google buys youtube

Google has bought youtube. I think it was a great move and I am long on Google. The most interesting thing is that they were profitable, and kept it a secret so no one would sue them. I think they will quickly integrate adsense (and possibly video adsense) and let users share in the profits from pageviews (as they do with blogger today).

During the negotiations Microsoft was asleep at the wheel. The best thing they could do for shareholders is to get out of the internet altogether and pass on the profits from Windows and Office in the form of dividends until the company folds. Bill Gates is retiring, and the place is creatively bankrupt.

Eveyone on the street is asking who will get bought next. Some are talking about facebook. My guess is that Yahoo will pay too much for facebook, while google feigns interest to drive the price up. Meanwhile google will continue to buy companies that have momentum but are not completely mainstream like reddit or digg... (just as they did with blogger and writely).