Streaming Success at YouTube

STREAMING SUCCESS AT YOUTUBE by Scott Budman

The latest job numbers are in some ways slightly better than the last set, but not by much. We’re still losing jobs as a nation, and it doesn’t look like the American hiring boom is coming anytime soon.

Which makes what’s going on in Silicon Valley these days all the more unusual.  Tesla, filed for a $100 million IPO, so it can grow.  Tech giants Cisco and Oracle, each announced plans to hire thousands of new workers.  Even  AOL says it will once again hire people in Silicon Valley.

And then there’s YouTube.

The video delivery arm of Google says it’s got dozens of positions to fill.  It’s growing, and needs engineers, managers, business development, and PR people to help it turn a profit. 

The benefits are great, and I’m not just saying that because the person telling me this was being interviewed as we were sitting on top of a putting green.  There’s great free food, a la Google, a top-notch fitness center, and a pastry chef who makes and auctions off a three pound cupcake every week.  Did I mention the fitness center?

If you spend a day at YouTube (and we got to do just that for this story), you understand why people want to work there.  Yes, it’s a really cool office with lots of benefits, and a 401(k) plan that probably includes a bunch of Google (GOOG) stock.

It’s also a company everybody knows and uses.  Video on the web isn’t just the “it” thing here.  It’s what they do, and how billions of people send video out to the world.  It’s a social networking site, it’s a place to search and find that episode of “Who’s The Boss,” it’s how the President addresses the American people in a way we’ve never really seen before.

It’s also the latest example of how Silicon Valley has managed to grow, while the rest of the country is still trying to figure out what the secret is.