网上流传的几封邮件，是Google收购YouTube前的内部讨论，时间是2005年11月。一年后，Google以16.5亿美元收购YouTube。YouTube现在的价值超过4000亿美元。
这些邮件现在看看，蛮有意思的。这段早期的内部沟通提供了一个有趣的视角，展示了最终促成科技历史上最重要的收购之一的考虑因素。邮件中的主要内容：
- Jeff Huber的初步询问（2005年11月6日）：
- Jeff Huber询问Google是否有人与YouTube团队接触过，探讨他们是否有可能加入Google。他指出YouTube推出新功能的速度很快，但可能缺乏能够扩展的后端系统和赚钱的计划，而这些Google都有。
- Peter Chane的回复：
- Peter Chane提到Google还没有与YouTube接触过，并指出YouTube最近从红杉资本（Sequoia）获得了500万美元的投资，且正在考虑与雅虎（Yahoo）进行收购谈判。
- 他提到Google在第四季度计划中已经包含了YouTube的所有功能，并且大部分都已经进行了模拟和准备。然而，他们在UI/Java开发资源方面受到了限制，只有1.5名工程师在处理UI相关的工作，这导致了进展缓慢。
- 他认为如果再有一名优秀的Java/UI工程师，Google在与YouTube的竞争中就会占据优势。
- Jeff Huber的后续建议：
- Jeff Huber建议Google应该考虑收购YouTube，尤其是因为他们认识关键人物，如Mike Moritz和Roelof Botha。他估计收购价格在1000万到1500万美元之间。
- 他指出YouTube在这一领域表现出很高的热情，如果被雅虎收购，可能对Google不利。
- Huber提议与YouTube接触，即使只是为了提高雅虎收购的成本，并强调让YouTube使用Google的广告模式而不是雅虎的广告模式的重要性。
- Larry Page的转发邮件（2005年11月8日）：
- Larry Page将这次对话转发给Google的几位重要人物，包括David Drummond、Megan Smith、Peter Chane、Sergey Brin、Jonathan Rosenberg和Eric Schmidt。
- 他建议Google应该考虑收购YouTube，并指出YouTube最近得到了Mike Moritz（红杉资本）的投资。
Email exchanges from November 2005, within Google, discussing the potential acquisition of YouTube. The context is that these emails were exchanged a year before Google ultimately acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion. YouTube is now valued at over $400 billion.
This early internal communication provides a fascinating glimpse into the considerations that ultimately led to one of the most significant acquisitions in tech history. Key Points from the Emails:
- Initial Inquiry by Jeff Huber (Nov 6, 2005):
- Jeff Huber asks if anyone from Google has talked to the YouTube team about possibly joining Google. He notes that YouTube is rolling out new features quickly but may lack the backend scalability and monetization strategy that Google possesses.
- Response from Peter Chane:
- Peter Chane mentions that Google hasn’t spoken to YouTube and notes that YouTube recently received $5 million from Sequoia and was considering an acquisition by Yahoo.
- He mentions that Google has planned most of YouTube’s features for their Q4 release and has already prepared prototypes. However, they are short on UI/Java development resources, with only 1.5 engineers working on it, which is slowing them down.
- He believes that with another good Java/UI engineer, Google would be very competitive with YouTube.
- Follow-up from Jeff Huber:
- Jeff Huber suggests that Google should consider acquiring YouTube, especially since they know key figures like Mike Moritz and Roelof Botha. He estimates the acquisition cost to be around $10-15 million.
- He notes YouTube’s passion for the space and suggests that it would be detrimental if Yahoo acquired them.
- Huber proposes talking to YouTube, even if just to make it more expensive for Yahoo, and emphasizes the importance of offering YouTube Google’s monetization/ads model over Yahoo’s.
- Forward by Larry Page (Nov 8, 2005):
- Larry Page forwards the conversation to several key figures at Google, including David Drummond, Megan Smith, Peter Chane, Sergey Brin, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Eric Schmidt.
- He suggests that Google should consider acquiring YouTube, noting that they were recently funded by Mike Moritz at Sequoia.