Why Monetization Can Be Difficult
We all love this concept of “Web 2.0” don’t we? Come on, even if the buzzword is overused, I am amazed by how much the Web today has empowered the user by letting individuals upload, publish, and showcase their content online.
And it’s not only about blogs, but podcasts and videocasts are starting to rise in popularity. Sure, it’s not as simple as blogging (given the costs and effort needed in producing audio and video content). But there are a multitude of tools today that let users upload their recordings and video for sharing with the rest of the world.
With most people, writing content for posting online would be all about self-expression. If one is passionate enough about writing (or speaking or making videos), then the fact that you’ve shared your art with the rest of the world is satisfaction enough. More so, if you actually get to have an audience!
However, it gets interesting when it comes posting about your interests online. You can be a fan of a certain actor or a certain show, and you might want to post videos online, such as on YouTube. Or you can be a blogger, and you might want to republish photos, images or snippets of text from another blogger. A big issue here is copyright.
Usually, it is within fair use to repost or link to others’ work on your own blog if it’s for personal purposes. A lot of people use creative commons licences, and many of these licenses allow derivative works and republishing as long as there is adequate citation. Even reposting parts of works with closed copyrights are generally still within fair use, as long as there is a citation, and as long as the original author’s work is not prejudiced.
But when it gets commercial, that’s when things get a bit messed up. When you infringe on a person’s capacity to earn from his work, or when you earn from another person’s work without giving his fair share, then definitely something is wrong. And this is one reason why you cannot always expect earning online to be easy. Once you go “pro” you would have to worry about all those copyright issues that can come about.
One example is YouTube. Right now, they don’t have a solid business model, but they’re the most popular video sharing site around. A lot of copyrighted material has been posted there, and most of the time, the copyright owners don’t mind, since it gives them exposure and potentially enhances their business. But once, actually- when, YouTube decides to cash in, they might have a bit of trouble when it comes to intellectual property.
The second YouTube starts putting ads in front of content they are gonna get sued. Howard Stern was talking about YouTube today and was upset that they had his stuff up there. The reason YouTube has dodged a bullet to date is because of three factors: low quality video, lack of monetization on their part, and the 10 minute length. They put a pre-roll ad in front of Lazy Sunday or the Emmys (which I watched on YouTube exclusively!) and they are done—like done, done.
The moment you start to monetize, people will be asking for their fair share of the cake. Lawsuits (or threatening emails, at least) will start pouring in. You’ll start spiralling down DMCA hell.
Fair use? When it comes to monetization, “fair” means $$$$$.
[...] I just read an interesting post on Jack of All Blogs about YouTube and their business model. [...]
Web 2.0 and the problem making money on user contributions « David Givoni’s blog said this on September 10, 2006 7:47 pm
[...] I just read an interesting post on Jack of All Blogs about YouTube and their business model. [...]
David Givoni’s Blog » Blog Archive » Web 2.0 and the problem making money on user contributions said this on October 12, 2006 1:08 am