emconsteroids

Yesterday, Google acquired YouTube which surprised a lot of people in the industry. After all Google already has its own video service. So what could be a good reason to spend another 1.6 bn US Dollars? I think it’s the brand. YouTube’s clever moves focussing on connectivity, enabling easy ways of linking and embedding their content into third party sites or applications lead them to one of the best known online brands in the world. And all this just within the tiny time span of 18 months. But Google too is one of the best known online brands in the world. So why should they buy something famous to become famous, if they already are famous?

I think the strategy is obvious: Video content is the kind of content, that users are willing to pay for. Video on demand/digital TV is a good example. On top of that, video is a very suitable channel to distribute advertising content. I believe, Google will use YouTube as a vehicle to escalate the usage of Google Checkout and therefore push PayPal from their throne. Google Checkout is by far the most promising product out of their palette. All it needs is the world wide acceptance and a proper application. And the world needs a reason to use Google Checkout. Wouldn’t video just be ideal for that?

PS: I can see a product where everybody can upload their own videos and actually *sell* them. Obviously all transactions and user accounts would require Google Checkout. Imagine how the next lonelygirl15 will become rich and trigger a torrent of imitators… all in the benefit of Google.