Mobile Video Content
Back in June, I wrote a post titled Google, The Video Gatekeeper?Â? I basically disagreed with this notion. Although Google would have its share of user generated video content, I argued that more traditional Entertainment companies would control the more desirable content on the Internet. I listedÂ? two sites, MySpace and YouTube, as examples of why Google would probably not become the video gatekeeper. Google Video simply wasn’t taking a large enough piece of the pie in that market. With the purchase of YouTube, Google has really changed the picture.
Google will now be able to direct traffic fromÂ? their search engine into the largest video sharing site, which happens to be their property. But control of the content is what matters. If, for some reason, users move on to another site, the property loses value. One might argue that, much like MySpace, YouTube has reached that point where it will sustain itself, but YouTube relies on a very specific type of media - video.
Something that the winning entry at Yahoo! Open Hackday illustrates is the changes in mobile technology. Very shortly, your cellphone will alsoÂ? be your camera, video camera, iPod, and Origami all-in-one. If a large online video contentÂ? site secured a deal with a large mobile phoneÂ? company that makes it cheap (or free) to transfer video content from their cellphone to their profile online, it could have a huge impact on video sharing sites. With Google making a $1.65 billion purchase for a video site, would they look to do the same thing with a cellular compnay? It might be a bold move, butÂ? it’s in line with the YouTube purchase.
Google has made a huge gain in the area, but it still isn’t what I would describe as the video gatekeeper. Rather than looking at another major purchase, the company will probably look to make some money back, but I don’t think this will be the end. Google’s domination online still has some more pieces to complete the puzzle.