What would a World Economic Forum in Switzerland be without a discussion of Google paying video uploaders for videos of people doing interesting, humorous, or Darwin-tempting things? Smoke belching factories are so twentieth century.
... analyst Josh Bernoff suspects that YouTube could launch a channel filled with advertiser-friendly videos that have been screened by both audio-fingerprinting technology and Google employees for objectionable or copyrighted content. Advertising revenue could then be shared between Google and the producers whose videos generate significant attention on the channel. "This might be filled with content that is safe for Nike to be next to, or Procter & Gamble," says Bernoff. "But that doesn't mean that the original, no-holds-barred, free-for-all YouTube will go away."