The term '
YouTube' has reached such pop culture saturation that even our grandparents know that it's a video site. But if the
Google-owned video behemoth has its way, everyone and their mother (and father, sister, and brother) will soon spend as much time shopping on the site as they do watching videos.
In a partnership starting with Apple's
iTunes Store and online retailer
Amazon,
YouTube will place conveniently located buttons to purchase, say, the song or
videogame used in the music video or
gameplay clip, respectively, that you are watching. The generated revenue will then be shared with the applicable retailer. It's unclear how
YouTube will split the revenue-sharing with folks who post user-created content that utilizes said music, game, or other product in their videos, but given a possible three-way split between YouTube, the retailer, and the user, expect some pretty low margins.
We'll have to see how unobtrusive the actual implementation is, but given the amount of music videos and
videogame clips found on
YouTube,
iTunes and Amazon are probably the two best retailers to partner with. A "Buy Now" button isn't too different from a standard Google ad besides being a bit more targeted, but hey, at least they're trying. What really has us concerned, though, is when and if companies start hiring shills to give glowing video "user reviews" of their products on the site (Yes, it will happen). [From:
Mashable]
Are you a classy sort of lady or gent? Looking for something understated and sophisticated to adorn your iPhone that says, 'Hey world, I've got refinement to spare'? You're in luck then, as German artist and rising accessories star Antje has created the bacon iPhone sleeve with which to adorn your precious, high-society gadget. It's the perfect thing to go with your meat iPod case, and your actual meat cellphone. Get them while they last for only €25 (or around $31), you foppish bon vivants!
After years of negotiations, rumors, and quite probably begging, the 
