MySpace ships more videos that YouTube
Back in August MySpace started talking big about taking on YouTube - as I commented here.
Well now they have got ahead. And by some way - 20% more streams in the period. Yahoo! is also bigger than YT and about the same size as MySpace. All the data is US.
I first saw it in the FT this morning but I am linking to Fred at A VC because he he has more detailed numbers and no DRM. Note that YouTube videos served through MySpace count the YouTube total and not MySpace - so no lies damn lies and statistics.
So what?
Well, as Max pointed out in his comment on my Web2.0 investment spiralling upwards post, this is a game where the winner takes nearly everything.
Myspace overtaking YouTube doesn’t change everything, and YouTube is still a big and successful business, but the lesson here is that there could be another which grows faster.
At this point in the cycle when good exits depend on big strategic premiums the loss of market leader status could do bad things to YouTube’s valuation.
In general though, market leaders should be able to sustain their position. Scale is important in social networks:
- There is a network effect from large number of members analagous to liquidity on a stock exchange
- Big memberships should enable better innovation via consultation and trialing
- Leaders can copy cat the best ideas from competitors before they hurt them
YouTube is less of a social network than many of these sites and as such was always more vulnerable to competition than many other niche market leaders. (Admittedly video is a BIG niche….)
September 29th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
“YouTube is less of a social network than many of these sites and as such was always more vulnerable to competition than many other niche market leaders.”
This is what umair haque at bubblegen seems to be saying is the problem with youtube - it’s too much of a video hosting platform.
http://www.bubblegeneration.com/2006/09/research-note-show-me-money-markets.cfm
September 29th, 2006 at 3:40 pm
Thanks Jamescoops - it looks like YouTube has seen that weakness in itself and is launching social network features at pace - see Pete’s post on this over on Mashable.
http://mashable.com/2006/09/25/youtube-launches-comedian-accounts/
October 10th, 2006 at 10:02 am
[...] I posted a couple of weeks ago that MySpace video had passed YouTube - with Yahoo! also in the top three Google had been left in a trailing position in the (potentially) exciting video market. [...]