Author Archive

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »
 

Have a YouTube Channel? Soon You Can Charge Your Subscribers

Monday, March 25th, 2013

Since its inception, YouTube has experimented with many designs, functions and monetization strategies. To monetize a YouTube video prior to April 2012, a user had to be invited to the elite YouTube Partner Program. While the exact qualifications to get invited to the exclusive program weren’t entirely known, users sought to get invited and make money from their cat-pouncing and baby-giggling video masterpieces.

In April 2012, YouTube opened the partnership program to all users, allowing them to monetize any videos that met these specifications. This move was  a strategic move by YouTube to gain more revenue.

And based on the stats below, the revenue stream will only continue to grow. From YouTube’s stats page:

+Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month
+Over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube
+72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
+70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US
+YouTube is localized in 53 countries and across 61 languages
+In 2011, YouTube had more than 1 trillion views or around 140 views for every person on Earth
+Millions of subscriptions happen each day. Subscriptions allow you to connect with someone you’re interested in — whether it’s a friend, or the NBA — and keep up with their activity on the site

By monetizing this massive amount of video, YouTube was a steal for Google at its purchase price of $1.65 billion in 2006. With the popularity of video on the rise, YouTube recently divulged their desire to allow content creators to charge for subscriptions–another cash cow for YouTube, as they’ll surely take a cut.

Robert Knycl, head of content at YouTube, made this shrouded remark at a meeting last week in LA: “the potential of paid channels unlocks an opportunity to create new revenue streams.” (Source)

When the executives choose to rollout this shift is not yet known, but the liklihood of it happening is as sure as the fact that in the time it’s taken you to read this, nearly 216 hours of content has been uploaded to YouTube.

Time to upload a video?

 

Posted in Services, youtube | No Comments »

Google Reader Dies, Here Are Your Reader Options

Monday, March 18th, 2013

Google broke the news on their company blog March 13, 2013 in a post titled “A Second Spring of Cleaning”:

“We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months.”

Contrary to Google citing ‘usage has declined’, the internet exploded in a virtual uproar with Google Reader lovers signing a petition (at the time of the post it had over 123,000 signatures) to stop the Google assisted suicide.

But it’s going to happen. It’s time to prepare.

Alternatives to Google Reader

1. Feedly

Feedly has added over 500,000 users in the past few days alone. Check out this post to learn more about Feedly for iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox and Safari.

2. Taptu

Similar to Feedly, Taptu is an app-based reader with visual appeal. With “DJ your news” as its slogan, Taptu has a social media edge to its applications, making it a top pick of the social media lovers.

3. Netvibes

Netvibes is a social aggregator as well as a dashboard service while still keeping true to the standard usage of RSS. Although Netvibes offers paid levels of service, the basic package is free and simple to use.

4. The Old Reader

Yes, that’s actually the name: The Old Reader. And guess what? It looks very similar to the old reader…the old Google reader that is. A quick sign in using Facebook or your existing Google account and your old reader feeds can be imported to The Old Reader in no time.

A great alternative to those not wanting to change.

Of course there are myriad other more visually stunning options like Flipboard or Pulse, but to each his own.

We’re curious: if you use Google Reader, what will you be migrating to before Google lays the tombstone on Google reader on July 1?

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »