Youtube's profit-sharing announcement (below) apparently has been confirmed, but of course we don't trust vaporware until it ships...
Tayssir
- - - - <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/27/AR2007012701233.html>
YouTube to Share Revenue With Site's Users
By Paul Haven Associated Press Sunday, January 28, 2007; Page A06
DAVOS, Switzerland -- Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube, said Saturday that his site will start sharing revenue with its millions of users.
Hurley said one major proposed innovation is a way to let users be paid for content. About 70 million videos are viewed daily on YouTube, which was sold to Google for $1.65 billion last year.
"We are getting an audience large enough where we have an opportunity to support creativity, to foster creativity through sharing revenue with our users," Hurley said. "So in the coming months we are going to be opening that up."
Hurley, 30, gave no details of how much users might receive or what mechanism would be used.
In October 2005, Revver -- which like YouTube offers video clips online -- announced plans to attach advertising to user-submitted videos and give their creators a cut of the profit.
Hurley said that when YouTube started, he and the site's co-founders -- Steve Chen and Jawed Karim -- thought revenue sharing would build a community of users motivated by making money rather a love of videos.
But, he said, as the site has grown, executives have come to see remuneration as a way of improving content.
Hurley spoke on the last full day of the World Economic Forum, which brings together political, social and business leaders.
[photo caption]
Co-Founder and CEO for YouTube, USA, Chad Hurley pauses before answering questions during a session 'The Impact of Web 2.0 and Emerging Social Network Models' at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007. The consumer powered Web 2.0 creates innovative ways for businesses to operate and people to communicate. (Virginia Mayo - AP)