Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Hotels.com throughout the ages

Great slide transition from Guillaume Thevenot's Hotel-Blogs.com showing the transition over time of Hotels.com. Shows in pictures the trends of content first with search on the side, then open searchwith tabs and options to eventually the importance now placed on promotion and merchandising. Thanks also to the Travolution Blog where I first saw the story.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

woud tim.com and his bag of cash paid that kinda coin for yourtube.com ?

Tim Hughes said...

straying from travel but certainly something I have been thinking about. Here are the pros
- biggest phenom there is online right now. Have recreated the way people consume online content and as a result are directly responsible for more young people spending more time online and less watching TV, DVDs, going to the movies etc
- are trying to legitimise themselves. Learnt from the Napster copyright legal assualt and have busily cutting deals left and right with content rights owners (studios and record companies)
- complement Google nicely. You will never hear me use the word synergy but Google's mantra of indexing the worlds information fits right in at YouTube
- they used stock to buy so no cash risk to Google.
Cons
- Untested commercial business. Build it and they will come has some strength in the new web world but there is the staggeringly great unknown here about whethter they can monetise this traffic with pre or post role video
- despite deals with content rights holders the legal actions will start the second the deal is closed
- shows that something must be wrong with Google and new products. Is a huges slap in the face for the team that built Google Video and an admission that Google is fading in product development.

Sum - have not done any number work but think that Google is a good home for YouTube. The price appears too high compared to the build option but given that it is an all stock deal and I am not a google stock holder - who cares.

Anonymous said...

Guy this has altered the entertainment world for ever.

They are allowing me to watch when I desire and finish my dinner without rushing.
All the small time movies get alternative distribution direct from source cutting middleman out of the $$$$ (MIRAMAX and VIACOM)

Youtube is correct fit for Apple hand held screens.

Imagine live news sources without big brother interfering;

Blog with pictures is greater than blog neat.

So maybe the meek shall inherit the earth after all.