If you don't hold Google thighs, YouTube may already be closed

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On April 23, 2005, the YouTube founder uploaded an amateur video. The video was taken at the zoo. A founder stood in front of the elephant and briefly introduced the elephant. At that time, few viewers could have imagined that this video with a blurred picture and a duration of 18 seconds heralded that YouTube would grow into a huge network service.

Today, 1 billion people visit the YouTube website every day, which accounts for 1/3 of the global Internet users. They upload video to YouTube for more than 300 hours per minute. YouTube has become the third largest website in the world after Google and Facebook.

The huge size is just one of the signs that YouTube grew up. In the early years, YouTube mainly played home-made videos and pirated TV programs that were independently uploaded by customers. The publisher is of course very annoyed with this illegal broadcast of television programs. If Google did not buy YouTube for $1.7 billion in 2006, a series of lawsuits may have shut down YouTube.

Under Google’s umbrella, YouTube has taken a turn for the better. In order to promote television programs, television companies upload clips of their own. Musicians upload their own music videos and YouTube began to replace the cable TV channel MTV. As time went by, YouTube began to attract advertisers, and now advertisers rarely worry about placing advertisements on the side of poor quality or illegally sourced videos.

YouTube is a major disruptive force that runs through every stage of development. For example, people used to learn how to repair cars or cook food through reference books. Nowadays, people are already accustomed to using YouTube videos to solve such problems.
The entertainment industry has also changed. Together with Netflix, YouTube has changed customer expectations for video content by providing content search and content on demand. Like the Encyclopedia that Denny Dydro edited in the 18th century, YouTube has also become a cultural revolution with its breadth, depth, and instant organization, but YouTube has become more popular.

In recent years, YouTube’s ambitions have grown and it is even intended to subvert the television industry. YouTube has invested heavily in providing high-quality web programming and promoting personal "channels." YouTube has emerged a new generation of stars whose fan community (mostly teenagers) is spread all over the world. For example, Sweden’s YouTube geek, PewDieDie, has accumulated billions of video views.

In terms of subverting the television industry, YouTube’s performance has been mixed, and any Google executive is reluctant to admit it. Even if the price is very low, YouTube's paid subscription channel is still difficult to attract customers. From the current perspective, YouTube’s cultural influence and popularity outweigh its commercial success.

Given the high cost of broadband in regions such as Africa, some analysts question whether YouTube can make a profit (Google has not announced YouTube revenue report). Market research firm EMarketer estimates that Google’s video revenue in the US market this year is only about $1.6 billion. During the same period, revenue from the US TV industry reached US$150 billion, and its revenue sources included advertising and network access fees.

On the other hand, YouTube has only been around for 10 years and there is very much room for growth. However, YouTube will face a lot of competition in the future. Facebook has already targeted the online video advertising market, and Yahoo and others are trying to build their own online video platforms.

When Google bought YouTube, YouTube also appeared to be very immature, and many analysts believe YouTube is worth less than $1.7 billion. Today, YouTube has grown into a giant. YouTube's case reminds us that after the platform defeats competitors, we will eventually find that the high valuation at the time of acquisition is so cheap. In 2012, Facebook spent $1 billion to acquire Instagram, a photo-sharing application. Today, it seems that Facebook is indeed a big deal. At the time, Facebook was criticized.

If you do not rely on Google’s influence, funding and reputation, YouTube is unlikely to achieve today’s achievements. At the age of ten, YouTube taught the most important lessons of other companies. For anyone who knows what it means to be ten years old, this lesson may be equally unforgettable. Sometimes having outstanding parents is the most important factor for success.


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