YouTube have been experimenting with advertising on videos for
a good few months now, and by all accounts, it;s been quite successful.
The video sharing site has now decided to grow its pilot
advertising revenue sharing program to
encompass interested parties in the general public.
The company, owned by Google,
was known for several months to operate a limited, roughly 100-user
program to formulate a system by which registered site members would be
given a percentage – presumably quite small – of
advertising income
generated via AdSense.
According to YouTube, however, the site “will
now accept partner applications from users in the US and Canada.”
YouTube Is Opening Up
Yes that means YouTube is opening up. That it’s
working to satisfy a
user demand. But don’t expect all who apply to gain admission
to the
green pastures way up there in Big G’s dominion.
What’s likely to be the case as time progresses is
the company will
do a sort of top-down check-off. Popular podcasts will likely get green
lighted. As will generally well-known content providers.
You know,
YouTube “startups” (the LonelyGirl15 clones and so
forth) that found
themselves sizable viewerships over the course of their development.
Those sorts of operations.
Viral Phenomena
Maybe a good number of those viral phenomena, too. That “Evolution
of Dance” synopsis that got tons of hits way back when. Tay
Zonday at his “Chocolate
Rain” clip. Generally speaking, the ones that
surpass the million mark.
And that’s pretty much where YouTube will draw the
line. No point
getting in over their heads, right? Gotta keep things organized. And
specialized.
Everyone likes exclusives. If everyone were to be granted
shares of the advertisement returns, the program would get real boring
real fast. Diluted as hell. Besides, lowering the barrier to entry
whilst maintaining a selective process touches the right button for
many people.
It makes people see the possible. That if you try hard
enough – or kiss enough ass – you too can enjoy the
spoils of the
chosen few. And then you’ve effectively become one of the
meritocratic
elite! Fantastic.
And by the time all the lowly regular folk manage to sneak
inside, you’ll have moved on. Pretty awesome, right?
Conclusions
Who knows. It’s all subjective. I get why
YouTube’s playing
discretionary gatekeeper, though. It’s because YouTube is
YouTube.
It’s
not your average third-party web space with AdSense plastered all over
its page(s). It’s Google’s own video land.
It’s where Google does what
Google wants and what Google thinks is best for you and I. No more, no
less.
So let’s take it for what it is. Let’s not bother
with any debate as
to what’s fair and unfair about YouTube’s expanded
revenue sharing
system. It’s the company’s own prerogative to play
its cards as it sees
fit.
Paul Glazowski is a contributing author discussing the social networking world, his work can be found on Profy.com
