In 2005, Google was entering the media-sharing scene through Google Videos. The service never really saw much of a foothold – possibly explaining why the company then proceeded with the $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube – but has remained available on the web for the last six years. It continued to limp along by adding a video search feature to compliment the video sharing, but soon that refined search is all Google Videos will be doing: the company is shutting down the sharing elements of Videos in the upcoming weeks.
The Videos shutdown is happening in two phases. First, on April 29th, users will no longer be able to view media uploaded to Google Videos. Second, on May 13th, those who have uploaded videos will no longer be able to view, download, or otherwise access their content. Until that time video owners can download their media in .FLV format through a new utility now located on the video status page.
In a way, the sharing elements of Google Videos started long ago. After all, users haven’t been able to upload new video content since May of 2010. That move was fairly intuitive, what with Google already running the most popular video sharing site on the web (YouTube).
Still, while the shutdown may have seemed imminent for quite some time, it’s telling that this sunset was announced so soon after the upper-management shuffle of early April. Since the time of that management shift Google Hotpot has been combined with Places and rumors have started that the Android OS 2.x and 3.x development lines will be re-combined. It seems that Google is dropping their dead weight and focusing in on major projects.
[via Search Engine Watch]
