YouTube Plans for the Future

Undeterred by copyright lawsuits and new competition, the founders of YouTube are pressing on with several enhancements, tools and initiatives. In a new and rare interview, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen discuss the state of their venture.

Among the topics:

• A new platform for video ads will be released in the coming months.
• New tools are under development to identify videos that violate copyright laws.
• The company is negotiating revenue-sharing agreements for videos that become popular through the site.
• New online competitors (like Joost) aren’t a concern given YouTube’s emphasis on brief, lower-quality videos.
• Efforts are underway to bring YouTube to a more international audience.

The story notes that YouTube streams more than 200 million videos and adds more than 200,000 videos. Each day. Wow.