If you have been following me on Twitter, you probably have seen my twits about Google’s AdSense plan to offer an option of layering up your YouTube videos with ads. The news which I’ve read about a week ago seemed to contain more speculation than confirmation that Google will finally launch a new ad content channel - the video units. Well, I thought, Google can do anything with YouTube now since they have acquired it for over a billion dollars. And since they have bought it, they have been seeing a lot of potential in YouTube that could prove to be fruitful in the years to come. It can’t end up as a dead asset, right?
And now it’s official. It’s finally here. From Google Adsense blog, it reads:
We’re excited about the launch of video units — a new way to enrich your site with quality, relevant video content in an embedded, customizable player. Simply embed a snippet of code and have relevant YouTube partner content streamed to your site. You can choose categories of video to target to your site, select content from individual YouTube partners, or have video automatically targeted to your site content. Companion and text overlay ads are relevant and non-intrusive. To further blend the YouTube player into your site, you can also customize the color scheme and layout as well as choose from three different player sizes.
AdSenseVideoUnits published this video with a funny intro to show you how it works:
With the video above, you can already visualize how the ads blend in it - or around it. The how-it-works video moved me away from reading the whole article and as I tried it out with my AdSense account, I noticed that the video units option is not available - which got me to ranting. Haha. I found this instead:
* We do not currently offer AdSense for Mobile in Philippines.
And I was like, “So what? I don’t care about AdSense Mobile, I want to know where the hell did the video units option go?”
So I went back to the blog where I got the information and I almost laughed when I spotted this at the bottom part:
Update: Video units will be live in AdSense accounts later today (10/9). Currently this feature is open only to publishers located in the United States with English-language websites.
Argh. I am silly. This is silly. Uhm, why are we always behind in trying out new stuff?
It was no rumor that Harvey Danger lets their listeners download their latest “Little by Little” album for free - readily available from their website. Yes, Pangz, the news is awesome. But you’ll find this even more interesting…they are not the only band who are doing this sort of seemingly scheming charity. Actually some bands, if not most,allow their fans to directly download sample music (one or two songs) from their websites - it may not exactly be their best single, but there’s no cash out.
Just recently, I read about Radiohead surprising their fans with their latest album with a price tag of what? Drop-any-number amount. Swell.
Long after Prince started sending out his 3121 album records across UK, Nine Inch Nails urged their concert audience to stay away from pirates selling cheap stuff and just get free music from them, Smashing Pumpkins had let go of authentic copies of Machina II and gave a go signal for redistribution. Whether people see it as an anti-marketing campaign or a marketing strategy - these bands want to prove one thing: it isn’t about money. It’s not even to heighten popularity. They say, it’s all about reaching out to a loyal audience. If they believe in you, would people let you stop making quality music by not supporting artists? If not for giving them recognition for all the effort it took to produce these albums - at least by attending concerts and telling everyone how much you love the free music you got. Thus, giving you more reasons to love them.
Besides, why would they still try to climb up the top when they’re already at the peak of their career? Maybe it’s an anti-piracy move or a rebellion against abusive (to talents) recording companies. Haha. But of course, those are just my weird guesses.
If you want the real deal, you have to read this:
Harvey Danger [buy album online, get it from record stores or get it for free and share it with your friends. make a contribution if you feel like it]
At the risk of sounding Pollyanna-ish, making records has never been about making money for this band. If the worst thing that happens is a whole bunch of people hear Little By Little… and no one buys it, we’ll know our experiment was costly. But that won’t make it a failure.
Radiohead [it's-up-to-you experimental pricing.album hasn't been released yet, but it will be..SOON *Oct 10. 2007*!pre-order and get it for any amount. If you're feeling generous, go ahead and pay in full. Wait 'til my Paypal account gets activated. Charing!]
It’s not like Radiohead’s living in a different world. But they’re playing by a different rule book. One that says the money flows from the music, that people have to believe in you, that you’ve got to treat them right.
This is big news. This says the major labels are fucked. Untrustworthy with a worthless business model. Radiohead doesn’t seem to care if the music is free. Not that they believe it will be. Because believers will give you ALL THEIR MONEY! - Bob Lefsetz
Hmm…or maybe it’s just their way of saying thanks to all supporters and f**k off to all losers trying to kill the music industry.
Well, looks like the best things in life are for… (oh come on, don’t act dumb)
Who ever thought of formulating Musicovery is a genius! When you need to pop some energetic music to cheer you up and you couldn’t find any from your downloaded mp3 files, I recommend you visit this site and look for the perfect sounds to match your mood.
Oh, and they have a wide range of music collection, even Counting Crow’s I Wish I Was A Girl (I like!).
From Google Adsense blog, it reads:
