So Google has officially brought YouTube. Not at all a surprise, and I think anyone who has used YouTube extensively would realise the overwhelming potential benefits that it holds, especially for a commercial/money-orientated company. Of course, everyone will be well aware of the liability it will be (as stated by "authorities" across the Internet), which may cause some people to think it a foolish $2.2 billion dollar investment.

But who are the people commentating?

Are they the people that actively use it? That put videos up on there to share? That have watched some of the YouTube community people (icons like judsonlaipply and friendster88) actually already come to some form of corporate sellout? That have watched the quasi-famous to the ridiculously famous (ParisHilton) infiltrate what began and survives (somewhat) as a place, a haven, for a subculture looking to escape the real world, and thus corrupt it's true meaning?

Sure, Google has brought YouTube, and sure, it's definitely going to go through changes, but there is only one distinct difference between what was happening 'naturally' and what has happened with the buyout:

It's going to happen faster.

Any user of YouTube, whether a fan or not, would know the situation with WWE videos: the company simply said no to any videos of their being hosted. Post one and it will be down faster than it would take to watch the video through. Then there are the companies like CBS, NBC, The Comedy Channel who don't discourage their videos being posted and, in fact, have their own user accounts to post things of their own!

Now even I realised that, eventually, ads would find their way in, that some sort of pay-per-view for the copyrighted materials that companies and persons wanted to post (but not for free viewing) would begin their own system, but I could only see it as a mere speck on the horizon. In, what, a year and a bit of using The Tube, I haven't seen any drastic changes, certainly nothing resembling a corporate sellout by YouTube. And mentions of money on the sight haven't even popped up.

And I'm certainly not saying that they have yet.

Lets get something straight though. I love Google. I think they are going great things for the Internet, for the home user, for the business user and for the industry. And I acknowledge that they have to make money in this capitalist world. And I further acknowledge that they have to make it in a way that, firstly, conforms to their approach to the market (client-friendly ahead of ledger-friendly), but secondly, is effective. But take a look at a hell of a lot of sites and you see the ads sponsored by Google, you see "Search the web" options preferenced in sites, which ends up searching Google, when all you want to do is search the site. Small, but sometimes annoying, things like that.

Now, I'm not here to say that it's a bad purchase, that YouTube is headed down the WaterTube, that the world is coming to an end. Far from it. It seems like a great business investment: there is so much potential in YouTube it's insane. YouTube isn't headed for the Tube (yet), and I don't see it going there if things are managed correctly. And the world isn't coming to an end primarily because I still exist.

But the opportunity, the chance, to kill off everything that users like Renetto, like FilthyWhore, like boh3m3, like Brookers have built with theirs and every user's efforts, exists. If Google don't manage things right, as in, they don't keep YouTube at a level that it is now (in terms of administrative interference, exposure, corporate involvement etc.) then things can, and will, go wrong.

To sum YouTube up, it's like the world's biggest cinema, and thousands of people are in it. At the moment, you can walk from one theatre to another, watch the movie, comment about it, talk to other viewers and the creators about the movie you just watched, and then freely walk on into another theatre to watch another movie. Within this giant cinema, it's a community, and, honestly, though there are no set requirements to fit in (i.e. age, race, gender, religion, knowledge etc.) not everyone will and can fit in. That's really a post on it's own, but suffice to say, to be part of the e-culture, to really fit in and be a part, you need a different mental persona than what you generally would put on in public due to the annonminity factor (unless, of course, you are naturally an asshole, in which case you will fit in perfectly).

So, if YouTube is this giant cinema, one thing you should note about it now: they aren't charging for tickets. It's free to go in, it's free to leave, it's free to watch as many movies as you want, and it's free to talk and say what you want (regrettably in some instances). But witha corporate buyout, should we start counting down the months until some sort of fee is going to exist to post a movie? Or to watch a movie? Or to leave a comment?

If you have noted a sense of fear in my writings here, now, you would be quite astute. I am quite afraid that a website, some inanimate object, that, really, does not exist, I have come to enjoy and that has, really, become quite an important part of my existence on the Internet, perhaps in life, is under threat. With due note I will say that Google isn't the biggest threat that YouTube has faced. Net Neutrality was bigger than this, and it still hasn't even been resolved yet. But I am more worried about the fact that one company has brought another out.

Everyone gives Microsoft a very hard time for monopolising the 'computer' world. I do, and I will forever. But is, perhaps, Google about to become the monopoly of the Internet? Will it buy everything it can (as I see it, in an attempt to become more integral to the Internet and to keep Microsoft from doing the same)? But a lot of the criticism for Microsoft also comes in that they kill "diversity" amount the 'computer' world (apart from the fact that they create flawed programs intentionally and have, really, no customer loyalty). Is that going to be the same thing as Google acquires more and more? If Google decide that they are going to only temporarily host videos for a period of a month instead of full-time, if Google decides that something is politically/culturally/morally/socially offensive, if Google decides popular videos will get featured or advertised and preferential treatment, if Google decides to launch an advertising campaign that draws in anyone, including persons who ruin the community and are not (and do not want to be) part of the e-culture ...

All these "if" questions need to be considered by people who live the Internet, who live YouTube, who want, dare I say, need these things. Consider these questions, and the many, many, more that I didn't bother to list, and then, perhaps, the sort of fear that I have for my beloved YouTube may resonate within your fine selves, and, as a result, nothing will happen, and it will all be for nothing. That's what I hope for ...

Thomas.