Time has published a feature on the '10 biggest failures of the last decade' and has included YouTube in the list.
Adding the world's most popular video-upload site as one of the major tech flops of the last 10 years is something of a surprise, but the feature points to the website's lack of financial success as one of the reasons it has been included.
"Credit Suisse estimated that YouTube will lose $470 million this year primarily due to the costs of the storage and bandwidth required to run the website.
"The same analyst said that YouTube will bring in $240 million this year, but that is only up 20% from 2008. If this analysis is even close to correct, YouTube would have to triple its revenue to break even."
The damning diatribe concludes with: "YouTube is big, but that has not made it a success."
Missing the mark
Other tech travesties included on the list, which was put together by Time affiliate 24/7 Wallstreet, are the original Palm Pilot, the Segway and, unsurprisingly, HD DVD.
On its website, Time reveals just how the list was put together, explaining: "To make the list, a product had to be widely recognised and widely available to customers. It had to be aimed at a large global market. It had to be technologically equal to or superior to its competition.
"It had to be a product or new company that had the possibility of bringing in billions of dollars in revenue based on the sales of similar or competing products. Finally, it had to clearly miss the mark of living up to the potential that its creators expected, and that the public and press were lead to believe was possible."
Via Time.com
Your comments (4) Click to add a new comment
lovlid
May 22nd
4. A website that is going to lose nearly half a Billion dollars this year, and has probably never been in profit is Definately a failure in the business sense. And of course user wise its a success, but the article is about money, not loyal users like the two on here having a hissy-fit.
@ stevewilliams.
Google is youtube, not a competitor. They bought it for $1.65 BILLION dollars and are still paying for it, thats why they have youtube on their search pages.
@ themadczech.
Yes, its the investors fault, but the investor is google. What does that say to you?
If your a google/youtube fan, stop whinging about Time's article, take it on the chin, its not as if its going to kill the company is it?
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shodanicron
May 20th
3. Times verdict a bit sensationalist all right, Based on failure to squeeze every penny out of is surfers i suppose
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stevewiilliams
May 19th
2. YouTube is a failure now? Time should put themselves on their own list if they think something like that.
As for Google Video, I see that as more of a web-wide video searching utility than a competitor to YouTube. Otherwise, it wouldn't show YouTube videos, would it?
Google already have the best emailing service, so I cannot wait to see who's gonna start bashing that soon as well.
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themadczech
May 18th
1. These sort of stories never stop to amaze me...
How do you measure failure? Is a failure, a failure with 99mil users and 5.9 billion videos watched? Or is it a failure to stuff greedy pockets of Wall Street bankers and Investors?
Google Video, might be a failure for failing to persuade public to use the service, but YouTube can hardly be considered as one. The service is far from finished and even if Google used it as a marketing platform for the rest of their service offering, You Tube brings good return on their investment.
Yes, YouTube might not have such astronomical returns as Google Search, but in my opinion it is only the investor's fault to believe in Tech bubbles with easy returns.
Nevertheless, it is not difficult to see the Tech landscape completely upside-down in not so far future.
We already have:
Picasa- for photos
YouTube - for video
Universal search- for... almost anything
Docs-
Gmail-
Calendar-
Reader- etc
... all with off line functionality and best of all... PC (in the broad sense) OS in the making- ANDROID!
All in all, to say the only failure about YouTube is for WTM (owners of Time) to understand the earning potential of YouTube...
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