YouTube's decision to share revenue with video creators, was, of course, inevitable.

And rest assured, it will be a game changer.


Here's why:

1. It represents a move towards the edge owning the core. Think back to our article on the intersection of management 2.0 and publishing 2.0, where we noted that the management structure would involve the edge owning the core. (In other words, the creatives that create the content own the portal that allocates attention to the content). While the proposed YouTube deal does not involve the edge explicitly owning the core, sharing money is a huge step in that direction, and certainly embodies that idea.


2. More importantly, though, is that this is the first step towards video ads going viral. Once the video creators are getting paid, the video publishers -- meaning sites that republish YouTube videos -- will get a piece of the ad revenue as well. Revver is already doing this. Since the content is packaged with the ads, this helps correct the dysfunctional ad market; quality videos are most likely to get syndicated, and hence creators of quality content will get the most attention and ad revenue. This moves publishing on the web to be more and more of a syndication game, and as such, creates a new, legitimate opportunity for media reconstructors. This in accordance with what we stated would be the new rules for publishing 2.0.


This all assumes, though, that YouTube will be able to overcome its copyright battles. As we learned in the mythology of web 2.0, the battle of the myth of web 2.0 will involve web 2.0 heroes challenging those who profit from the 1.0 property rights economy for the same piece of the profits. The battle will, of course, be won by web 2.0 heroes -- that much is, as the prophecy has told us, inevitable. The only question is whether YouTube will win this battle, or if we will need to wait a few more years before 2.0 really wins.


I think YouTube's going to make it.