this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023
577 points (96.6% liked)
Technology
59666 readers
2743 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related content.
- Be excellent to each another!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Approved Bots
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I don't think they have any qualms about shutting down YouTube but I think they're afraid of the backlash. It's such a unique treasure trove of cultural significance that is not out of the question for the US government to step in and tell them to put at least some of it in the Library of Congress or to work with other organizations to preserve it. And they'd rather let it run than be bothered.
I've heard a theory that says that Google isn't interested in any of their products for the product's sake. They're all data-gathering experiments. Once they're done mining that particular kind of data they shutter the project. If they ever need to revisit that category later, they make another similar product.
It would certainly explain why they shut down certain projects in the face of commercial success, or why they keep revisiting the messenger app over and over in different ways.
It would also explain their inept attempts at monetizing YouTube. Keeping an experiment alive past it's expiration date is unfamiliar to them so they have no idea what to do with it.
YouTube is the app around which both Google Play Music and now Podcasts are shutting down, so I doubt YouTube will go away. I won’t be surprised, however, if other apps are incorporated in like Play Movies and Play Books even.
Shitting down YouTube would be like shuttering Gmail or even Search. Seems unlikely.
Looking forward to the launch of YouTube Books /s
I know it sounds funny, but to clarify I meant for delivering audiobooks.
Arent Play Movies already integrated in YT?
A movie and tv show I "bought" in the store are only watchable on YT.
Google shutting down youtube would be such a huge confidence loss that I don't think they would ever recover. It'll never happen unless things change drastically.
Thru could decide to incorporate it separately (which would be ironic considering it started out separate and they forced it into Google), and then let it find its own way.