Don’t forget YouTube…
Sep 26th, 2007 by Simon
As we all read about the fortune being made for a tiny percentage of facebook being sold, we shouldn’t forget the relative might of YouTube.
And here’s the reality… YouTube rules!
It’s part of a bigger shift going on (I think) - which is the slow move to video on the Internet being part of our more general entertainment viewing. As people (very slowly, I’ll admit) become used to getting mainstream entertainment through the Internet AND the Internet becomes more connected to our television screens, the desire for video material becomes stronger. As such, the connections that we get from mySpace, Bebo and facebook will still add to our lives, but the Internet will start to replace some of our traditional channels more quickly.
Personally, I’d bet that this will accelerate quickly in the next few years. Soon, we’ll have more general access to Joost, iPlayer, and more specific channels like YouTUbe directly from our TV screens - and that viewing will become a part of household shared viewing.
It’s not exactly a revolutionary prediction - but I’m reminded every once in a while when I look at the Alexa rankings to see what people are actually doing…
Click here to see the live update on Alexa.com
Here’s a link (I think it will work) to Google Trends comparing search volume for YouTube, Facebook and MySpace. MySpace in decline, FB on the up and YT still huge.
http://google.com/trends?q=YouTube%2C+MySpace%2C+Facebook
This thought you have about how general access increasing to these online experiences or tools out there and the effect that will have makes me also think that the web and digital are more than another medium, which I feel is how the ad industry keeps looking at it and defining it.
One example of accelerating general access: The iPhone. Specifically, the iPhone has turned up my use of Facebook tremendously. I only access Facebook by iPhone, the interface is clean and simple, and somehow the interface lets me use the features Facebook is designed for better, short updates and a peak into my life on the go and my friends.
WiMax will turn the web into electricity, always on, if it isn’t already, on multiple types of devices.
AppleTV and the iPhone have YouTube not just as a link but as a special interface. Different access points, different uses.