Lights. Camera… YouTube?
In what may be window into the future of digital companies, video streaming giant and Google (GOOGL)-owned YouTube has announced it will open a creative television/movie studio space in Chelsea next year.
YouTube will open a 25,000-square-foot collaborative video production studio at 22 West 21st Street in October 2014, where filmmakers can apply to be part of an on-site program (the Creator Residency program), take part in an ad revenue-sharing program, and produce professional quality videos for viewing on YouTube or elsewhere.
The space is similar to existing studios that YouTube has already opened in London, Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Digital changed the world and the ever-presence of tech in New York City is staggering, but some traditional Internet outlets and tech companies may be realizing that the WWW is not a replacement for space in the real world.
While the digital era assisted in the decline of traditional media companies (think local TV, radio, book stores like Border’s), the digital companies that helped bring them down may need to revert to the traditional tenets of their respective markets to gain a leg up.
On the e-commerce front, online shopping summoned the downfall of the mom and pop. Yet, Apple and Microsoft (MSFT) reap enormous reward from physical storefronts. Now Internet giant Google may be following suit. It could be only a matter of time before we see Twitter or Facebook storefronts pop up – ones that require movement in space, not a web address, to get to.
