Convergence Presentation

YouTube: the video-sharing site valued at $45.7 billion - and that was two years ago.

"People have a lot of different experiences out there, and they want to share them. That's what we're about. We're the ultimate reality TV, giving you a glimpse into other people's lives." 

- co-founder Chad Hurley as cited in USA Today

Brief History

left to right: Hurley, Chen, Karim

source: World TV

According to Wikipedia and USA Today (as well as many other sources) YouTube was founded February 14, 2005 by former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. However, it wasn't until May 2005 that a preview of the video-sharing website was made public and had its official debut that following November. Early headquarters for the company were above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, Calif.

early headquarters

source: Wikipedia 

current headquarters in San Bruno, Calif.

source: Wikipedia

Wikipedia states that in November 2005, venture firm Sequoia Capital invested $3.5 million in the company, which initially began as an angel-funded enterprise. (Sequoia-backed companies are now collectively worth more than 20 percent of the total value of NASDAQ.) Then, in 2006, Sequoia and Artis Capital Management put an additional $8 million into the company. 

According to Business Insider and Film Creations (and other sources) what sparked the idea for YouTube was Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Superbowl Halftime. However, even though the video can be easily found on YouTube, it was not the first video posted to the site. The first YouTube video was posted by co-founder Jawed Karim and is a brief clip of him at the San Diego Zoo.

Other important dates (see Daily Infographic)

• October 2006: Google buys YouTube for $1.65 billion
• June 2007: launched in nine countries
• December 2008: HD video launched (720P HD)
• October 2009: Channel 4 partners with YouTube to start showing catch-up TV
• November 2009: full HD launched (1080P HD)
• May 2010: 2 billion daily views (That's 11,574 per second.)
• December 2010: True view ads launched
• May 2011: 3 billion daily video views (That's 34,722 per second.)
• December 2011: First major redesign
• go to Web Archive to see what YouTube used to look like
• January 2012: 4 billion daily video views (That's 42,296 per second.)
• December 2012: First video hits one billion views: Gangnam Style by Psy (see Film Creations)

YouTube now (well, as of a year ago)

• 800 million + monthly visitors 
• 72 hours + video uploaded per minute (That's over a decade of content every day.)
• No. 2 search engine (bigger than Bing, Yahoo, Ask and AOL)
• 4 billion hours of video viewed each month (That's over 450,000 years of video viewed monthly.)

The history of advertising on YouTube (see Mashable Infographic)

• June 2007: YouTube mobile site launches, drastically changing how video is distributed
• March 2009: YouTube signs Disney parternship
• April 2009: Shows and movies launch with hundreds of movies and thousands of full-length TV episodes
• October 2009: Livestream of U2 concert
• February 2010: Global livestream of President Obama's YouTube interview

monetization

• 94 of Adage's Top 100 advertisers run campaigns on YouTube 
• The number of advertisers using display ads on YouTube increased 10 fold in the last year

partners

• signed more than 10,000 partners to date (2011), including Disney, Turner, Univision and Channel 4
• hundreds of partners are making six figures a year

mobile

• No. 1 video viewing mobile website in the USA, with 7.1 million unique monthly users

traffic

• more video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than the three major US networks created in 60 years
• 70 percent of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US
• YouTube is localized in 25 countries across 43 languages
• YouTube's demographic is broad: 18-54 years old

Convergence: home videos to YouTube

Marketing Specialist Stephen Wilson said it perfectly: "Part of what makes YouTube somewhat unique is this wide spectrum of diversity. Today, YouTube is used for just about every reason imaginable. You can quickly find videos from media giants like CBS or children’s piano recitals for grandparents and relatives to watch worldwide."

What used to be family gatherings around a TV set has turned into much less private and much more accessible individual viewings around the world.

However, a major factor is no longer sharing sweet moments with grandma or grandpa; now, there is a much larger community who is more obsessed with popularity, such as the number of views, "likes" and shares a YouTube video gets. Personal home videos have converged into public entertainment.

see PBS video Generation Like:

Tyler Oakley
 (see time 9:30-10:25)

Oakley explains that he started his YouTube channel to keep in touch "in my own little way". He explains how surprised he was when one of his first videos received 100 + views. He said, "I do not have 100 friends."

Steven Fernandez aka "Baby Scumbag"
(see times 22:40-23:18 and 24:28 to 25:20)

Fifteen-year-old Fernandez initially rode to YouTube fame on his skateboard, but that isn't the only way he's retaining his fame. He now goes by the name "Baby Scumbag" and posts videos of him doing, well, "scummy" things. 

Best Device: Goji Smart Lock

The Goji Smart Lock is "an electronic locking system managed from your phone", set to release June 2014. Data is transferred from your Goji Smart Lock to your phone via an application. As of now, there is no information available about whether the app is free or an additional cost. In other words, your smartphone acts as your "key"; when the app is open, the user holds the smartphone in front of the Goji, and the Smart Lock opens if recognition is a match.

For a quick introductory to the Goji Smark Lock, watch the short video above.

The emerging market for the Goji Smart Lock is communication. The device allows the user to communicate with a locking system, assuring that only the approved people enter and leave the house. Similarly, as explained in detail below, the alert system communicates with users, explaining who enters or leaves the house and at what time. This can act as a parental control, alerting parents whether their child makes curfew, comes home during school hours, and so on. It can also send alerts to a user who is away from the home but has allowed a neighbor access to check on the house or care for a pet. As illustrated directly below, the Goji Smart Lock also sends picture alerts - a technological peep-hole, per se.

This new device acts largely in its consumer values: convergence, consumerism and interactivity. 

Convergence

access, utility, fair value

The Goji Smart Lock provides an individualized locking system, accessible to essentially anyone who can afford the almost $300 price. The device's utility relates directly to communication, as stated above, and there is large potential in its fair value; would you pay $300 to better secure your home AND have control while doing so? More and more people are thirsting for control in an otherwise technological driven world.

Consumerism

choice, convenience, performance

Most personal homes have a door lock and deadbolt, both requiring a standard key. But now consumers can choose to go the traditional route or venture a new route and try the Goji Smart Lock. A majority of people allows carry their phones, oftentimes in a back pocket of a pair of pants or inside a shoulder bag. Essentially, everyone always has their phone. Phones have already transformed into computers and cameras, so why can't phones be keys? With Goji Smart Lock, they are. Now that's choice, convenience and performance right there, and that's only the beginning.

Interactivity

individualism, control, security

Interactivity is encased in the above two consumer values. The user has complete control of who enters and leaves the home and knowing when they're doing so. For less than $300, the user is allotted an individualized, secure and personally controlled device. Better yet, the Goji is even personalized with the user's name, welcoming "John" to his home when no one else is there to do so; in a way, Goji is always there; the user is never alone. 

The camera sends you a picture of who's at the door.

24-hour support

Lose your phone? Goji's support team will suspend action from that phone; they're just a call away (hopefully you have a backup phone), 24 hours a day. 

Goji locks and FOBs

A single Goji lock can be pre-ordered for $278, twenty-one dollars cheaper than the soon-to-be retail value. A duo pack of Goji locks can be pre-ordered for $525, retailed at $598. Goji locks also come in three colors (silver, gold, copper) to match your door perfectly. As CEO and Founder Gabriel Bestard said, ."..state of the art in technology and design."

According to the Goji blog: "Goji FOBs are small yet powerful. They can hold an unlimited number of electronic keys allowing one FOB to open multiple Gojis easily. Give them to children, family, or friends that don’t own a modern smartphone, or loan them to long-term contractors, housekeepers, or babysitters."

Goji is compatible with iPhone and Android apps. 

Other information

• No more digging in your purse or pockets to find your keys. Keyless access allows the user to have his/her smartphone in a pocket or purse. Simply position your purse or pocket in front of the Smart Lock for the door to unlock.
• Do you have visitors that don't have a key? No problem. Access can be sent to different people and received via the application. This is ideal for instances such as when the user is out of town and has a house sitter, a babysitter is sent to care for the kids, etc. Such access can be recurring or single use.
• Unsure about people having access to your house? Access alerts are sent to the user, outlining what time someone uses the door. Alerts can also be used as a parental control, alerting when a child leaves or enters the home.
• The Goji Smart Lock system is battery operated and has a step-by-step DIY installation.

The Goji Team

About the Goji team

Gabriel Bestard-Ribas, CEO and Founder

Gabriel has more than 15 years of experience leading innovative technology projects for telecommunications and consumer goods companies in the United States and Spain. In 2011, he won the National Marketing Award in Innovation for the launch of the first Social CRM in Spain. He holds an MBA from top international business school IESE in Spain and a BS from Southern Illinois University.

Lloyd Seliber, VP Product

Lloyd has more than 30 years of experience in the lock industry, developing the most successful cylinder lock products in the United States for industry-leading brands such as Ingersoll-Rand and DORMA. He has also led consulting security projects internationally. He holds a BA from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. Lloyd holds multiple patents on lock technology.

Steven Bakondi, VP Engineering

Steven has more than 15 years of experience developing enterprise software, user interfaces and search applications for numerous large companies including Wells Fargo Bank, Symantec and MTV Networks among others. He studied electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

All information above found at www.gojiaccess.com. All information below found at the Goji blog.

Below is a visual example of the Goji Smart Lock. Although it is not required, users can choose to use Goji and its partnership with Staples Connect Hub, an additional $99 which provides a larger platform of devices on which the Goji can share information, such as tablets and PCs, as well as the usual smartphone.

                    

Goji Smart Lock Selected as Partner for Staples Connect

We’re happy to announce that the Goji Smart Lock has been selected as a partner for Staples Connect™ from Staples, joining its ecosystem of connected devices that can be controlled through the Staples Connect Hub and App with any smartphone, tablet or PC.

The Goji Smart Lock joins a select lineup of certified home- and office-automation products from brands such as Lutron, Philips, GE, Honeywell, Yale and First Alert, among others.

“Staples customers will appreciate the many extra features the Goji Smart Lock offers—especially the picture alerts—to help them feel more confident and secure knowing who’s coming and going from their home or office,” said Peter Gerstberger, Director/DMM, New Business Development, Staples.

Unlike large system-based solutions, Staples Connect allows users to add only the devices they want. The Staples Connect Hub, powered by Linksys, is available online and in a limited number of Staples stores for $99.