The God Internet bubble

Social enterprise as a movement trends toward the secular, but the big money has always been in religion. Via Libby Purves, check out the $30 million investment on $150 million valuation for GodTube, the YouTube knockoff that sports a full-on CSR agenda:

The great God Internet bubble rises and rises...Religion is probably as big as pornography on the net, if not bigger. Godtube - the minivideo site for the religiously minded - has raised $30 million at a $150 million valuation from GLG Partners, a hedge fund. The site started with $ 300 and last September became one of the top thousand sites worldwide. Its mission statement, incidentally, is strict: it gives a platform, so it claims, only to socially responsible faith-based organizations . . . 'Security and moral integrity are exceptionally important to the family at GodTube, and we take great pains to protect you and your loved ones. GodTube is family-friendly and is great for all Christians alike, including Christian children.'

To illustrate what a difference a social mission makes, one family has attracted millions of viewers by filming two versions of their daughter and placing one on each site. Here's the girl on GodTube:

And in her secular YouTube incarnation: