Streaming Video And Sound
The trick with streaming video and sound is having the server space to accommodate it. Because of the cross-platform compatibility issues, and the expense of developing streaming content, companies that choose this route are usually in for the very long haul. Investors that dig in their heels with companies like this should be prepared for that risk.
USER CONTROLLED OR COMPANY CONTROLLED?
YouTube grew to massive proportions in short order. Only 22 months after the site was conceived, and only 18 months after the first video was posted, the domain and its accompanying website were acquired by Google.com for $1.6-billion. Results not typical. Of course.
But that does not mean constructing such a network is out of bounds. What has happened is YouTube has become video central, but using it to feed a rich-media domain has become quite commonplace, such that niche markets have emerged across the web. In fact, starting an online media channel is far less costly than operating a low-powered radio station in a rural US market.
OldJewsTellingJokes.com: We're not joking!
One such example is OldJewsTellingJokes.com. Leveraging the gargantuan traffic of YouTube.com is an ideal way to gain startup traffic that returns to a content-rich domain. Eventually, people bookmark the domain with original content and return there, rather than YouTube.
By taking advantage of the YouTube philosophy of user-drive content, OldJewsTellingJokes.com has become a powerhouse marketing domain, using videos as the draw, engaging users who then purchase an array of marketing products that further spread the domain name to unsuspecting joke lovers!
That kind of strategy that has worked with TheOnion.com, a parody newspaper that made a successful transition from print in the 20th Century to digital in the 21st. It is a strategy that has worked for KhanAcademy.org.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU
Whether you invest for medium-term or long-term, streaming content has benefits depending upon whether you invest inteh domain or the companies that produce the content. Sometimes the domain and website developers also create their own video feeds. Be aware, though, that content development can be one of the slowest ROI models in the arena of technology investments. Though, as with the YouTube example, there are time when the extreme opposite scenario manifests.
That being said, content development, handled properly, is one of the most lucrative long-term investment strategies because it offers an opportunity to capitalize on emerging trends, thereby capturing the audience hungry for the content you offer.
