YouTube throws a punch at Facebook
YouTube knows where its fans are, and the company is doing whatever it can to ensure that it keeps them.
The grassroots video-sharing site has opened Colleges on YouTube to cater further to the youthful viewers who have made it a media phenomenon.
"Want to see the highlights of last weekend's game (or last night's party)? It's easier than ever to share videos with friends at your college on YouTube--join up and add videos to the pool. You can also start or join groups within your college, to hook up with others who have the same interests," according to the intro page of the new closed community. "All you need to join is an .edu email address from your college!"
Blog community response:
"Now, let's look at an even more obvious problem here: Why are both companies restricting only to colleges? That's kinda like Wal-Mart deciding to convert their stores all to Sam's Clubs (those are membership only). It's not open to the public, so why limit your user base? The rest of the Web is trying to expand to gain more users, not detract!"
--bumpbox
"This is definitely infringing on Facebook's turf, but Facebook has yet to add video-sharing to its college-centered social network. Colleges, with their ample supplies of bandwidth and procrastinators, are the best source of early adopters you can get, and college student presence on YouTube is certainly huge."
--GigaOM
"The only concern is whether YouTube Colleges could become like Facebook and MySpace before it: a way for employers to research potential employees. A drunken party video could be much more damaging to your career than the antics on your Facebook page."
--Mashable