Smartest Move: YouTube and Open Infrastructure
Definitely YouTube’s move to expand its API is the smartest thing that management can do, let me explain in a bit. Well, with this announcement, developers get more direct access to the service while it also facilitates the proliferation of so-called "chromeless" players without the traditional YouTube interface and branding.
If you think about it, this is a big thing… Instead of promoting YouTube as a destination site, this lays the groundwork for YouTube’s transformation in a video service. With this strategy in place, YouTube will become the mother of all videos in the world (Think about what that suggests in terms of indexing and monetizing potential).
Let me give you a case study on this one (where it is required):
Friends of mine (Ahmad Ashour & Mohammed Basheer) came to me for a solution for their Video On Demand project for their award winning site "aljazeeratalk.net".. Basically, they are sick and tired of the current video service platform they are using since it requires users to be registered to be able to participate with their UGC site. And so, they wanted something where a user does not leave their site and still be able to participate. And of course ths solution was to use APIs of Blip & Flickr…but then there was a concern that Blip requires the user to be registered (to keep things private) and a chance there will be a chrome and have to use the Blip’s video chrome… so there was hesitation there.
But now, YouTube thing "chromeless-brandless" will definitely make them jump on their feet asking for it to get implemented on their site.
Well, YouTube’s not alone in thinking about how it can reinvent itself as a technology platform. Steve Rubel, who writes the Micro Persuasion blog, nails it:
The leading players on the Web all see the train coming. They are wisely creating APIs and turning themselves into plug-and-play services, not just big destinations. YouTube is just the latest to do so today. Amazon has S3. Google has OpenSocial and an extensive library of APIs. As does Microsoft. Facebook is allowing its applications to live outside the site. Twitter is an API first and (eventually) a business model second. Finally, the booming widget economy shows the promise of small content that can go anywhere.
And Dan Frommer over at Silicon Valley Insider was on the spot when he said:
If you work YouTube’s new services into your Web site, your visitors can upload video directly to YouTube without leaving your site. You keep the page views–and their attention–and don’t have to pay for video hosting. Google, in turn, can presumably sell ads on your content. (Today’s announcement doesn’t say anything about ads/revenue sharing, so we’re assuming Google keeps all of the ad revenue in exchange for the free service.)
With all of that said, This new move by Google/YouTube has totally destroyed any ambition/hope Blip.tv/Veoh/etc had.
Yeah yeah, things might go wrong with YouTube and make Google dump it.. but that is 1 out of million chance it will happen… What could it be? Well, with YouTube expansion, it will easily dig itself into copyright violation disputes and content moderation. Plus, there is a Viacom one billion dollar lawsuit which might end up with a chaos to Google.
One last thing, YouTube social phenomenon is only getting bigger and bigger.. so yeah, kiss good-bye to the rest of start-ups/competitors out there…
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Morad Rayyan is IT professional specialized in New Media development and has special interest in networking "routing" as well as programming.
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