Om Malik sums up the problems over at Joost quite well... The company is having a large round of layoffs and is losing the video war to Hulu and others. While Om explains all the factors which led to the company's demise such as their rapid growth, lack of focus and geographic distribution, I wonder if the biggest problem isn't the lack of intriguing or popular content (which he points out and elaborates on). The few times I used the service I was amazed at how little interesting content it had.
Personally, I would use an inferior service to view better content any day. I suppose many viewers would agree with me on this point.
A long while back Niklas Zennstrom mentioned that there could be a future tie-in between Joost and Skype. This may have helped a few years back but at this point it is too late.
Then again Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, Skype's founders still own some of the technology which runs the world's most popular internet telephony service and they have threatened to pull the plug on Skype. The impending lawsuit is even threatening the upcoming Skype IPO. Perhaps there will be a settlement which includes Skype/Joost integration?
One of the great things about this entry from Om is the list of mistakes Joost made. I recommend all tech entrepreneurs or those affected by technology read the piece so history doesn't repeat itself.
Joost Changes Business Model
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