Don’t Buy YouTube: Bloggers Debate

Interesting article by ZDNet’s Digital Micro-Markets (DMM) that outlines the “top 5 reasons not to buy YouTube.”

Here are DMM’s reasons, and WillVideoForFood (WVFF) responses. I wanted to post this on the comments section of the ZDNet blog, but it wasn’t working for me. Watch out- WillVideoforFood (WVFF) is actually standing up for YouTube on a few points. Despite our previous rants (see “YouTube Rant”) on the subject.
 

DMM #1: No meaningful revenue stream, but $1 million per month in bandwidth costs.

WVFF: Correct

DMM #2: “Home-Grown” user created content lacking mainstream appeal of professionally produced video entertainment.

WVFF: Totally disagree. YouTube viewers are looking for JUST THAT! Look at the most popular videos. Are they “professionally produced video entertainment?” No. They’re home grown. And there is plenty of professional content that is sitting in the bloated YouTube collection that people could have selected.

The whole point of YouTube is that people are sick of “reality” t.v. and want real real stuff. (WVFF)

DMM #3: Pirated Video Content

WVFF: Absolutely a problem. Can’t sell ads surrounding copyright theft.

DMM #4: YouTube users are not willing to pay for content and are deemed resistant to advertising.

WVFF: Nonsense. Eventually there WILL be paid channels, though we’ll only pay for an exclusive selection of really good content (JibJab quality as I call it). And if YouTube was smart, it would start experimenting with how much advertising its viewers will tolerate without reducing their duration and frequency of visits. It’s simple- get a control and three test groups of viewers. Then experiment with 3 levels of intrusion (contextual ads, banners, pre-rolls, etc.).

The real issue is that advertisers don’t want to play Russian Roulette with their placement. They’ll want some level of quality control to make sure their ads are connected with appropriate content that is tied to their target market’s interests. (WVFF)

DMM #5: Broadcast Yourself positioning is not sustainable.

WVFF: Don’t really understand that point.