Think back for a moment...

YouTube is born in February 2005 after three former PayPal employees decide to find new work. Their efforts are not in vain. The company was named TIME magazine's "Invention of the Year" for 2006. It has since gone on to be staffed by 67 employees and become one of the best known companies and websites in the world.

Along came Google. In 2006 Google made a surprising move to acquire the company for nothing short of mega-bucks, approximately $1.65 billion in Google's stock. The deal closed a month later.

And it was almost as if the plaintiff's could be heard scrambling to the courtroom. Oooh the big dog is now at the table, time to file that paperwork. And now, has any shining star (like YouTube) lost quite as much sparkle in so short a time since the infamous "bubble" burst at the end of the last century? I doubt it.

And now, amid several small suits in the courtroom (and out), another big dog comes to the table. Media giant Viacom Inc. has sued Google and its Internet video site YouTube for $1 billion, claiming copyright infringement, as simmering tensions between the old and new media companies boiled over.

Viacom’s suit claims it has “identified more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of its copyrighted programming on YouTube that had been viewed an astounding 1.5 billion times.”

And despite what each side is saying or arguing, despite right or wrong in the eyes of the law, it still leaves that one burning question. Why, oh why did Google buy this thing again?

Many have long labeled YouTube as Google's first blunder, its first impulse buy. Quite frankly, I'm inclined to agree. For someone who has always sung praises to Google for their innovative ideas, charisma, and ability to think outside the box. I suppose all good things must either end or at least hit a speed bump. Nothing hums along smoothly forever.

But today Google faces a world of challenges. Once an unknown search engine, they today are one of the worlds most powerful companies on paper (or actually, virtual paper). With Microsoft watching their every move, and no doubt Yahoo doing the same, it raises serious questions about Google's future. It was just last week Microsoft raised flags about Google's use of content. And despite that being a incredibly silly case of calling the kettle black, Microsoft does have a point. Perhaps they smelled what was forthcoming from Viacom.

Search engines have long been feared by webmasters, content holders, media gurus, etc. For a long time it was these search giants that held the power to make or break you. If you were on the first page, you were a millionaire... page 10, you went out of business. But perhaps times are changing. Now it feels like the content holders have the power. How long before content on the internet ceases to be "free" in the sense it is today. Being online is a business, and you have to wonder how long these businesses (content holders) will allow other businesses (search engines) to use their content. Many fear it will lead to the days of paid search results. Truth-be-told, we're already pretty darn close as it is.

The YouTube case may be the first in a series of obstacles for companies like Google. Even with the occasional sweet media deal, another half dozen go sour. Eventually these sour tarts will ruin the experience, and the price may be a hefty one.

Google won't end up paying a billion dollars to Viacom, we all know it'll either be settled out of court, or that some arrangement will be made to suite both companies ego's.

Still... why oh why did Google take this path - why YouTube? Seriously, could this have been the first major blunder of the modern Internet King?

Time will surely tell.

-John C. Derrick
Founder