In a couple of words, not much. To Google? A whole lot.

It was confirmed, today, that Google shelled out $1.65 billion for YouTube. I'll be the first one to say it: October 9, 2006, was the day that Google stopped being the best company on the planet. Either you're cheering or scoffing at what I've just written, so I'll explain.

Here's the key phrase from what I, an unknown blogger in the middle of nowhere, said on Friday:

YouTube is immensely popular, but a bandwidth-sucking technical nightmare, with almost no possible hope of profitability.

I stand by what I wrote on Friday, and it's not like it isn't true. And that doesn't even start to explain the legal battles ahead. The only way to make money off serving terabytes of data a day is by building some sort of promotion with brick-and-mortar entertainment companies, the very same companies that want to hang YouTube upside-down by it's electronic toes. Now, YouTube is going into strategic alliances with companies like Universal, the only way it would be able a dime.

For those who've come on late to the game, YouTube came to prominence by being the place to watch, and stick on your blog, the video from Saturday Night Live for Lazy Sunday - and NBC was not pleased. Then, the YouTubers were not pleased, including this one. Since then, NBC got into the video game, and you have a lot more options for getting internet video (legally) from Big TV™.

The iTunes Store is the de facto place to get television shows for download, and even Google Video sells selected videos. But, for whatever reason, they wanted the mad, mad blog hits YouTube gets. And this is, in this writer's humble opinion, stupid. Stupid, because of who is using YouTube, where the hits are coming from, and how they intend to use YouTube.

First of all, have you ever wondered where all those hits to YouTube come from? NewsCorp-owned MySpace. Yeah. Let that one sink in. And while your mind is bending, think about this: most MySpace users are over 35 years old. I hope you understand how this doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence that Google's made a sound decision.

And, about those mad blog hits YouTube gets...Hitwise says the devil's in the details. Remember the evil right-wing FOX News that owns MySpace? A flip of a switch, and YouTube stops. No more YouTube videos on MySpace. Almost all the traffic goes bye-bye. And it isn't like MySpace doesn't have it's own video service.

So, no Michelle, no vast, left-wing conspiracy. It's more like a vast, number-driven blunder. That, or I'm reading the numbers of linked videos at Viral Video Chart, where MySpace handily beats out Google Video in linked videos, even though not a lot of people even know MySpace does video (nowhere in the great number that know of YouTube or even Google Video).

Mark my words: this is the first Microsoft-like move Google's made, and just watch it bite them in the butt.

Other ideas:

• I still think Google is crazy :) [Blog Maverick]
• Google conquers the world [ytmnd]