This in from TechCrunch (and feels like it should be old news), YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley has hinted future plans of revenue sharing at YouTube in the coming months. While it seems like the writing was on the wall, it is interesting to see that YouTube is actually going to become more aggressive in monetizing its huge user base.

One issue is that users aren’t just used to free, but expect and defend that “right” vehemently. While this move would keep YouTube free, it would definitely add the scent of commerce and detract from the overall experience users have come to expect. In this market where there is, first, competition, and second, a free product, I find it difficult to believe that YouTube’s competitors will not slam YouTube’s experience to grab market share. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Revver or its contemporaries suddenly become the next big thing, due to this attempt to monetize.

I do admit YouTube’s revenue sharing is a bit more compelling than plain old ad selling, because at least the producers of the videos will make money. That could be the carrot at the end of the stick that keeps YouTube’s inventory robust enough to continue its market dominance. As always, time will tell.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 at 10:18 am and is filed under cool web sites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.