Google probably has at last figured out what to do with YouTube and how to start generating revenue out of its investment. It is taking YouTube one step further and launching video sharing services for business in the name of Google Video for Business. So far video sharing was used for fun at YouTube. With the new efforts of Google, video sharing is going to become simple as exchanging emails or as fast as instant messages.
Google Video for Business is expected to become a solid business tool. YouTube is targeting consumers where as Google Video for Business is targeting business users. This new too is designed for businesses as a free add-on to Google Apps which can be used by organizations within their web domain. It will allow the employees who are approved to use this application to upload video files. We can think of many uses straightaway – companies can use this medium to upload their training video or a special announcements or orientation video etc. After uploading the video file the one who uploaded it can invite their company staff and colleagues to view the video in a secure environment.
Like blogs, those who view the video can add their reviews, comments and feedback. It is possible to have these video clippings integrated to internal web pages. Those within the network can have easy access to these videos for viewing or downloading either to their computers or to their phones that is capable of downloading this content.
Google has made this application compatible with all the popular browsers so that the users are not limited to a few browsers. It is compatible with Internet Explorer, FireFox, NetScape, Opera, Safari and even iPhone.
Thanks to YouTube that started the online video sharing craze which now Google is banking on the YouTube technology. Many companies would undoubtedly go for this tool immediately and will put it into effective use. We are not sure whether this concept would have emerged without the aid of YouTube which is owned by Google today. Video sharing which was one of the expensive means sometime ago has become a child’s play today.
Now comes the question, YouTube has been free all along and how is Google Video for Business going to work? Google has tied this application with Google Apps Premier Edition which will cost you $50 per year per user and Google Apps Premier Edition will include business software, web site design tools, calendar, email and scheduling. However, business users will get to try Google Video for Business for 6 months at free of cost.
One of the most exciting features of this tool is the scene browser facility which allows the users to select the thumbnails that are auto generated to view any specific section of the video without having to run the entire video. Interestingly, this feature is not made available in YouTube, probably it is an outcome of R&D that was done after Google has bought YouTube and they have kept it for their premium users and of course at a cost.