Latest news with #Google+
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wedbush Drops Alphabet (GOOGL) From Top Picks Over AI Concerns
May 13 - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is no longer on Wedbush's Best Ideas List, as the firm sees rising uncertainty around how artificial intelligence could reshape the company's core business. Analysts still see long-term value in the stock. But in the near term, they expect more ups and downs, especially as AI continues to disrupt digital advertising and search, two of Alphabet's biggest revenue drivers. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with TSX:NOA. The timing follows Alphabet's agreement to a $350 million settlement tied to past security issues from its discontinued Google+ platform. That case, filed in the Northern District of California, focused on data exposure concerns going back several years. While the stock climbed nearly 4% on Monday, Wedbush's move suggests the firm is leaning more cautiously, at least for now. It hasn't downgraded Alphabet but is favoring other tech names it sees as having a steadier outlook in the short run. AI may open up big opportunities, but for Alphabet, it's also bringing fresh challenges, and investors are watching closely to see how it all plays out. Based on the one year price targets offered by 18 analysts, the average target price for Alphabet Inc is $201.56 with a high estimate of $225.00 and a low estimate of $185.00. The average target implies a upside of +26.30% from the current price of $159.58. Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for Alphabet Inc in one year is $198.28, suggesting a upside of +24.25% from the current price of $159.58. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Scottish Sun
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Watch YouTube's first-ever video as bizarre 19-second clip with 355MILLION views uploaded 20 years ago today
YOUTUBE'S first-ever video was uploaded 20 years ago today: a 19-second clip with more than 355 million views. The snippet of footage dates back to YouTube's April 23, 2005 launch. 4 YouTube's first-ever clip is now 20 years old – and takes place at San Diego Zoo in California Credit: YouTube/Jawed 4 The clip has earned over 335 million views, and was posted by one of YouTube's three co-founders Credit: YouTube/Jawed It's called "Me at the zoo" and it was uploaded by YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim. This early clip is a now seen as an iconic part of the internet's history – and marks the beginning of one of the most popular websites of all time. These days, YouTube is a household name, and is owned by tech giant Google. But in 2005, it was just a hopeful project dreamed up by three former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Karim (who uploaded that first clip). Read more on Google CYBER 'ATTACK' Gmail users given 'red alert' warning over new phishing scam stealing data In the video, we see Karim posing in front of a pair of elephants. He's being recorded by his high school pal Kayov Lapitsky at California's San Diego Zoo. TUBE GOOD TO BE TRUE? Karim worked with YouTube as an informal adviser, and retained a small share in the site. When it was snapped up by Google in 2006, Karim is believed to have received around $64 million in share value. He went on to launch a venture fund in 2008, which became an early investor in Airbnb in 2009. In 2013, Karim used his "Me at the zoo" video to criticise Google publicly. Meta's top VR boss predicts AI-powered future with no phones, brain-controlled ovens and virtual TVs that only cost $1 It was in response to a policy change that forced YouTube users to create a Google+ account if they wanted to post comments on videos. Karim changed the video description on the clip to: "I can't comment here anymore, since I don't want a Google+ account." Google eventually backed down on the decision, and ultimately killed off Google+ in 2019. In November 2021, Karim updated his video description again with the note: "When every YouTuber agrees that removing dislikes is a stupid idea, it probably is. Try again, YouTube." 4 YouTube was set up by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim in 2005 Credit: Alamy As of today, Karim's video description includes a warning about how "microplastics are accumulating in human brains at an alarming rate". That change was made back in February 2025. VIEW-TIFUL! Today, YouTube is ranked as the second-most-visited site in the world behind Google's main search engine. It attracts billions of users every single month – with over a billion hours of videos watched per day. YOUTUBE'S EARLIEST FEATURES Here's when some of YouTube's first features arrived... April 2005 – First video uploaded July 2005 – Top videos page August 2005 – Five-star rating system October 2005 – Playlists October 2005 – Full-screen view October 2005 – Subscriptions Januyar 2006 – Groups February 2006 – Personalised profiles March 2006 – 10 minute video limit May 2006 – Cell phone uploading June 2006 – Viewing history Picture Credit: Google / YouTube 4 Early versions of YouTube looked very different from the slick website and app of today Credit: YouTube Google bought up the site all the way back in 2006 for $1.65 billion. It's almost certainly worth far more today – with 2024 advertising and subscription revenue alone exceeding $50 billion. YouTube started life as a website usually viewed in the web browser of a computer. But now it's widely accessible, including on iPhones and Androids, smart TVs, games consoles, and even VR headsets.
The Irish Sun
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Watch YouTube's first-ever video as bizarre 19-second clip with 355MILLION views uploaded 20 years ago today
YOUTUBE'S first-ever video was uploaded 20 years ago today: a 19-second clip with more than 355 million views. The snippet of footage dates back to YouTube's April 23, 2005 launch. 4 YouTube's first-ever clip is now 20 years old – and takes place at San Diego Zoo in California Credit: YouTube/Jawed 4 The clip has earned over 335 million views, and was posted by one of YouTube's three co-founders Credit: YouTube/Jawed It's called "Me at the zoo" and it was uploaded by YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim. This early clip is a now seen as an iconic part of the internet's history – and marks the beginning of one of the most popular websites of all time. These days, YouTube is a household name, and is owned by tech giant Google. But in 2005, it was just a hopeful project dreamed up by three former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Karim (who uploaded that first clip). Read more on Google In the video, we see Karim posing in front of a pair of elephants. He's being recorded by his high school pal Kayov Lapitsky at California's San Diego Zoo. TUBE GOOD TO BE TRUE? Karim worked with YouTube as an informal adviser, and retained a small share in the site. When it was snapped up by Google in 2006, Karim is believed to have received around $64 million in share value. Most read in Tech He went on to launch a venture fund in 2008, which became an early investor in Airbnb in 2009. In 2013, Karim used his "Me at the zoo" video to criticise Google publicly. Meta's top VR boss predicts AI-powered future with no phones, brain-controlled ovens and virtual TVs that only cost $1 It was in response to a policy change that forced YouTube users to create a Google+ account if they wanted to post comments on videos. Karim changed the video description on the clip to: "I can't comment here anymore, since I don't want a Google+ account." Google eventually backed down on the decision, and ultimately killed off Google+ in 2019. In November 2021, Karim updated his video description again with the note: "When every YouTuber agrees that removing dislikes is a stupid idea, it probably is. Try again, YouTube." 4 YouTube was set up by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim in 2005 Credit: Alamy As of today, Karim's video description includes a warning about how "microplastics are accumulating in human brains at an alarming rate". That change was made back in February 2025. VIEW-TIFUL! Today, YouTube is ranked as the second-most-visited site in the world behind Google's main search engine. It attracts billions of users every single month – with over a billion hours of videos watched per day. YOUTUBE'S EARLIEST FEATURES Here's when some of YouTube's first features arrived... April 2005 – First video uploaded July 2005 – Top videos page August 2005 – Five-star rating system October 2005 – Playlists October 2005 – Full-screen view October 2005 – Subscriptions Januyar 2006 – Groups February 2006 – Personalised profiles March 2006 – 10 minute video limit May 2006 – Cell phone uploading June 2006 – Viewing history Picture Credit: Google / YouTube 4 Early versions of YouTube looked very different from the slick website and app of today Credit: YouTube Google bought up the site all the way back in 2006 for $1.65 billion. It's almost certainly worth far more today – with 2024 advertising and subscription revenue alone exceeding $50 billion. YouTube started life as a website usually viewed in the web browser of a computer. But now it's widely accessible, including on
The Sun
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Watch YouTube's first-ever video as bizarre 19-second clip with 355MILLION views uploaded 20 years ago today
YOUTUBE'S first-ever video was uploaded 20 years ago today: a 19-second clip with more than 355 million views. The snippet of footage dates back to YouTube 's April 23, 2005 launch. 4 4 It's called "Me at the zoo" and it was uploaded by YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim. This early clip is a now seen as an iconic part of the internet's history – and marks the beginning of one of the most popular websites of all time. These days, YouTube is a household name, and is owned by tech giant Google. But in 2005, it was just a hopeful project dreamed up by three former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Karim (who uploaded that first clip). In the video, we see Karim posing in front of a pair of elephants. He's being recorded by his high school pal Kayov Lapitsky at California 's San Diego Zoo. TUBE GOOD TO BE TRUE? Karim worked with YouTube as an informal adviser, and retained a small share in the site. When it was snapped up by Google in 2006, Karim is believed to have received around $64 million in share value. He went on to launch a venture fund in 2008, which became an early investor in Airbnb in 2009. In 2013, Karim used his "Me at the zoo" video to criticise Google publicly. Meta's top VR boss predicts AI-powered future with no phones, brain-controlled ovens and virtual TVs that only cost $1 It was in response to a policy change that forced YouTube users to create a Google+ account if they wanted to post comments on videos. Karim changed the video description on the clip to: "I can't comment here anymore, since I don't want a Google+ account." Google eventually backed down on the decision, and ultimately killed off Google+ in 2019. In November 2021, Karim updated his video description again with the note: "When every YouTuber agrees that removing dislikes is a stupid idea, it probably is. Try again, YouTube." 4 As of today, Karim's video description includes a warning about how "microplastics are accumulating in human brains at an alarming rate". That change was made back in February 2025. VIEW-TIFUL! Today, YouTube is ranked as the second-most-visited site in the world behind Google's main search engine. It attracts billions of users every single month – with over a billion hours of videos watched per day. 4 Google bought up the site all the way back in 2006 for $1.65 billion. It's almost certainly worth far more today – with 2024 advertising and subscription revenue alone exceeding $50 billion. YouTube started life as a website usually viewed in the web browser of a computer. But now it's widely accessible, including on iPhones and Androids, smart TVs, games consoles, and even VR headsets.
Forbes
31-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
8 Ways To Protect Your Startup From Competitors
Amazon was able to operate at a loss for years thanks to the support of its investors justified by ... More their belief that the company was building a monopoly in retail. Rather than being an exception, this is a relatively standard expectation in tech startups. Here are eight competitive moats you can think about building for your startup project. Amazon was able to operate at a loss for years thanks to the support of its investors justified by their belief that the company was building a monopoly in retail. Rather than being an exception, this is a relatively standard expectation in tech startups. A lot of the niches that innovative projects target have zero marginal cost, making it very feasible that the first-mover (as in the first company that finds real product-market fit) would very quickly come to dominate a very large share of their market. Once a company dominates a market niche, however, defending its market position is crucial to its ability to maintain a very high valuation. Consequently, investors in innovative, risky projects are extremely interested in competitive moats - defenses against competition. The stronger the moat, the harder it is for competitors to eat up your market share. Without a moat, you risk being bullied out of your market by better-funded competitors. Here are eight competitive moats you can think about building for your startup project. Network effects occur when a product or service becomes more valuable as more people use it. This creates a self-reinforcing loop that makes it difficult for competitors to gain traction. Examples include social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as marketplaces like Airbnb and Uber. A great example of network effects at work is Google's failed attempt to challenge Facebook through its Google+ project. Sense it filled the exact same market need as Facebook, and Facebook already benefitted by huge network effects, the cost of people switching from Facebook to Google+ was in reality very high because all of their friends and acquaintances were already using Facebook. Startups can leverage network effects by incentivizing early adopters and creating viral loops that encourage user growth. If a startup can provide its product or service at a significantly lower cost than competitors, it gains a cost advantage. This can come from economies of scale, better supply chain management, or most importantly for early-stage startup projects - proprietary technology that reduces costs. The case of DeepSeek versus Chat GPT is a very relevant example. Cost advantage is one of the few competitive advantages (or moats) that in general allow you to enter an already occupied market and don't require you to be the first mover, like, for example - network effects. A strong brand builds trust and customer loyalty, making it harder for competitors to lure away customers. Apple's brand is the classical example. It commands premium pricing and inspires strong customer loyalty. Startups can develop brand power by focusing on building a community around their products and services, which is usually done through the use of common values and projecting a strong mission around the brand. Another great example is Tesla, which built extremely high brand value, which is currently threatened exactly because the values that the brand initially preached and that their customers identified with are currently in question. Patents, trademarks, and proprietary technology can provide legal protection against competitors copying a startup's innovations. Biotech firms, for instance, rely heavily on patents to protect drug formulations. While IP alone isn't always enough to sustain a business, it can offer an early advantage and attract investors looking for defensibility. If customers face high costs in terms of money, time, effort, or status when switching to a competitor, they are more likely to stay. This is why enterprise software companies like Salesforce benefit from strong switching costs; once integrated into a company's workflow, switching to a new platform is expensive and time-consuming. The same example is clearly visible in the IOS versus Android ecosystems. If all of your software and personal files and data are in one ecosystem, it's generally speaking a bother to transfer everything to the other. Startups can build switching costs by creating deeply integrated solutions and offering personalized customer experiences. Strategic partnerships with key suppliers, distributors, or industry influencers can create a unique advantage. For example, OpenAI's exclusive partnership with Microsoft provides cloud computing support, giving it an edge in AI development. Startups should look for exclusive partnerships that give them access to proprietary technology, distribution channels, or customer bases that competitors cannot easily replicate. Companies that accumulate and analyze proprietary data gain a competitive edge. Google, Amazon, Facebook, and any algorithm-drive service (TikTok, YouTube, etc.) use vast amounts of consumer data to personalize services. A startup that collects unique datasets and uses them to offer a high-value service can create a valuable moat that competitors struggle to replicate. In some industries, regulatory approval creates significant entry barriers. Fintech startups, for instance, must comply with financial regulations that take time and resources to navigate. Once a startup secures regulatory approval, it becomes difficult for new competitors to enter the market quickly.
