So Google recently paid $1.65 Billion Dollars for YouTube.com.
Recently, in talking with friends we’ve realized that there is some misconception about why Google was willing to pay SO MUCH MONEY for a video sharing company. Friends argue,”Sure, YouTube is cool, but they don’t have that many great videos – at least not over a billion dollars worth!.”
The reason Google was willing to pay a ton of money for YouTube is not because of the videos. It’s the video player! Understand this…YouTube was really the first company to create a tiny video player that anyone could put on any website, blog, or MySpace profile and use for free. It doesn’t matter whether you use a Mac a PC or an Abacus (well..), you can still view the video.
In addiition, YouTube hosts the videos for free. A video file takes up a ton of room. Hosting say 50 of your own videos on a website or blog could cost $40+ a month. But YouTube does it for you for FREE, in exchange for you using their little video player….and of course, right there on the videoplayer is the name YOUTUBE. Bascially these guys hold a monopoly on internet video – sure the actual website is cool, but the application and the application of the application is where the true beauty lies.
This is an actual picture of the YouTube offices. $1.65B doesn’t go as far as you might think, eh? And Yes – it is located above a sushi restaurant. No elevator.
