Google Tube Is Official

 
By Sherri October 10, 2006



The guessing game is over. Google has officially announced its decision to buy YouTube in a massive $1.65 billion stock-for-stock deal.

This comes despite Google Video. The seeming duplication has been explained away by Google's CEO Eric Schmidt in a rather logical fashion. "When we looked at the marketplace, there was a clear winner in the social networking side of video," Schmidt said. "And that's what really drove us to begin the conversations."

So, what does the deal mean to YouTube and Google Video users?

Here's the breakdown from the horses' mouths, so to say:

On Google Video
During the conference call that announced the deal, Schmidt said, "Google Video does not go away, ever."

On Autonomy
Schmidt said that YouTube would remain a separate brand with its own community and experience. "We want to preserve that."

It sounds like YouTube's co-founder Chad Hurley is convinced this is so, too. "From the beginning we've listened to our community.... Users are in control. They decide what rises to the top, what's entertaining."

On Copyrights
Google's senior vice president said that YouTube's commitment to enforcing copyright matches Google's. In light of YouTube's recent partnerships and the Google acquisition, "We can take even greater steps with content owners to protect their property rights."

How Google Tube Will Work?
It sounds like on the surface the two companies will continue to run pretty much as they have with a shift toward more commercialized deals for YouTube continuing.

But, it also sounds like the Google search engine will more prominently feature YouTube videos.

YouTube's co-founder Steve Chen said, "In the last 48 hours, we've been rushing to create a list of all the integration points with Google."

This was confirmed by Google's Sergey Brin, who said the first step will be integrating YouTube into Google's search functionality.

Will It Work?
It could work very well for both if the cards are played right. Google will need to ensure its bread and butter (the search engine) doesn't get bogged down with YouTube. And, it will also have to work hard to make sure the YouTube's focus doesn't get too watered down with commercial deals like the ones announced recently.

YouTube must remain primarily a user-driven site or Google's exes will likely find users running straight to Netscape and other similar outlets for their homegrown videos.

Nods to Lost Remote

Related:
YouTube's Legitimization Continues
Netscape To Pay Top YouTube Users To Move?