Tag Archives: Google
YouTube to Charge Fee for Some Content
YouTube is looking at giving its original content channel partners the option to charge users for subscriptions, Robert Kyncl, global head of content at the Google-owned online video site said here Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit.
If the site does go ahead with this approach, “the majority will be ad-supported, and there will be some that will be paid,” he predicted.
He later told THR that there are no set plans though and that it was too early to say when such subscriptions could be offered or at what prices.
Industry observers have previously wondered if and when YouTube could offer the subscription option as a potential revenue stream besides advertising.
Kyncl said YouTube’s goal for now continues to be “taking the friction out” of the ad process to maximize ad revenue for the site and its partners. Promising advertisers that they only pay when ads are actually viewed draws higher ad rates and benefits all sides, he said.
YouTube typically sells ads against the channels and keeps all revenue up until it recoups its original investment. After that, YouTube and the content partner split ad revenue roughly 50:50.
Kyncl also said that when offering content in a branded and popular context, it draws higher ad rates. For example, he said videos of dogs on skateboards may draw minimal costs per thousand advertisers of $2 or less, but that goes up to $20 when the dogs on skateboard appear on a branded Tony Hawk channel.
Earlier this week, YouTube added more than 60 new original content channels to its lineup, including some from international content partners. The news took the company’s original programming push to a more global audience.
In a session entitled “The War for the Living Room: The Internet Takes on Television,” Kyncl also predicted that mobile usage by YouTube users will continue to rise. About 50 percent of consumption in parts of the Arabic-speaking world already happens on mobiles, he said.
Asked about the increasing usage of mobile devices during TV viewing, known in the industry as the rise of the “second screen,” he quipped that for him, television rather than iPads or smartphones are the second screen.
Hiphop on Trial: HipHop doesn’t enhance society, it degrades it
On Tuesday 26th June 2012, Hiphop was put on trial. The charge? That it degrades society rather than enhances it. An Intelligence Squared debate on rap, involving everyone from Jesse Jackson and Q-Tip to PJ O’Rourke and Emily Maitlis, was more baffling than anything else.
1,600 or so people descended on the Barbican in London for what was hailed as “the first-ever global debate on hip-hop”. Arranged by Google and Intelligence Squared – bespoke organisers of online conferences who recently staged something similar on the War on Drugs – it was like a cross between Question Time and a show trial, with advocates and speakers for and against the motion: “Hip-Hop Doesn’t Enhance Society, It Degrades It.”
There was even a live online vote, with statistics presented on giant screens and references to “swings” like a hip-hop version of Peter Snow on election night. To add to the gravitas of it all, we had BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis chairing the debate, and speakers ranging from the Jesse Jackson and Shaun Bailey – a special adviser to David Cameron on youth, crime and welfare issues – to rapper KRS-One and poet Benjamin Zephaniah, as well as a host of academics. There were even satellite link-ups with, among others, Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest and satirist PJ O’Rourke. Mystifyingly, Jemima Khan was our web-host.
Check out the full debate below and let us know what you think
Google Purchases Motorola
Google’s $12.5b purchase of US phone maker Motorola Mobility has been completed days after it received approval from the Chinese government.
Chinese authorities said Google must keep its mobile software, Android, free for other device makers for up to five years.
The acquisition is Google’s biggest to date.
The internet search giant has also named a new management team for the phone handset maker.
Motorola is a leading manufacturer of smartphones and other devices.
Google’s takeover of the business allows it to move into the manufacturing of phones and tablet computers for the first time.
Yahoo launches Axis search browser
ahoo has joined the browser wars with Axis, its very own tool designed to enhance its search with a clear eye toward the rapidly expanding mobile Web.
Axis, the company announced late Wednesday, is a stand-alone app currently available for Apple mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad and on desktops as an add-on to established browsers like Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
Yahoo special project director Ethan Batraski wrote on the company’s search blog that “with a mobile-first focus,” the company “set out to completely re-think and re-design how users search and browse the Web.”
The result was Axis, a visual-rich tool that aims to combine searching and browsing into one experience. On mobile devices, a query returns thumbnail images of actual Web pages instead of a list of links. People can use the touchscreen to scroll and choose a page.
Google’s Project Glass
Is this scary or innovative? Almost reminiscent of a particular Star Trek Voyager episode (yep- we watched that).
We believe technology should work for you — to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t.
A team within our Google[x] group started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment.
Android Market rule prohibits use of third-party in-app payment services
Android application developers are being barred from using third-party payment systems in their software. As Google mandates the use of its own Google Wallet service for in-application purchases, software that doesn’t comply with the new rule will be kicked out of the Android Market.
The move is part of a broader initiative by Google to consolidate and simplify purchases within the Android content ecosystem. The company recently converged its various content services into a unified storefront with consistent Google Play branding. As part of this transition, the Android Market is being renamed the Google Play Store.
The search giant has also been working to improve its in-app payment system, which is used by both Android and the Chrome Web Store. Google began expanding the service to additional countries in December and introduced support for currency conversion. The initial setup process for Google Wallet was also recently simplified to lower the barrier to entry for new users.
In addition to Android integration, Google’s payment system also exposes its functionality through a generic Web API. Google is hoping that the service will be used ubiquitously across the Web to monetize content and services.
The rules prohibiting the use of third-party payment systems in Android applications that are sold through the Android Market were discussed in a recent Reuters report. The move is likely a competitive maneuver aimed at boosting developer adoption of Google’s service, but it will also potentially make it easier for users to make in-app purchases. It will arguably help reduce fragmentation by eliminating the need for Android users to contend with an assortment of disparate payment processing services.
Some high-profile Android application developers rely on third-party payment services. In many cases, they implemented in-app payments on their own before Google supported the functionality itself. Angry Birds developer Rovio, for example, created its own payment service called Bad Piggy Bank in 2010 after expressing frustration with the limitations of existing solutions for in-app purchases.
By comparison, Apple also prohibits the use of third-party payment systems in applications sold through its iOS App Store. A key difference, however, is that Google offers exceptions for retailers of physical and virtual goods (including ebooks). It’s also worth noting that Android’s support for application sideloading and alternate distribution channels will mean Android application developers have the option of not complying with Google’s new rules, assuming they are willing to sacrifice the advantages of having a presence in the platform’s standard marketplace.
It’s not yet clear if the ban on third-party payment processing on in-app purchases is a big enough issue for developers to abandon Google’s store. One social gaming developer quoted by Reuters expressed disappointment about losing the ability to choose their own payment processor. The developer did say following Google’s rules and maintaining a good relationship with the company was ultimately more important to their long-term business interests.
Although Google often touts the openness of its platform, the Android Market is one of several proprietary components controlled by the company. Google uses its unilateral control over the storefront as leverage over hardware manufacturers. Google has, however, historically taken a very relaxed approach to regulating the contents of the store.
Google has taken measures in the past to block malicious applications and software that is accused of intellectual property infringement. The company hasn’t historically blocked applications on the basis of the technologies they use or the kind of functionality they provide.
In a statement to The Verge, Google has confirmed that it is banning applications from the Android Market for using third-party payment systems for in-app purchases. Google says, however, that the policy isn’t new and is clearly explained in the Android Market terms of service. The company also says that the policy has previously been enforced. It’s unclear if Google is becoming more fastidious about enforcing the policy or if the developers that spoke with Reuters were simply overlooked before.
SOPA Is Dead: Smith Pulls Bill
Lamar Smith, the chief sponsor of SOPA, said on Friday that he is pulling the bill “until there is wider agreement on a solution.”
“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy,” Smith (R-Texas) said. “It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.”
Smith also released the following statement on Friday:
“We need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products. “The problem of online piracy is too big to ignore. American intellectual property industries provide 19 million high-paying jobs and account for more than 60% of U.S. exports. The theft of America’s intellectual property costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion annually and results in the loss of thousands of American jobs. Congress cannot stand by and do nothing while American innovators and job creators are under attack.”
“The online theft of American intellectual property is no different than the theft of products from a store. It is illegal and the law should be enforced both in the store and online.
“The Committee will continue work with copyright owners, Internet companies, financial institutions to develop proposals that combat online piracy and protect America’s intellectual property. We welcome input from all organizations and individuals who have an honest difference of opinion about how best to address this widespread problem. The Committee remains committed to finding a solution to the problem of online piracy that protects American intellectual property and innovation.”
The move comes after widespread protest on the Internet on Wednesday by Wikipedia, Reddit and others. The sites signaled their displeasure with the bill by going dark. That day, several Congressmen dropped their support for SOPA and its Senate counterpart, PIPA. The latter bill has also been taken off the table for now.
In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT IP Act,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a statement Friday morning.
Smith’s stance comes just two days after he told The Wall Street Journal that he didn’t plan to back down on SOPA, telling the newspaper he expected to “move forward” with the bill in February.
Google Tweaks Search To Boost Google+, And Rivals Get Angry
Social media has become a huge part of how people experience the web. So it’s not surprising that Google’s move to integrate “personal results” into its web searches — drawing from a user’s Google+ profile — wasn’t praised by the folks who run rival social networks.
While Google’s move was widely seen as a way to help Google+ compete with Facebook, it drew the sharpest response from Twitter, which says Google’s changes might keep people from learning about breaking news via tweets.
TechCrunch cites a statement from the company, which reads in part, “As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter. As a result, Twitter accounts and Tweets are often the most relevant (search) results. We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone. We think that’s bad for people, publishers, news organizations and Twitter users.”
For its part, Google notes that neither Facebook nor Twitter allow the company to dig deeply when looking for search results. And the company notes that Twitter canceled the deal that once folded real-time tweets into the top of Google’s results for some search terms.
On its corporate Google+ account, Google representative say they were “a bit surprised by Twitter’s comments about Search plus Your World, because they chose not to renew their agreement with us last summer.”
Google announced the tweak to its Search in a blog post Tuesday morning, promoting the new “Your World” approach by promising that it would add a sense of personal connectivity to search results.
The company said that would happen in three ways: “Personal Results,” that show things like Google+ photos and posts; “Profiles in Search,” which highlights people that might have helpful information; and “People and Pages,” which finds profiles and Google+ pages related to a specific topic.
Google promises that “behind most every query, there’s a community.” But critics say the “community” featured in Search is restricted to Google+.
Over at Searchblog, John Battelle says it’s a shame that Google and Facebook can’t figure out a way to bring a social element to search that’s both wide and deep.
“The unwillingness of Facebook and Google to share a public commons when it comes to the intersection of search and social is corrosive to the connective tissue of our shared culture,” Battelle writes.
Google made headlines last month when it admitted to — and punished itself for — overstepping its bounds in promoting its web browser, Chrome. The company bought ads from an online agency, which hired another company to conduct the campaign.
The end result was that some bloggers were compensated for saying positive things about Chrome. As a penance, Google downgraded the search ranking of Chrome for 60 days.
Google Music rolls out of beta, adds Android music store
Google unveiled its much-anticipated digital music store Wednesday, stepping up the competition against the likes of Amazon and Apple. The new service features millions of songs from record labels EMI, Sony Music, Universal and several smaller labels, but is notably missing access to Warner Music Group’s catalog. Apparently, the two couldn’t come to terms regarding pricing and anti-piracy measures.
Users will be able to buy songs through the Android Market, with tracks costing somewhere between $0.69 and $1.29. To help jump-start the new music store, Google said it would offer one free song for consumers to download every day, while allowing them to share purchased songs with friends on Google+.
The search giant also announced that Google Music has graduated from its beta testing period and is now available for public sign-ups in the United States. The service includes an online storage locker where you can upload up to 20,000 songs you already own for free. Any songs you buy from Google’s Android Market will show up in your online storage locker but it won’t count against your 20,000 song limit.
Apple currently charges $25 annually for uploading and storing up to 25,000 songs not purchased through iTunes, while Amazon offers unlimited cloud music storage (plus 20GB for other files) for $20 a year.
Songs stored on your Google Music online storage locker can be streamed to any device via 3G/4G or Wi-Fi. Google Music stores the songs you’ve recently played in your cache so they’re still available if you lose your Internet connection. You can also ‘pin’ songs, albums or artists you want to make available offline.
The new service will no doubt help Google promote its Android smartphone OS and marketplace, but it’s not exclusive to the company’s mobile platform. It will be available through the Music app on Android 2.2 and up, a Music Manager desktop app for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows, and an HTML5 mobile Web app that can be accessed on virtually any device by visiting music.google.com using a mobile browser.
Google’s YouTube to deliver original shows
NEW YORK – YouTube is putting the finishing touches on deals with programming partners that are designed to bring professional content to the Google-owned online video site in channel form, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Among the content partners that have signed or are expected to sign with YouTube are skateboarder Tony Hawk, media companies, such as Warner Bros. and News Corp.’s ShineReveille unit, RTL Group’s FremantleMedia, which produces The X Factor, BermanBraun, which has produced shows for SyFy and other cable channels, and IAC’s Electus, run by Ben Silverman, according to the Journal.
As additional potential partners, it mentioned CSI creator Anthony Zuiker, Everyday Health, which produces content with celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels and others, Iconic Entertainment, founded by former Sundance Channel head Larry Aidem and former VH1 executive Michael Hirschorn, DECA, which makes online video content for women, and a sports content venture launched by NBA player Baron Davis and Cash Warren. The Journal, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., added that it may also produce news content for a YouTube channel.
With its content deals, YouTube is looking to become a next-generation content provider with a slew of online “channels” showing professional programming. The approach is similar to the way cable operators offer channels, but YouTube isn’t charging consumers monthly subscriber fees. The site is spending more than $100 million in cash advances for the content production and is looking for advertising revenue in return, the Journal said. It will later split that ad revenue with content partners. The professional content channels are expected to roll out next year.
”We don’t comment on rumor or speculation, but we’re always talking to content creators and curators of all kinds about building audiences on YouTube,” a spokesman for YouTube said. “The more engaging, high-quality content they bring to the site, the more content there is for YouTube users to enjoy.”
