Media entrepreneur Mark Cuban, a vocal YouTube critic, says the YouTube-Oscar controversy raises a broader question facing media companies. Oscars clips were illegally uploaded, but what's the
difference between 200,000 users watching that content on YouTube versus the Oscars.com site? Control. Obviously, Oscar wants control of its content, something it doesn't have over YouTube. However,
Cuban says, why not fight back - that is, use YouTube to your advantage.
YouTube can be a subversive content free-for-all, but it's also a powerful, free promotional tool if exploited
properly. Here's what the academy could have done: post a 10-second clip of an Oscar segment followed by four minutes of, "Great videos from the Oscars telecast and exclusive behind-the-scenes videos
are all available at Oscars.com," with a clickable link at the bottom. If you want to promote something, post original content (i.e. video commercials) about your brand linking back to your
site.
Big media, on the other hand, would rather stonewall YouTube until both parties reach a content agreement. That is the old way of doing things, involving big legal fees and
months of lost time. Call it anachronistic thinking. In the end, if it's all about generating attention for your brand's products and services, why not leverage the free marketing platform instead of
crying about content subversion?
Read the whole story at John Battelle's Searchblog »