YouTube names a Web3-friendly executive as its new CEO

By: Mark Jessy

February 18, 2023 7:50 AM

YouTube's new CEO, Neal Mohan, has previously stated that NFTs might be a valuable tool for the platform's content creators in developing new revenue streams.

With the retirement of Susan Wojcicki this week, Google-owned YouTube has appointed Web3-friendly executive Neal Mohan as its new CEO.

Wojcicki left YouTube on February 16 after nine years as CEO, announcing plans to begin a "new chapter" focused on family, health, and personal initiatives. Among other things, she handled the critical implementation of the revenue-sharing model throughout her tenure.

She will continue to serve as an advisor to Alphabet Inc, Google's parent firm.

Mohan was YouTube's chief product officer before becoming CEO, where he handled the controversial removal of the video dislike button, the introduction of YouTube Shorts to compete with Tik Tok, and YouTube Music.

In terms of Web3, Mohan unveiled preliminary plans in February 2022 to integrate a slew of new features, including Metaverse-based content experiences and content tokenization using nonfungible tokens (NFTs), much to the chagrin of the NFT-hating community.

Mohan, in particular, underlined that NFTs might give a new opportunity for creators to communicate with their audiences while also developing new revenue sources. He noted the possibility of producers tokenizing their videos, images, art, and experiences as examples.

"Web3 also provides new chances for creators. We believe that new technologies such as blockchain and NFTs will enable creators to develop closer interactions with their followers. "They'll be able to collaborate on new ideas and make money in ways never before feasible," he stated in a blog post on February 10, 2022.

Despite being planned to launch last year, the Web 3-related initiatives have yet to materialize, but given that Mohan is now managing the corporation, they may be given another push in the near future.

With the announcement of Mohan as the new CEO of YouTube, there has been surprisingly little FUD from the fiery NFT skeptics on Twitter, who are generally eager to attack anything related to rumors of mainstream connections to technology.