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Although Google restored YouTube services after about an hour, that was enough for the #YouTubeDOWN hashtag to generate tons of tweets from alarmed users. It also quickly spawned memes about the outage, from images of the world on fire to Homer Simpson with a sandwich board that read “The end is near.”
“I AM TODAY [IN] SHOCK, ”wrote one distraught user.
TODAY I’M SHOCK AFTERNOON 5.42 PM #youtubeserverdown #YouTubeDOWN pic.twitter.com/Shd9edNQiY
– AK (@ Ak1461) December 14, 2020
These concerns are not surprising, given that YouTube is the second most popular website in the world, behind only Google. YouTube has a staggering two billion monthly active users who watch over one billion videos per day. The site has more than 31 million channels and the average mobile user watches 40 minutes of video per session.
“People come to YouTube for entertainment, information and opportunities to learn something new,” Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of YouTube and Alphabet, Google’s parent, said recently during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. “As a sign of the times, views of guided meditation videos have increased 40 percent since mid-March, while DIY face mask tutorials have been viewed more than a billion times.”
He added that YouTube has seen its subscriptions grow to more than 30 million paid music and premium subscribers, even surpassing 35 million when consumers are included in free trials. Pichai also said that YouTube TV has more than three million paid subscribers.
Alphabet recently reported that YouTube’s ad revenue soared 32.4 percent to $ 5.04 billion during the third quarter, up from $ 3.8 billion a year earlier. The company does not break down YouTube subscription revenue separately, but the “Other Income” category that includes those funds increased 35 percent year-over-year to $ 5.5 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said during the company’s last earnings call that earnings were “primarily driven by growth in [Google Play] and YouTube non-ad revenue ”such as subscriptions.
Porat and Pichai said they see YouTube’s most important role as a “middle funnel” advertising game that companies can use to build a brand identity, complementing the role of Google Search in attracting consumers looking to make immediate purchases. .
“The search captures the intention at this point,” Pichai said during the call with the analyst. “But [I] I would say that YouTube is also an important platform for e-commerce. I can see advertisers on YouTube in the middle level of the funnel, even if that is not the intention at the time, investing to create demand, generate interest, etc. So for us, we see that trade works through the platform, and I think it’s an opportunity. “
And analysts are certainly taking notice, with four of the 10 questions Pichai and Porat answered during the earnings call focused on YouTube.
Pichai believes that the platform’s potential for advertising and commerce will only expand for both merchants and Alphabet as YouTube continues to grow.
“When shopping on YouTube, [I’d] We definitely say that we are in the first part of the journey, ”he said. But we have seen the strength on YouTube for direct response and in a few other categories. And I believe that the experiences that we see there [can] transfer directly to the merchant. … There is a lot of commercial activity on YouTube organically, so I see it as a long-term opportunity. “
Read more on YouTube:
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STUDY NEW PYMNTS: HOW LOCATION DATA CAN HELP BANKS PREVENT ONLINE FRAUD
In the November 2020 study How Location Data Can Help Banks Prevent Online Fraud, PYMNTS surveyed a balanced panel of 2,141 US consumers who own mobile devices and use credit or debit cards at least once per month. The study examined their willingness to share mobile location data with FIs to keep their accounts secure, as well as their interest in switching to banks that take advantage of geolocation tools to prevent fraud.
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