YouTube, by default, creates embed code that displays videos in relatively low quality. Here’s an example, Matt Harding’s Where the Hell is Matt? (2008): It’s possible, though, to embed YouTube videos with higher quality. Here’s the same video, embedded with YouTube’s high quality option: Notice how images, and especially type, are sharper. Unfortunately, this is […]

Google’s got a big problem with YouTube – the melting-pot nature of user-generated media.

This, along with a billion-dollar lawsuit, courtesy of Viacom, is keeping Google from making money on 96% of its content.

It’s time for Google to settle with Viacom, and get on with building a business based on what makes YouTube unique – user-generated media.

Dancing, the latest video from Where The Hell Is Matt‘s Matt Harding, has turned its theme song, Praan, into a Top 20 hit. The song, arranged by composer Garry Schyman and sung by 17 year-old Palbasha Siddique, is one of the Top MP3 Songs at Amazon. “It’s up over Madonna and Mariah Carey,” said Siddique […]

A few days ago, we suggested that YouTube Needs To Grow A Spine, arguing that YouTube needs to “unequivocally state that they will defend your right to privacy, even if that means taking this all the way to the Supreme Court”.

Now others are starting to weigh in, and it looks like we are not alone in thinking that YouTube needs to grow a spine, if not more….

YouTube has responded to a federal court order requiring the company, as part of Viacom’s billion dollar lawsuit, to give Viacom copies of YouTube’s server log files. These log files are needed by Viacom to help it determine the extent to which YouTube has been used to distribute copyrighted content without permission. However, Viacom doesn’t […]

Google is following up on its promise to make generating revenue from YouTube its top priority. They’ve announced additional partners that let AdSense publishers embed their videos and share in the ad revenue. They’ve also introduced new video ad units, for additional flexibility. Their program works by letting you generate revenue for clicks or impressions […]

Google has a problem. It’s got the biggest video destination on the Internet – YouTube – but it’s struggling to find a way to make money with the site. Meanwhile, Hulu is “kicking YouTube’s ass”, and building a business on long tail video that’s advertiser-friendly. Google’s problem, in a nutshell, is the fact that most […]

Viacom’s billion dollar lawsuit against Google is getting ugly. The federal court hearing the case has ordered (pdf) Google to provide Viacom with “all data from the Logging database concerning each time a YouTube video has been viewed on the YouTube website or through embedding on a third-party website”. The ruling brings a new twist […]

Silicon Alley Advisor’s Michael Learmonth has an interesting analysis today about Hulu – calling it a consumer success, but still a small business.

“On the low end, we estimate that Hulu.com will generate close to the revenue generated by, say NBC.com, which is said to generate “tens of millions” in revenue this year. On the high end, Hulu would net $90 million in gross ad sales — in the same league as some estimates for YouTube.”

It’s a good analysis – but Learmonth misses a key difference between Hulu and YouTube….

Would YouTube be better if you got rid of most of the videos, eliminated most of the features and gave the site a vivid, primary color interface? Maybe so – if your audience is young children. That’s the premise of TotLOL, a children’s video site based on YouTube’s APIs. Here’s how TotLOL works: When scouting […]