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Google is going to transform its Google Video service, in which users upload video content to be shared, into a Google Video Search service, a search engine to look for video content no matter where it may be hosted.

A logical step considering Google’s world-famous mission which is to organize the world’s information. Even more, after YouTube’s acquisition, Google has had two compiting products on the market and finally it’s time to fully integrate YouTube into Google’s product portfolio.

Additionally, according to Financial Times, Google is planning to share advertising revenues on YouTube with the users who upload the clips. Good news for top YouTubers and one more incentive for those users producing quality videos. Could it be the first step in building a real Google TV? What comes next? Only time will tell.

Tons have been talked lately about whether YouTube’s video about how to get into Google TV is hoax or reality. Well, it is still not clear if it is hoax or reality. Some people claim that it is an amazing hoax while other people are conceited to have got a Google TV account.

Anyway, I believe that even if *this* Google TV is hoax, it will be a reality soon. Looks like, after social networks revolution, IPTV (TV over Internet) is the next big revolution and such player as Google won’t be out of this business.

Evidences? Friis and Zennstrom, the Skype and Kazaa guys, have recently launch Joost a new TV service based on peer-to-peer technologies. There is another new TV service called Babelgum, which combines social networking with TV viewing experience (web 2.0 with IPTV 1.0 ;-). Both, Joost and Babelgum are available only as a closed beta. There is also Apple with its Apple TV presented in last MacWorld Expo, a mixture between TiVo and an Internet computer. Even Bill Gates has been talking about this revolution lately while the brand new Windows Vista is more TV-oriented than ever (will Microsoft come next with Zune TV?).

Is there anybody out there who thinks that Google is not going to launch a “Google TV” service? What comes next? Only time will tell.

Chinese online population hit 136 million people by the end of 2006 becoming the world’s second largest behind the U.S. with a total online spending of $35,5 billion (47% more than the previous year).

Average Chinese Internet user spends $22 a month online, including payment to online services providers as well as shopping ang gaming. Still, the most popular Internet services in China are search engines (dominated by Baidu and Google and, to a lesser degree, by Yahoo!) followed by Internet portals (led by Sina.com, Netease.com and qq.com) and e-mail services.

But the most rapid growth in usage last year came from blogging. China now has 20.8 million bloggers. Top blogging sites are hosted by Sina, Qzone and MSN. Other new Internet services that are gaining particularly wide acceptance are personal Web pages similar to those on MySpace and video-sharing based on the Web 2.0 standards similar to YouTube. What comes next? Only time will tell.

MySpace.com, the leading social networking and lifestyle portal, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC), announced today a partnership to distribute localized online AMBER Alerts via MySpace.

In addition to its traditional distribution methods, the AMBER Alert program will now benefit from the mass distribution of the MySpace network and provide rapid, viral support to law enforcement in bringing home an abducted child. The AMBER Alerts on MySpace go live today. In other news, MySpace today announced a new set of safety features to increase online safety and privacy for its community, including email verification and an “over/ under” privacy tool for all users.

That’s very good news in finding missing children and fighting against sex offenders. Hope other big social networks will join this initiative and one day no AMBER alert will be needed. What comes next? Only time will tell.

Just one week for commercial launch of Windows Vista, but looks like good old times were really better.

August 1995 was top for Microsoft’s enthusiasts when Gate’s Company managed to get people to queue for miles to buy its brand-new Windows 95. This time, only CompUSA plans to keep its stores open past midnight on Tuesday, January 30th for those people who like to be the first ones in getting the new operating system as soon as it is launched. Best Buy and Circuit City will each keep a few stores open late, but most of their stores and those of other retailers are planning normal hours.

Of course, all retailers agree with the idea that this is a good opportunity that only happens once in five years (or more) and all of them are hoping something special, but though Microsoft’s operating systems are more attractive for customers and dealers than its zune, it looks like Windows 95 expectation has been left behind. What comes next? Only time will tell.

Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis are the creators of Skype and Kazaa, two of the most important (both but particularly the former one) Internet initiatives of the last years. Both products were a combination of new technologies and new defined protocols plus the needed new applications that together are part of new revolutionary services. Well, they did it again.

Joost, formerly Venice Project, is now a reality. It is also a new software application plus its relevant technology wrapping it that makes a new service but that’s from the technical boring side. Joost is, as said in its site:

A new way of watching TV that provides the best of both, the Internet and TV worlds.

They are still in beta phase looking for beta testers under application (and approval). You could also get into Joost by invitation. Look forward to watching it. What comes next? Only time will tell.

It’s well known that there is a lot of copyrighted material from Hollywood Studios available for free on YouTube. It’s also well known that the Studios also have taken advantage of YouTube in order to get their films more popular at low cost.

But the real challenge has arrived and Hollywood is wondering whether YouTube is friend or foe. Being aware of the potencial benefits they could get, all of the major studios are negotiating licensing agreements with YouTube, but in the meantime they are also pressing YouTube to adopt filtering mechanisms faster to keep unlawful material from even showing up. Even more, some people think that Studios will sue if they don’t get the licensing deal they want.

On the other hand, Google’s is being pressed by their own investors who are willing to see whether YouTube is worth the $1,65 billion they paid for it or not. What comes next? Only time will tell.

The British Broadcasting Corporation plans to develop its online presence by providing social networking sites based on its most popular brands such as Top Gear.

BBC is thinking of following the success of such sites as MySpace or YouTube in which users contribute comments and video footage to share with other users.

Looks like the biggest traditional media corporations are starting to realize of the influence and power of social networks. This kind of corporations were thought to be the losers with this trend, but in fact, according to a Deloitte’s report, can be ideally suited for benefit as this trend develops consumer loyalty. What comes next? Only time will tell.

Two days ago I went through the idea that Apple’s phone wouldn’t be named ‘iPhone’ as it is a registered trademark of Cisco Systems. Yesterday I had to admit that I was wrong as Steve Jobs surprisingly announced Apple’s new iPhone.

Well, today we’ve known that both companies were negotiating to use the same mark. Finally, on monday evening there was no agreement but Apple’s arrogance let Jobs announce the iPhone without permission.

One of the possibilities I pointed out yesterday was that this story would end up in court and so it will be. Cisco sues Apple over use of iPhone trademark. What comes next? Only time will tell.

Looks like the mergers & acquisitions market is really hot these days. Following yesterday’s MyBlogLog acquisition by Yahoo! and StudiVZ a few days ago, today we find that eBay has agreed to buy StubHub, an online ticket reseller, for $310 million in cash.

StubHub was founded in 2000 and made more than $400 million in gross ticket sales last year. It offers a secure way for buyers and sellers to exchange tickets as StubHub acts as a middleman and includes money-back guarantee. According to Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America Marketplaces, it’s a perfect complement to eBay’s tickets business. What comes next? Only time will tell.