Googtube A-Go-Go: How Will the New YouTube Look?

The big web news over the weekend boiled down to one word: Googtube. Or, as others liked to call it "Yoogle." Or if you prefer, simply, "Goobe."

Will Google purchase YouTube for $1.6 billion, as the news media has speculated in the last 48 hours? Maybe. Maybe not. According to published reports, talks could fall apart at any moment and several other companies are supposedly in the running to acquire the massive upload service.

So while pundits can pontificate about the value of YouTube to Google – pushing the powerful search-engine company to the forefront of online video (where it currently lags as the third-watched website) -- the more pertinent question to users isn't dollar signs or corporate strategy, but what would a newly owned YouTube look like?

Whether the victorious suitor ends up to be Google or Yahoo, Microsoft or News Corp, a corporate-owned YouTube would likely be eviscerated of pirated content. Music videos, film clips, and news bites would be highly verboten, as corporate owners would want to avoid the widespread copyright violations. And that would destroy YouTube.

One of the chief values of YouTube is its ability to tap into the zeitgeist, often with copyrighted material. If Bill Clinton smacks down Fox News, it's there on YouTube in a matter of minutes. If "The Daily Show" or "Saturday Night Live" comes up with a brilliant comedy sketch that everyone is talking about around the watercooler, just check out YouTube and you'll be in on the joke. If you want to know what's cool and catch the latest music video from Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze, YouTube will there for you.

As one of the greatest experiments in open-source culture, YouTube needs to maintain free from corporate control. Some suggest that Google is YouTube's best chance at retaining its integrity, because it's more neutral than say, News Corp, which would face stiffer retribution if it was profting from content created by its rivals. If that's the case, let's hope Google is serious about its offer.