Forrester: YouTube ‘will get sued and it will lose’

The piling on YouTube continues. First, Mark Cuban. Now it’s Forrester Research, with two analysts predicting a lawsuit that will beat YouTube and force it to take down all copyrighted material. While I agree that’s possible, I disagree with the conclusion that such a suit would cripple YT. The videos that really take off from YT are the homemade ones: think lonelygirl15, diet coke & mentos, Japanese Backstreet Boys, Evolution of Dance. Don’t take my word for it – just visit the “Most Viewed Ever” page. The other power of YT is in the Long Tail – the millions of vids that get a few plays each. The copyrighted video argument is a red herring. The first reaction to any new media is to fear it.