http://ping.fm/fkMVJ
This YouTube system was devised to ferret out copyright-protected content that has been uploaded illegally to the site, analyzing images and audio tracks and automatically comparing them to protected content. Now it's being used to help monetize that content, with Google utilizing the software to identify unauthorized clips of shows like "Mad Men" then attaching ads to them, according to a report in the NYTimes. Ad revenue derived from such fan posts is then split with the content owner as part of the YouTube Partner Program. It's hard to imagine the folks at Viacom, who just lost a very expensive lawsuit leveled at YouTube over the issue of benefitting from its illegally shared content, willingly participating in such a program. Then again, what's the harm - if properly managed? The value of YouTube is that it provides a platform through which the world can admire, comment on and share bits of video. Clips of professionally produced shows have benefitted when their shows are clipped and shared by achieving a watercooler effect; now they can gain real scratch from the transaction.