FollowToday was a good day for Google. The company bought the IM app Emu, which has developed a very useful personal digital assistant running in the messenger. The service is similar to Siri, as well as to Google Now. Google will probably use Emu tech to improve both Google Now and Hangouts. Youtube, Google’s video streaming service, acquired a start-up as well. Youtube acquires Directr, but no sum has been disclosed for now.
The video startup Directr offers powerful features for people who want to create videos, but do not have the necessary experience for it. The app supports the whole process, with tools like subtitles, background music and storyboarding.
“For now, everything you love about Directr is staying the same and we’ll continue to focus on helping businesses create great video quickly and easily,” the startup wrote in a blog post.
Boston-based Directr was launched in 2012. While the other acquisition, Emu, will stop functioning at the end of the month, Directr will not suffer any changes for now. More, both the standard and premium versions will now be available for free.
So far, it came in two versions, one for personal use and another for business. The rather short videos, longer than Vines though, could be something you wanted to share with friends and family. While the personal edition came for free, you had to pay 99 cent to download the resulting video clip. The business version came with various features, so the price ranged between $250 and $500.
Youtube acquires Directr to offer improved support for content creators
Because Google made more than 80 percent out of online promotions last year, according to BusinessWeek, Directr will be a valuable asset for the tech giant.
Youtube acquires Directr because the streaming service has to face increasing competition. Youtube offers a working platform, but what would it be without (popular) content? Some of the top content producers and channel owners complained that they do not make enough money out of their contribution to Youtube.
The streaming service decided to offer improved support to these top creators, as other competing services might lure them with better offers. Now Youtube keeps these creators up to date with every change and offers various tools for managing their content and the interaction with the audience. Youtube acquires Directr, which will be clearly oriented towards helping advertisers in their projects, VentureBeat says.
