Thursday, May 24, 2007

Get Out the Checkbook, Sergey!

I hope Google's paying attention.

In addition to YouTube, DoubleClick and FeedBurner, there's another purchase it needs to make. Users can currently search, submit and syndicate content, but let's examine the big hole in this very profitable equation - content creation.

When someone sends you a link to a video on YouTube, how many times is that video submitted by the content creator? For me, it's almost never. It's usually to a Comedy Central or BBC clip. This of course leads to billion dollar lawsuits over copyright infringement. What if Google could equip its users with easy-to-use tools to create content of their own?

Enter Mogulus.

Mogulus lets users create their own videos. Whoopee, you say. So does Windows Movie Maker. This one's different. You can record, edit and publish videos without leaving Firefox. No software to install, no hard drive space to fill up. You can use built-in video effects just like CNN, too.

Want to edit a video with a friend on the other side of the planet? Edit it together and see the changes reflected in real time.

How many of us aren't sick of the local news? It's 3 minutes of Gloom 'n Doom, followed by a 2 minute medical report telling you bananas cause cancer but aid in weight loss, and capped off with 17 minutes of Live Team Coverage of the Fact It's a Tad Bit Windy Outside.

What if you could produce your own professional newscast? Now you can.

This is the missing piece in a growing push to take content creation out of the hands of the moguls and put it in the hands of the consumers - us. Mogulus.

It doesn't have to be just for newscasts, either. Any video you shoot can be edited and uploaded. This is a significant development, and a good fit for Google.

I hope Sergey reads this before Rupert does.

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