Last week, Neal Mohan was appointed CEO of YouTube, the Google-owned streaming platform and one of the most popular websites in the world. After serving seven years as YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Mohan will be replacing Susan Wojcicki, who announced she’s stepping down via a recent blog post.
For fans of Web3 technology, the change of guard at YouTube is exciting news. Last year, the new CEO published a blog post that said YouTube was searching for ways to integrate Web3 technology, with suggestions that included making the platform more immersive and integrating NFTs somehow.
He wrote that YouTube thinks NFTs and blockchain technology can help “creators build deeper relationships with their fans.” Although the platform will be cautious in its approach to new technologies, they also believe there’s “incredible potential” in the space.
Mohan specifically mentioned how NFTs could let creators and fans collaborate in novel ways, and could be a way for fans to “own unique videos, phots, art, and even experiences from their favorite creators.” As for the metaverse, Mohan noted that it was still in its early stages, but that YouTube would be working to bring more interactions to games to make them more immersive.
YouTube is one of the most popular websites in the world. From September to November last year, YouTube brought in 74.8 billion visits per month, only lagging behind its parent company Google in terms of use.
For now, the Web3 hype around YouTube remains speculative. But having someone who sees the potential of Web3 at the helm of the streaming giant platform could lead to future innovations and Web3 projects.
World’s Top Websites Are Bullish on Web3
News about Mohan taking over at YouTube is exciting for Web3 fans and enthusiasts. But YouTube isn’t the only top Web2 platform interested in Web3. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve written several articles about major social media and streaming platforms leaning into Web3 technology. Here are some of the top stories.
First, four months ago, Twitter announced it was expanding its Tweet Tiles feature to NFTs. Now select users can share a marketplace listing of an NFT, including the meta data and NFT image, creator name, and title. Twitter partnered with four marketplaces for the new feature: Rarible, Magic Eden, Flow, and Jump.trade.
Next, around the same time, Meta tapped a group of digital artists to sell NFTs on Instagram. The tool allowed select U.S. creators to create NFTs on Polygon and sell them via Instagram. Instagram also expanded its Digital Collectibles feature, allowing people in 100 countries to showcase NFTs on the platform.
Finally, Little Red Book, a social media platform in China that is similar to Instagram, announced it is integrating the Conflux blockchain into its network of over 200 million active monthly users. Now users can showcase Conflux-minted NFTs on their profile page.
We’ll have to be patient to see what sort of moves Mohan and YouTube decide to make in Web3. But judging from what other platforms or doing, we think it’s likely one day we’ll see NFTs and Web3 tech on YouTube. We’ll keep our ears to the ground for any new developments in the story.