Bill Gates’ guilty pleasure: YouTube
May 31st, 2006Although his MSN Video portal draws more visitors, Bill Gates admits he sneaks over to YouTube to watch Harlem Globetrotter clips.
“If we did YouTube, we’d be in a lot of trouble,” he joked—admitting that many of the shows are in questionable copyright territory.
The latest web video rankings from Nielsen/NetRatings (unique visitors, February 2006):
1. MSN Video, 9.3 million
2. YouTube.com, 9 million
3. Google Video, 6.2 million
Gates on internet TV:
It “blows away the broadcast model,” Gates said, predicting that “this is the year all the pieces” will come together and eliminate the “dividing line between TV and the Internet.” Asked about the traditional broadcast model, he bluntly pronounced, “It’s gone. It was a hack.”
The Microsoft chairman, whose company provides IPTV software to AT&T, tells Gary Arlen that when it comes to net neutrality, he’s “in the middle.”
• Links: IP Democracy, Nielsen/NetRatings [pdf]
John says:
June 1st, 2006 at 3:24 pm
It’s nice to hear that Bill Gates is in the middle on net neutrality, I don’t think it’s as clear cut an issue as many people think it is. I work with the Hands Off the Internet coalition, so I’ve become very knowledgeable about this issue in the last few weeks. One thing I find interesting is the explosion of sites like YouTube and Google Video. If they keep growing at this fast a pace, and people start seeking out High-Def On-demand video on the web, our exisiting broadband could become clogged a lot faster than we think. The potential to create a 2nd “super-fast” tier on the internet specifically for on-demand video and downloads is very exciting, but we can’t set up that 2nd tier if net neutrality is mandated.
Steven Sande says:
June 1st, 2006 at 4:19 pm
Gates has to walk a line, I think. While net neutrality might benefit MSN Video, he has to take into account Microsoft’s business relationships with Verizon and AT&T.
I see that AT&T and Bell South are “member organizations” in your coalition, which some have characterized as an astroturf or front organization, according to SourceWatch. Interest groups serve their function, of course, and corporations and lobbyists are certainly entitled to participate in the debate and to spend money to get their position across.
Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the world wide web, recently came out in favor of net neutrality–not just as an economic matter, it seems, but also as a means of protecting democracy. From cnet:
John says:
June 1st, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Yes, several of the telecom companies are part of the Hands Off the Internet coalition, but I think it’s silly that anyone thinks it’s a “front” organization. We’re very open about who our members are, you can see them all listed on our website here:
http://handsoff.org/hoti_docs/aboutus/members.shtml
It includes not just telecom companies, but groups like the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Citizens against Government Waste, the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and Citizens Against Government Waste. And just last week, the 700,00 member union, Communication Workers of America came out against net neutrality: http://handsoff.org/news/now-this-is-interesting/
I obviously have the utmost respect for Tim Berner-Lee’s role in shaping the internet, but there are other respected tech people on the other side.
Just two days ago, the founder of Bittorrent, Bram Cohen expressed his concerns about Net Neutrality:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/5017542.stm
and Mark Cuban, owner of the Mavericks and founder of Broadcast.com has touted the benefits of a tiered internet:
http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/1234000267073488/
The initial rush in the blogosphere to “Save the Internet” probably led a lot of people to not weigh both sides of the issue, but I think there is a strong case to be made against Net Neutrality
Steven Sande says:
June 2nd, 2006 at 12:31 am
I think many people have carefully considered both sides of the issue and decided they want an internet that supports a multitude of voices and possibilities, and not one that imposes constraints based on the ability to pay.
By the way, Citizens Against Government Waste? Come on. Who isn’t against government waste? But this is a group that’s worked against open-source software, and they’ve received funding from the tobacco industry and the Olin Foundation. It’s predictable that the groups that go around acting as if there’s somehow simply too much democracy in America would rush to defend the rights of telecommunications companies over those of ordinary citizens. The internet was a government-funded project, and our government can play a role in protecting it.