Google, The Video Gatekeeper?
In the last few months, there has been a lot of negative feedback relating to Google and their releases. We’ve been one of the many who have been less than impressed with Google. Google Spreadsheet didn’t even excite us enough to even write about, but if we made a post, it would probably have some similarities to what Paul Kedrosky had to say. We understand that several of these releases do not fall into Google’s core business, but when do these efforts turn into distractions and affect the image of the search-giant in a negative way?
Google Video was one of their quiet releases. Most people seem to find out about the service through a forwarded link. We think it is probably one of the best releases of late, at least head and shoulders above what everyone else had developed and implemented to that point, and probably an important step in becoming the Internet-based Big Brother that Google seems content in becoming - they control most of the information you receive, and now have a means of dictating the video content that you view. Despite having this level of control, will Google become the video gatekeeper?
Robert Young wrote an article for GigaOmÂ? asking the question Should Hollywood Fear Google? He points out the impact of video sharing sites like YouTube and MySpace as reasons the question doesn’t have the impact that it maybe should, but we’re not sure we agree with his answer. In short, Young believes thatÂ? the ability for Google to become the gatekeeper to video is directly proportional to the number of hyperlinks to videos, something that will only increase. The problem with this thinking is that video content, espeically the content that would be described as Hollywood, is ultimately going to be regulated and controlled. Much like YouTube and MySpace, Google Video is mostly user-generated or unregulated, like funny commercials. We’ve talked about two major corporations, first News Inc. and their sale of episodes of 24 on MySpaceÂ? and then Disney offering their videos on CinemaNow, offering their videos on a pay-per-download basis. What kind of control will Google have if the content is only made available to those who pay?
Google is obviously in a good position to be able to reap some level of financial reward for any and all digital content. Their efforts regarding literature is similar to what their efforts with digital video will be, but we should all remember the concerns that the public had with Google putting all available literature online. Hollywood and major Entertainment companies are making moves to secure their own userbases to solicit and market their products to, and their advertising efforts will quickly adapt and evolve to ensure they can capitalize on the Internet and the potential of their digital content directly. These efforts may include some agreement or campaign that incorporates (any one or a combination of) Ads by Google, Google’s search, or Google Video, but to think that the Google will ultimately become the gatekeeper of video content doesn’t seem to fit into the models that two major Entertainment companies seem to be taking.
We’re never amazed with the response to Google. They have always strived to be different, but we think this time it won’t be different for Google. The rights to digital content are held quite tightly be a small number of large companies, and it would make good business sense for those companies to act as their own gatekeepers. If Google is interested, Hollywood is probably looking for a few good doormen, but they’ll probably hold onto the keys themselves.