Orange Might Buy Half Of Dailymotion, The YouTube Of Europe

There are rumors swirling that Orange, the biggest telco in France and one of the biggest in Europe, might buy a large stake in Dailymotion, the "YouTube of Europe." L'Express, a French newsweekly, posted the story on one of its blogs (French). Here's Reuters summarizing the report in English. The valuation being talked about is 250 to 350 million dollars, which is consistent with what we've heard elsewhere. Orange, which provides internet and phone access and services, has been moving up the value chain, aggressively going into content. It previously bought a stake in Deezer, a music streaming site which is hugely popular in France (though it's getting overshadowed by Spotify). Orange and Dailymotion share big shareholders in the FSI (Fonds stratégique d'investissement), the French State's sovereign wealth fund. Last year, Dailymotion replaced its CEO, laid off a few people, boosted ad sales (including a swanky New York office) and settled a few copyright disputes, and as a result hit profitability. Dailymotion is still being sued by TF1, the biggest TV network in France (and Europe) over copyright issues. We're trying to find out more about this and will keep you informed if something comes up. In the meantime, you should check out our tour of Dailymotion's luxurious New York office →Join the conversation about this story »See Also:About.Me CEO Tony Conrad: Here's Why I Sold My Company To AOL So QuicklyHere's The Problem With Google Buying Groupon: A Massive Culture ClashGroupon Just Lost A Bidder

President Obama Will Host A Video Chat Next Monday -- Here's How To Get In (GOOG)

If you ever wanted to do a video chat with President Obama, here's your chance: next Monday, January 30, the president will host a Hangout on Google+, Google's six-month-old social network. Hangouts let up to 10 people video chat with each other in a single session. To get in, you have to submit a video of yourself asking the president question through the White House YouTube channel. The president will answer top-voted questions on a live stream on YouTube, and will pick some particular favorites to hang out with him and chat. The president has been doing a lot to prove he's down with social networking: he held a Q&A town hall via Twitter last summer, and joined Instagram earlier this month. Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »See Also:Are People Actually USING Google+? Don't Expect A Straight Answer From GoogleLARRY PAGE: I 'Really Like' Our New Search Results With Google+ Google's Latest Trick To Get New Users On Google+

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Disney Needs A Facelift, And It's Turning To YouTube (DIS, GOOG)

Mickey Mouse isn't feeling the love online, so he's turning to YouTube. According to Brook Barnes over at The New York Times, Disney and YouTube will announce a content partnership later today. Despite being one of the world's most beloved brands, Disney is struggling to attract the attention of children on the web. Disney will produce original video series to be published on YouTube and Disney.com. According to The Times, $10-$15 million will be spent on this production. For YouTube, this is another step in the right direction.  Following its deal with 100 established content makers, the company is now officially playing in the major league of original programming. Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »See Also:Why Content Partners Are Teaming Up With Google For New YouTube ChannelsTHE GOOGLE INVESTOR: The TV Race Is On!THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Should Investors Be Concerned About Google's Recent Mishaps?

Google Tells Us How Google + Got Its Name

There are definitely stranger product names than Google +, but we were curious how the social network got its name. In particular, we wanted clarification on the "+" symbol. We asked a few Googlers, but there weren't any brilliant, fun stories to share. They did tell us this: "You can view the '+' as a new way to share online. If you sign up for Google +, it's almost an upgrade to your Google experience." So Google+ means Google plus all of the Google services you can use through one account (search, YouTube, Blogger, Picasa, etc). It's not an add symbol, even though people can "add" you to their networks. "Overtime, you can imagine many more Google properties being integrated into Google +," says a company spokesperson. It's not rocket science, but at least now we're clear.  For startups that have interesting names and interesting stories behind them, check out: Zynga, Hulu and GoDaddy: Where 15 Of The Strangest Company Names Came From >> Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »See Also:POLL: Are You Using Google+?For All Google+'s Astounding Growth, Users Are Still Mostly Male, Young Early-AdoptersGoogle Banned Facebook Product Director Blake Ross From Google+ *

Why Yahoo's Board Wants A Deal Done Before The First Week Of January (YHOO)

Interesting theory from fund manager Eric Jackson: Yahoo needs to get a deal done before January 7. He explains why: That’s the day that anyone — but most likely Dan Loeb’s Third Point — could send in formal notice to Yahoo! for the directors it would like to nominate to Yahoo!’s board of directors formally as part of next year’s slate to be elected at the June shareholders’ meeting. According to the corporate by-laws, formal notice can take place as early as 120 working days before the anniversary of last year’s meeting.  That’s January 7th. If a new board members come aboard they could disrupt the current crop, who want to be seen as saviors, says Jackson. We're not sure we buy it. Carl Icahn got his people on the board, and it didn't amount to much. Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »See Also:That Big Round Ex-Yahoos Were Raising? It Closed And Here Are The DetailsYAHOO'S FATE: The World's Best PE Reporter Takes The SAIcast Inside Deal TalksYahoo Needs To Bet The Entire Company On This Product

Carl Icahn Just Got A $415 Million Present

Today's big winner: Carl Icahn. The famous activist investors owns 26.8 million shares of Motorola Mobility, which is now being sold to Google for $40/share or $12.5 billion. That price represents a premium of over $15/share from Friday's price, meaning Icahn is about $415 million richer today than he was yesterday. Of course, before you feel too good for Icahn bear in mind that he's been involved with Motorola in one way or another since 2006, and mostly the company (judged by the pre-split parent company) has gone nowhere. Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »See Also:A Devastating Look At Obama's Economic Policy StrategyBOMBSHELL: Google Buying Handset Maker Motorola Mobility For $12.5 BillionThe Mutual Fund Industry Is A Huge Scam That Costs Investors Billions Of Dollars A Year

Here's A Tough Job: "Consumer Demand Generation" For Windows Phone (MSFT)

Microsoft has done a fine job building its Windows Phone 7 platform -- the hard part now is getting people to care. Credit to Microsoft for recognizing the problem: last week, the company posted a job opening for a Senior Manager of "Consumer Demand Generation" for Windows Phone. Duties will include planning "offers, promotions, events, and experiential marketing," and making sure the marketing team is taking advantage of Microsoft relationships with handset makers and carriers, as well as Microsoft's other consumer assets like Xbox, Office, and Zune (although that last one might not be the strongest brand in the world.) You'll need at least 7 years' marketing experience to be considered. On the same day, the company also posted a job for a marketer who can get "influencers" to buzz about Windows Phone -- this one is even more senior, requiring at least 12 years of experience. For the latest tech news, visit SAI: Silicon Alley Insider. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »See Also:Microsoft Opens Windows Phone To Much Better AppsMicrosoft's Real Windows Phone 7 Problem: Nobody CaresGoogle Will Show New Pay-From-Your-Phone Service On Thursday

GOOGLE-MOTOROLA: Here Are The Winners And Losers (GOOG, AAPL, MSFT, MMI)

Google just altered the mobile landscape with its decision to pay $12.5 billion for Motorola. Who wins and who loses in this new world? Read on to find out ...WINNER: Motorola and CEO Sanjay Jha

Sanjay Jha took over Motorola's mobile operations and chose to go all-in with Android. The bet has paid off. Jha stands to make $90 million personally on this deal. MIXED: Google is probably a loser here ...

Google just paid $12.5 billion for a patent portfolio. Sound like a good deal? Not really. But it also gets a handset maker. So that makes it a good deal, right? Well, this is a low margin business with 19,000 employees and factories around the world. Not exactly the same thing as search and advertising. Is this what Google wants to do? WINNER: Carl Icahn made $415 million on this deal

Icahn has been involved with Motorola since 2006, fighting with the company's board, trying to get something out of it all. Well, it finally paid off. He's getting $415 million on this one. See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.See Also:Here's Everything Google Just Bought From Motorola For $12.5 BillionLarry Page Just Made Apple And Microsoft Look Like FoolsTHE TRUTH ABOUT THE GOOGLE-MOTOROLA DEAL: It Could End Up Being A Disaster

Meet The YouTube Stars Making More Money Than EMTs, Cops, Firefighters, And Teachers

Several months ago, we ran a story estimating that ten independent YouTube stars were making over $100,000 a year, based off data provided by TubeMogul. Here are the assumptions that were made:

We only took into account revenue from banner ads since not all partners have pre-roll or overlay ads on their videos. YouTube banner ads have a two-second load delay; so, around 2.59% of viewers click away before the ad can load. CPM for the banner ads are $1.50. YouTube is splitting ad revenue with partners 50-50.

Some YouTubers on that list weren't happy with our estimates and claimed that the numbers were "incorrect overall." In wanting to get the best estimates, we've made a few changes to the formula. After speaking with several YouTube partners about the matter, we've reduced the banner ad CPM down to $0.85. That means for every 1,000 channel views, a YouTube partner receives $0.85. Banner ads also cannot be loaded and displayed on embedded videos; TubeMogul found that an average of 6.5% of a YouTube partner's views come from its videos being embedded on other sites. Views for each YouTube partner is taken across all their channels. For example, Shane Dawson garnered over 508 million views in 2010 across all three of his YouTube channels – ShaneDawsonTV, ShaneDawsonTV2, and Shane. We'd like to emphasize again that these figures are ESTIMATES of just one revenue stream for these YouTube partners. Taking into account that YouTube didn't exist six years ago and that it's partnership program began in May 2007, it's impressive to see that so many young entrepreneurs are able to support themselves through creative means on the Google-owned video sharing site. While first-year EMTs make less than $32,000 a year, these YouTubers are raking in figures more than double that amount. Click Through The Richest YouTube Stars Of 2010 HERE >>Join the conversation about this story »

Watch YouTube Videos With Your Friends Using Google+ (GOOG)

Google+ users can now watch YouTube videos with up to 9 of their friends in a live Google+ Hangout, and can comment on the video as it plays. Google already had this feature for live YouTube events, but yesterday the company quietly added the feature for all YouTube videos. It's another great example of how Google can use its vast Internet empire to add features to Google+ that Facebook can't easily duplicate. You can share YouTube videos on Facebook today, but there's no equivalent to Hangouts, so no way to live-share with multiple friends. Here's how you do it: 1. First, you have to be a Google+ member. 2. Click the "Share" button on any YouTube video. 3. On the right, there will be a link that says "Start a Google Hangout." Click it, and a window llke the one below launches. The commands on the window are pretty clear -- push the green button to talk, or just kick back and watch.

Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »See Also:Motorola Can't Sign Patent Deals Without Google's ApprovalCrappy Products That Lasted Longer Than The HP TouchPadHow HP Spinning Off Its PC Business Would Affect Microsoft