Stratechery The YouTube Tip of the Google Spear
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Sep 23, 2025 Recent AI deal dynamics are explored, highlighting NVIDIA's investment in OpenAI and its role in accelerating AI adoption through ChatGPT. The shift from text to video as the primary social media medium is discussed, emphasizing YouTube's massive reach. Key insights are shared about AI's impact on content creation, especially through features like product tagging in videos, turning each clip into ad inventory. The closing thoughts center on YouTube's position as Google's leading force in the AI landscape, hinting at its explosive future potential.
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Early Social Media Preferences
- Ben Thompson describes his early embrace of Twitter because it mixed content and interaction in text form.
- He contrasts this with a slower adoption of Facebook, which prioritized friends and family over ideas.
Video Became The Dominant Medium
- Thompson argues video, not social graphs, became the dominant medium for entertainment on social platforms.
- He credits TikTok and YouTube for prioritizing compelling video over network-based feeds.
YouTube As A Hidden Giant
- Thompson admits YouTube was his blind spot because he isn't a heavy video consumer.
- He notes that discussions about YouTube mostly occur on YouTube, keeping it hidden from text-centric audiences.