooms, YouTube’s user base could be extremely valuable. Microsoft’s Balmer’s had an interesting comment in the New York Times that stated, “If you believe it’s the future of television, it’s clearly worth $1.6 billion. If you believe something else, you could write down maybe it’s not worth much at all.”</p> <p>Either way, I think this is a very risky move on Google’s part. Nevertheless, with high risk could come high rewards.</p> I am surprised about the quick acquisition as well. When I first read the speculation rumors on the blogosphere, I laughed at the idea. With strong development capabilities, I had to wonder why Google would consider such a large purchase. Although YouTube had some valuable DRM IP, it seems that the main reason Google purchased them was for their massive user base. If this is true, you have to wonder if the users alone are worth a significant portion of the $1.65B.

If we take a look at online video and compare it to another industry that popped up in the 1950s, namely the rectangle with flashy lights that sits in most of our living rooms, YouTube’s user base could be extremely valuable. Microsoft’s Balmer’s had an interesting comment in the New York Times that stated, “If you believe it’s the future of television, it’s clearly worth $1.6 billion. If you believe something else, you could write down maybe it’s not worth much at all.”

Either way, I think this is a very risky move on Google’s part. Nevertheless, with high risk could come high rewards.

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