George Strompolos doesn’t f*ck around when it comes to monetization. I’ve heard my share of it from the Fullscreen CEO, and so I know just how Facebook feels after he launched a Twitter tirade at them for piracy (or “freebooting” as the kids call it now).
The scope of it is this: Facebook has a great video platform. But they don’t have a Content ID system in place (unlike YouTube), so there are a lot of videos that get pegged to Facebook that were stolen off of YouTube. As a result, there’s no monetization for Fullscreen or its clients — basically, their friggin’ lifeblood is being stolen because Facebook isn’t playing the game correctly.
Here’s the full thread from Twitter (handily numbered by George to make embedding easier!):
1) I love FB video but getting very tired of seeing our videos ripped there with no way to monitor or monetize: http://t.co/UFhN71oIXD
— George Strompolos (@gstrompolos) June 4, 2015
2) Remember that YT was sued by Viacom for over $1BN for this — George Strompolos (@gstrompolos) June 4, 2015
3) I now regularly see our videos with 50MM+ view counts that are stolen by individuals on FB… sometimes by other media cos
— George Strompolos (@gstrompolos) June 4, 2015
4) It costs us a lot to hunt them down one by one. I’m a huge DMCA proponent, but this has to improve fast. — George Strompolos (@gstrompolos) June 4, 2015
5) Frankly I’m shocked that a rights holder with deep pockets has not sued yet
— George Strompolos (@gstrompolos) June 4, 2015
6) YT’s content ID system is the right idea for FB, but it requires monetization (claiming) to keep content from being removed all the time — George Strompolos (@gstrompolos) June 4, 2015
7) YT spent a lot of time and money building the content ID system and it is the primary reason the site wasn’t sued into oblivion
— George Strompolos (@gstrompolos) June 4, 2015
Now, Strompolos allegedly likes what the Zuck and crew are doing over there with regards to video content. Strompolos said his comments were meant to be constructive.
Exactly. I was being constructive, I think. https://t.co/VX2Vei7UlF — George Strompolos (@gstrompolos) June 4, 2015
He even said that Facebook could eclipse YouTube in the video game — statements that seem to be confirmed by a post from Fortune who think they already have. According to writer Erin Griffith, “In April, Facebook hit 4 billion views per day, matching the latest estimates available for 10-year-old YouTube.”
8) I think FB video can truly eclipse YT over time with search, widespread embeds, a dedicated app, monetization and content ID
— George Strompolos (@gstrompolos) June 4, 2015
Now George strikes me as *someone with deep pockets*, so is this whole Twitter commentary a threat? A warning? A hint to his fellow business tycoons? A pleasant reminder?
I guess the ball is in Facebook’s court now, so let’s see what they do with it.
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