Roughly over a year after the video platform announced that it is integrating Web3 features into its products, YouTube has announced that it will be having a new chief.
According to a blog post by Susan Wojcicki, she will be taking a step back from her role as CEO of YouTube. Wojcicki shares that she has been with Google for 25 years and with YouTube for almost a decade. With the transition, Neal Mohan, who went on the role of Chief Product Officer for YouTube in 2015, will now be the platform’s new SVP and CEO.
“With all we’re doing across Shorts, streaming, and subscriptions, together with the promises of AI, YouTube’s most exciting opportunities are ahead, and Neal is the right person to lead us,” Wojcicki shared.
Wojcicki’s legacy for the platform can be seen and felt with the introduction of a revenue-sharing model for creators, as the introduction of the platform’s new, overall user experience design alongside a suite of new products which she worked with Mohan on, such as Shorts, YouTube Music, YouTube Live, and YouTube TV, among other things which helped push the platform to maintain its position as a top-tier streaming and content space. Wojcicki will remain as an advisor for Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
In January 2022, CryptoDaily covered how YouTube has set out to NFT and Web3 integrations, helmed by Neal Mohan who was then leading the platform’s product and UX department. At the time, Wojcicki said that crypto and Web3 technology stacks “highlighted a previously unimaginable opportunity” for creators to “grow the connection between creators and their fans” in the form of “crypto, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and even decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).”
“It’s perhaps thanks to the incredible age of change and innovation that we find ourselves in a series of new beginnings — not just for us, but also for our creators, viewers, and partners,” Mohan shared in an announcement about the integrations.
Mohan was heavily criticized by tech content creators such as MKBHD because of the platform’s decision to remove the video dislike button. Through Mohan’s leadership, YouTube is set to integrate features such as metaverse-based content experiences, as well as content tokenization through NFTs (nonfungible tokens).
“Web3 also opens up new opportunities for creators. We believe new technologies like blockchain and NFTs can allow creators to build deeper relationships with their fans. Together, they’ll be able to collaborate on new projects and make money in ways not previously possible,” Mohan said.
Mohan’s emphasis on NFTs and Web3 in general can be seen as a strategic move by YouTube’s parent company, Google, to stay ahead of the Web3 curve. With Mohan as CEO, it is likely that Web3 integrations and product offerings can develop at a faster pace for the platform.
However, this may also be a bane for the platform if it becomes too reliant on the centralized aspects of how it delivers its content. To date, cloud services such as AWS and Google’s own Google Cloud infrastructure are heavily centralized. If YouTube were to actually commit to Web3 and decentralization, it must rethink its relationship with the systems and infrastructures that it relies on.
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