What is DTube?

DTube is a decentralized video sharing platform, not dissimilar to YouTube...

Like all "crypto" systems, it has a focus on providing users with the ability to "take back control" of their content / assets, and remove the dependence of the service on the likes of advertising.

Most specifically, the DTube system is looking to exchange "advertising" for "crypto" tips - using the STEEM blockchain platform. This means that rather than videos having advertising to support them, users are essentially able to "upvote" the videos - allowing for each vote to count for a small amount of money.

The problem with this is that whilst it sounds good on paper, the biggest issue they are going to face is that most people will not pay to watch - or upvote - videos. Advertising works because large companies want to buy an audience for their products... companies such as Google, Facebook and YouTube have access to those audiences, hence why the model (generally) works well.

However, despite the success and continued growth of the YouTube platform - it's become obvious that their reliance on third party advertisers has lead to a conflict with the community it was designed to serve. Whilst "illegal" content (gore/nudity/sex) has been accepted as being taboo for a long time, YouTube have recently been involved with a number of controversies that has lead to them making their monetization system even more difficult to engage with.

What it means is that if you're using YouTube as a way to make money, you are dependent on Google/YouTube's grace. Logan Paul found this out the hard way.

The promise of DTube is that by utilizing the new "crypto" paradigm (which essentially puts money into the hands of general people), you can build a service that is free of advertising, and instead focused on the content itself. This - again - has been made possible by the STEEM blockchain, and thus understanding this is an indicator of whether the system itself is going to be popular / successful...

STEEM

The most important thing to realize is that the DTube system has been built on top of the STEEM system - essentially providing a blockchain-based infrastructure through which people are able to "vote" for content on people's websites...

STEEM is mostly known for its role in SteemIt - the online community which rewards people for content contribution. By "upvoting" people's posts, you're basically able to "tip" them for what they've written.

SteemIt's biggest call to fame is being the most authentic & genuine "crypto" resource on the web - with many of the founders/creators of various systems providing in-depth technical overviews of the solutions they've built.

The point here is that "STEEM" - which an effective system - doesn't really have a huge following / adoption in the market. Rather, its only real avenue for value lies in the way in which the system has been designed around the SteemIt community. This worries investors.

DTube is a system which has been built around the idea that you can take the "SteemIt" model, and apply it to video. They're positioning themselves to be a "Decentralized Youtube" (hence the name), and thus will end up providing users with the ability to "own" their content without having to rely on third party advertisers.

It Likely Won't Succeed

The problem with DTube is that it doesn't have any real focus.

In the "technology" business, solutions are rewarded for the level of utility they provide to their users. Each new / successful "technology" offering basically allows users to perform activities either in a way they could not before, or in a completely different way to what existed presently.

YouTube basically brought the idea of "Video" to the Internet. It was rewarded with an audience. The type of content shown by Youtube does not necessarily indicate any sort of specific niche/genre - people just gravitate towards the idea that "other people" can view their content. If that content attracts an audience, even better for them.

DTube is trying to replicate this. For this reason, it won't succeed. It's already been done - Youtube provides the best platform for anyone looking to share videos. No amount of granular innovation will fix that.

However, one thing *could* provide DTube with success - focusing specifically / exclusively on a particular genre/niche of content. By posting - for example - "crypto" videos, in a move similar to SteemIt, they will be able to attract a legitimate audience by virtue of the innovative nature of the information they post. This is pretty much what most of the "smart money" is looking out for...