Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Mountain View, California-based Google shared his outlook for the Internet  search leader in a Wednesday interview during which he spoke about the company's plans for its YouTube video sharing site and other initiatives. "There are many obstacles to continued success," Schmidt said. "We hope to be a great company some day," he added. A Corporate Catch Phrase Meant To Foster Discussion Speaking on-stage in San Francisco at a media industry gathering held by Syracuse University's Newhouse School, Schmidt answered questions from The New Yorker writer Ken Auletta, who wrote a detailed account of Google last year for the magazine, and offered his thoughts about his company's rivalry with Microsoft and other prominent Web industry firms. Schmidt also sought to explain Google's well known corporate catch phrase of "Don't be evil," which is intended more to provoke reflection on how corporations can best behave than as an etched-in-stone rule, the 53-year-old billionaire, who at first thought the phrase was a "joke" when he began working for the search firm, said in the Wednesday interview. " ‘Don’t be evil’ is misunderstood," Schmidt said. "We don't have an 'evil meter' we can sort of apply - you know - what is good and what is evil," Schmidt said. "The rule allows for conversation. [...] It is a cultural rule, a way of forcing the conversation, especially in areas which are ambiguous," he added. Making Money From YouTube Top 2008 Issue To some industry observers, writing Thursday on the online discussion forums operated by WebmasterWorld, a community of webmasters and search engine marketing (SEM) professionals founded by chief executive Brett Tabke, Schmidt's explanation of Google's unofficial catch phrase rang true. " 'Don't be evil' definitely sounds like a term that's meant to foster debate," said a member using the handle "npwsol." "If something strikes you as wrong, call it evil and ask why," the WebmasterWorld member added. Others said they felt that Google may have begun turning into some of what it sought to avoid becoming when it first began using the informal Google mission statement in the firm's early days. "Google is becoming 'evil' by destroying the very freedoms that an open system, open APIs [application programming interfaces] and 'seamless' architecture would provide," wrote another WebmasterWorld member who used the handle "ByronM." Schmidt also spoke cautiously about making money from YouTube, the world's largest video sharing Web site, which Google purchased in 2006 for $1.65 billion in stock compensation, and has since sought to make money from. Schmidt said that Google plans to exercise patience in its plans to bring in more revenue from the popular video site, which accounts for a majority of his company's expensive outbound Internet traffic. New Industry Based On YouTube Could Arise "We don't yet know how we are going to make significant amounts of money on YouTube," Schmidt noted. "But it seems obvious that we should be able to make some money from this," he added, while noting that new forms of advertising on YouTube could see the "creation of a whole new industry" by 2009. Last month Google said it planned to make increased profitability at YouTube the top priority during the rest of 2008. Schmidt cited two reasons to be optimistic about YouTube. "We know people are watching it," he said, and noted that "We have the luxury of time to invest. Most people in the business are so pressed for time. They have to make money now." When YouTube finds the best way to generate revenue, Google will know very quickly, Schmidt said. "Because of the way the company works, we'll know. We measure everything to the millisecond. We can tell," he told Auletta Wednesday. Google's Goal Is To Change The World Google also views advertising on mobile devices as potentially drawing the most profitable rates, because those ads can be targeted with more relevancy to mobile users, Schmidt noted. "Mobile looks like it will ultimately be the highest of ad rates," Schmidt said, and pointed out that a large majority of mobile-based searches Google has seen were conducted by people using Apple's iPhone. "Both Apple and Google believe that the mobile space is going to be very large," Schmidt added. Google does not see its most important ambition as making money by selling ads of any type, however, Schmidt said. "The goal of the company is not to monetize everything, the goal is to change the world," Schmidt said. Google is more concerned with solving some of the important issues facing the world, Schmidt said. "We don't start from monetization. We start from the perspective of what problems do we have," he said. Google CEO Eric Schmidt Shares Outlook For Web Leader Google's philanthropic enterprise, Google.org was founded in 2004 as a for-profit subsidiary of the company, and has worked on a number of issues including renewable energy technologies with firms such as Pasadena,  California-based eSolar Inc. and Alameda, California-based Makani Power Inc. ESolar is active in solar thermal power technologies, while Makani Power is involved with methods used to harvest wind energy in high-altitude environments. Google.org has also worked on programs to prevent contagious disease and to champion greater government transparency. Schmidt did not comment on the state of partnership talks between Google and Yahoo that have been ongoing, and which have been seen by some industry analysts as an attempt to help Yahoo remain independent after facing an unsolicited takeover bid from Microsoft. On Thursday Yahoo announced that talks with Microsoft had ended with both sides unable to make a deal. Yahoo was poised to announce an alternative search engine advertising partnership with Google as early as Thursday, according to a report in The New York Times citing an unnamed person with knowledge of talks between the two firms. Related Links:
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