Category Archives: google video

advertising, book, Future of Online Video, Google, google video, Making Videos, Online Video, popular videos, Video Advertising, Video Business, Video Sites, Viral Video, Web 2.0, YouTube

What Will YouTube Do When Paris Hilton Doesn’t Save Them?

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paris-on-youtube.jpgTechCrunch’s Marshall Kirpatrick reports that YouTube tomorrow will unveil a number of branded commercial channels– including a Paris Hilton channel being featured on the homepage. This is a surprising and encouraging move from a video site that hasn’t shown any other interesting way to profit from its incredible appeal. Fox has paid an undisclosed sum to advertise on YouTube and build custom channels, and it appears other media players (like NBC) are starting to take YouTube seriously.

So what’s next?

First, YouTube will have to figure out how to keep viewers at YouTube.com. The networks, despite what they’re telling YouTube right now, will constantly fight to dissintermediate YouTube. That way they can evolve past promoting their own shows… and start selling advertising space around their online content. Can you imagine how hard it will be for Fox to split ad revenue with YouTube when the ads surround Fox content? Sooner or later Fox will say- “why do I need you, tube?”

Second, we’ll probably see some fee-base channels evolve. I don’t see a sustainable pay-for-view model with YouTube alone, but if it partners well it could move that direction. Then Paris can charge for her nude videos… oh, wait… too late.

Third (and most importantly) what does it mean to us amateur video folks? Like Google Video, YouTube is focusing on large advertising deals with major content providers. Our viral stuff isn’t where the real action is yet. But here’s the good news (this is still me talking, but I’m drop quoting for emphasis):

YouTube needs to maintain “consumer generated content” to keep people returning to the site and avoid being dissintermediated by large content owners (Disney, Fox, Time Warner). Beyond some cool functionality and traffic (which is fickle), the amateur video content is the only edge YouTube has over Big Media.

So I would suspect YouTube is going to start sharing ad revenue with select creators that have Director accounts. The content will have more rigorous screening process (to ensure people don’t make ad revenue from video clips they ripped from the Daily Show), and will be vetted to ensure the content won’t embarass an advertiser. YouTube can start with me. I’m seeing WireFly ads on my little user page. How about a little CPC sharing?

Stay tuned. It’s getting more interesting by the day.

Blogs on Video, book, Future of Online Video, google video, Making Videos, Online Video, popular videos, Video Business, Video Sites, Viral Video, Yahoo Video, YouTube

Top 10 Ways to Get Your Viral Video Seen

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crowd.jpgIronic title because a video isn’t viral UNLESS it’s seen. But it got your attention, didn’t it? Here are some tips for ensuring your video is seen beyond 14 teenagers on YouTube.

Just like search engines are in constant flux, so is online video. So this advice has a limited shelf life:

  1. Make it good. That means it’s short, funny, topical, and short. Did I mention short? Even better, it should have a surprise ending. Example- while I like my “Killer Weed” better, the ending for “Prank the Garbage Man” inspired more viral activity (note- I serve all of my videos here on Revver because I make money if you click ads, but the 100K, 300K, and 700K views have occured on other sites).
  2. Get it on as many sites as you can. Don’t think posting it on YouTube will bring you fame. Try sites that have a decent viewership but aren’t bloated with videos (Google Video, Yahoo Video, Metacafe). Again- you want to make money so get it on Revver, but don’t stop with Revver as the traffic is higher elsewhere.
  3. Once it’s live, your viral task begins not ends. Market it!
  4. Blog about your video, or convince prominent bloggers to blog about it.
  5. Get the ball rolling by getting friends to view and rate it positively. Some good videos never make it out of the vicious cycle… they aren’t popular because they’re not popular. If it’s on YouTube, ask people to make it a favorite.
  6. Digg your video but don’t absuse Digg. Save it for really good ones and timely ones.
  7. Hitch your wagon to related stars. Find other popular and related video and leave comments about your video (don’t be spammish about this, though). YouTube allows you to leave a “video response” to other videos, and if you do that to a highly visible video you’ll get a decent percentage seeing yours.
  8. Be realistic about “conversions.” 95% of people don’t type URLs after they see a video. So don’t think a popular video that brands your website will get even 1% of people to visit your site. Unless your content rocks and you give them a specific reason to visit the site (like seeing a sequel).
  9. Choose your tags wisely. You don’t want to waste tag space on common words that are highly competitive (like “funny” or “hilarious”). Be as specific as possible. The search engines are quite kind to online-video site keywords. For instance, I’m the top listing on Google now for the word “Healies” (which I found out later is spelled Heelys).
  10. Keep trying. Quality is more important than quantity, but quantity is a close second. Don’t let a few failed attempts demoralize you. I’ve only had a few breakouts from the some 200 I’ve posted. And sometimes an old one will catch on months after I posted it.

Some good videos never make it out of the vicious cycle… they aren’t popular because they’re not popular.

AOL, BlipTV, Google, google video, metacafe, Online Video, Revver, Video Sites, Web 2.0, Yahoo Video, YouTube

Another Ranking of Top 10 Video Sites

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Here’s another ranking of top video sites (by LightReading.com). I’m reminded that it’s probably time for me to update my ranking of the top revenue-sharings sites.

I admire LightReading’s thorough review, but I’m surprised that it overlooked the fundamental differences in business models between these sites. I suppose LightReading is an infrastructure site that is looking at it from that angle, but it does get down to comparing user experience and functionality.

However how can you review online video sites and not talk about the advertising models and whether you can make money by submitting… or not?

  1. Here’s the “cheat sheet.”
  2. Here’s a deeper dive on criteria for the cheat sheet.
  3. Here are the specific reviews for LightReading’s favorites.

    Blip.tv
    VideoEgg
    Dailymotion
    YouTube
    Veoh
    Google Video
    Grouper
    Jumpcut
    AOL
    Eyespot

Google, google video, Online Video

Google XXX

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Techcrunch discovers that Google Video may be moving into the adult video arena. Yipes.

“People watching Google Video closely noticed a change this week in the upload area – the restrictions on uploading “pornographic or obscene” material is now just a restriction on “obscene” material. They’ve also added a “mature and adult” category to the genres and removed (I believe) a box on the initial uploading page that must be checked where the uploader certifies that the “video is not pornographic or obscene material”.

This may or may not mean Google is allowing, or preparing to allow, porn. Videos containing nudity are clearly available on the site, and many were uploaded months ago (for example, is this porn?). But nothing hardcore seems to be on the site.”

By the way… at the time of this writing 8 out of the top 10 Google Videos are sex related.

google video, Killer Video, Online Video, popular videos, Viral Video, Yahoo Video, YouTube

After Fame? Be a Big Fish in a Smaller Video Pond.

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fish.jpgLike lemmings to the sea, everyone’s throttling YouTube with their stuff in hope of fame. Want a little secret? It’s hard as hell to breakout on YouTube. If you want quantity of views, you’re much better off in Google Video, Yahoo Video and some of the third-tier sites.

Why? It’s the best kept viral video secret. I almost didn’t want to tell anyone. Here’s the poop.

Your views are not just a function of the traffic to the site. It has a lot to do with the total number of videos on a site. Your ability to “break out” is impacted by the ratio of: (traffic to a site/videos on a site).

YouTube may have a lot of eyeballs, but there are two problems:

  1. It’s flooded with competition. Too many videos.
  2. It’s built around focus on the most popular. So it’s very difficult to breakout.

The difference between views on YouTube vs. Google Video is especially interesting. Almost every one of my videos on Google Video has several thousands views. Most of my YouTube videos have fewer than 1000. Same content, different channel.

google video, Online Video, YouTube

Google Displays “Video” in Search Options

Google is taking one more step to getting serious about online video. Getting real estate on the homepage of Google is like trying to install a golf course in Manhattan. But once you’ve searched something, you’ll notice a “Video: New” icon that allows you to refine your search. See below for example.
The searches appear to be drawing exclusively from Google Video’s content (not indexing beyond) and is a little twitchy. But I won’t complain because if you search “YouTube” two of my videos have top listing. Which helps me in my personal mission to provoke the AT&T of online video.

google-video.jpg

advertising, book, Google, google video, Online Video, Revver, Video Advertising, Video Business, Video Sites

Extra, Extra: Google Video Preparing to Share Ad Revenue With Video Creators

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personal_google_video.gifGoogle Video is rolling out some new features, including “instant gratification” uploading, and the ability to add comments, tags and ratings. Buried quietly in the “terms and conditions” (which you default accept if you don’t opt out in 5 days) is some language that suggests Google Video is preparing to give amateurs the ability to profit from ad revenue and sales of videos. See “more” below for an e-mail that was sent to uploaders last night. To read the new “terms and conditions” click here.

Highlights:

  • Selling Videos for 70% Gross: If user-generated video is eventually sold or rented via Google video, Google keeps 30%.
  • Ad Sharing Hints: If Google Video does share advertising revenue, you need to accrue $100 before they pay you, and it’s paid monthly.
  • You’re Fired: They can terminate your account if you set up more than one – unless you get written permission. If you provide a link from your video and don’t update it, they can terminate you.
  • Boilerplate Content Language: You grant a royalty-free, non-exclusive right. You allow Google Video to display “limited excerpts” of your content for “no fee to the end user.” You have to indemnify Google and only submit content that you create.
  • You’re Giving it to Google and Any of Google’s Friends: You give Google Video the right to display the video content “in connection with Google products and services now existing or hereafter developed, including without limitation for syndication on third party sites.” You are giving grant Google a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free license to use your name and logo in connection with your video.
  • Click Fraud Clause: Google wouldn’t pay you for clicks “co-mingled” with invalid clicks. Suppose that means if they find Clickfraud, they don’t want to have to weed out the real from the fake.
  • Hush Clause: You can’t disclose your click thru rates. That’s Google confidential.

Bottom line? This represents Google Video moving slightly into YouTube’s “community” space for consumer-generated content, and potentially into Revver and Eefoof‘s advertising-sharing model. However I wouldn’t see it initially as a high-profit source for amateurs. Google Video appears to prioritize major content providers, and I’d predict the bulk of revenue to come from low-margin contextual ads. Although Google has high traffic, it needs to get into display/impression advertising to make decent money in the online video arena. Continue reading Extra, Extra: Google Video Preparing to Share Ad Revenue With Video Creators →

advertising, book, Future of Online Video, Google, google video, Online Video, Revver, Video Sites

Google, Ads and Distribution! “No One’s Ever Done This Before.”

lightbulb.jpgAnother online video article by WSJ: “Google to Distribute MTV Clips: Deal for Ad-Backed Videos Could Bolster Revenue, Broaden Viacom’s Reach” by Matthew Karnitschnig. How’d you like to have that last name and have to spell it to people 4 times in a row every single day?

The Highlights

  • Google will distribute video programming from Viacom’s MTV Networks. It starts this month with such programs as “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Laguna Beach.”
  • Google will distribute these to a subset of its network — made up of thousands of Web sites — to place paid-search ads on behalf of a vast array of advertisers. “Our technology takes MTV’s video, marries it to an ad and shows it on a third site.
  • No one’s ever done this before,” Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in an interview. “If this works, it would be a very large business for all players.”

Nobody has ever done that?! I love you Google, but that’s patently wrong. It’s called “Revvtagging” and Revver started in 2005. I can understand the Google CEO claiming it, but I’d have thought WSJ’s Karnetstchnigading would fact check that one.

Pictured above is a new invention Schmidt and a team created last weekend. It’s an electric current that passes through a thin filament, heating it and causing it to emit light. The enclosing glass “Goog-bulb” prevents the oxygen in air from reaching the hot filament, which would be otherwise rapidly destroyed by oxidation. Patent filed.

advertising, book, Diet Coke, google video, Killer Video, Online Video, popular videos, Video Business, Video Sites, Viral Video, YouTube

Moguls of New Media According to WSJ

newmediapowerlistwsj.jpgIf you want a quick crash course on the abscure talent that have become famous from online video, blogs, podcasts and the like… check out this nice WSJ article by John Jurgensen. It’s titled “Moguls of New Media.”

Highlights from the piece

Christine Dolce, whose MySpace page boasts nearly one million friends — making her arguably one of the most connected people on the Internet. A 24-year-old worked at a makeup counter in a mall, and now has a manager and a start-up jeans company and has won promotional deals for two mainstream consumer brands.

[image] NEW-MEDIA POWER LIST

 

• The Wall Street Journal’s John Jurgensen discusses new media’s digital entertainers.

• See who’s who among new-media celebrities.

Each week, about a half-million people download a comedic video podcast featuring a former paralegal. A video by a 30-year-old comedian from Cleveland has now been watched by almost 30 million people, roughly the audience for an average “American Idol” episode. The most popular contributor to the photo site Flickr.com just got a contract to shoot a Toyota ad campaign.

Here are some of my favorites from Jugensen’s list of the “new-media power list” (the term “new media” died about 6 months before Web 2.0, didn’t it?)

  1. Tiki Bar TV (Jeff Macpherson)- the first video podcast I ever saw.
  2. Amanda Unboomed (Amanda Congdon)- you love her or hate her. I do both.
  3. Ask A Ninja (Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine)- resulted in the most tribute/ripoffs of anything else that crossed Gore’s world wide web.
  4. Evolution of Dance (Judson Laipply)- Will go down as history’s most popular video guy that never made a direct penny from his 30 million views. Let’s hope is new agent dances as well as Laipply.
  5. EepyBird (Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz)- First popular video (Diet Coke/Mentos) that actually made someone some money. Check out SaveMentosNow.com for the next evolution of this concept.
  6. Channel101.com (Rob Schrab and Dan Harmon)- I have to admit that I hadn’t heard of this one until the “new media” folks at WSJ pointed it out.
  7. Brookers (Brooke Brodack)- Seriously, Carson Daly is going to return your calls when your 15 minutes are up.

The YouTube Viral Broker, who helped many of these web celebrities capitalize on their fame, is somewhat offended that the Journal overlooked him. If you want to write Jurgensen and tell him he forgot about nalts, feel free: john.jurgensen@wsj.com.