BUSINESS BLOGS
BUSINESS BLOGS
category: business
15 Feb 2008
related tags: Internet & Web | Video |

Insanity means doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. In that context, this week was simply insanity running amok in online video.

I got back from 2 days of meetings in NYC (maybe you noticed posts were down). Lots to talk about. More to come this weekend after I catch up a bit.

So, what happened?

Yahoo! - still trying to come up with a clear and concise video strategy - launched/relaunched Yahoo! Video, which is more of the same. I understand Yahoo! has had a love/hate relationship with creating content, but I am not sure a user-generated content video site is what we need, frankly, especially with YouTube dominating the space. One thing Yahoo! will have going for itself is that it willbe distributing Hulu’s content, which will be anchored by TV programming and more. That’s all I will say for now… But that notwithstanding, I expect more from Yahoo! and this is one more reason as a shareholder, I have lost all confidence in YHOO’s management. They stand to benefit from the accelerated growth in display, banner and video ads, but they could do much more.

Speaking of YouTube, I also attended YouTube’s Videocracy shindig, and I will post some thoughts on that as well, this weekend. I was going to post immediately after the event, but I literally had meetings non-stop.

As you read yesterday, LiveUniverse finally did end up buying Revver, the troubled early pioneer in online video. I won’t say too much, as I hinted at it in this post, I did inquire about making a run at Revver, but my strategy was not to put in more money to continue doing the same thing, because that would be insane. I am happy for the staff at Revver, but I am not sure how Brad Greenspan - who has Vidilife, LiveVideo and now Revver - will fare differently. Anyway, worth disclosing that Revver and LiveVideo are 2 of the hundreds of site that WatchMojo.com distributes video to.

I wish Brad and Revver best wishes, but let’s face it, there is a flight to quality taking place in finance and in advertising. In advertising, marketers have clearly rejected the notion that they will underwrite user generated content… so I wonder why Yahoo! and Greenspan are doubling up their bets on UGC. But, I digress. I will address why I did not make a serious move for it after all… mind you, let’s face it, even if I would have attempted, I think LiveUniverse.com had the inside track and provided the status quo to Revver’s staff.

At the same time, Tech Crunch reported that Knocka TV is undergoing some serious drama. There goes $3.5M down the drain, and one more online video company becoming a skeleton in the VC closet.

Anyway, back to work. Lots going on. More to come.