My previous article covered 3 major players in the video-based social networking space. Catch up on what i said about YouTube, Guba, and Jumpcut or just wing it and read on..
This time around i’ll be reviewing 3 relatively new web services. Each of these sites is unique in some way, and offers its own twist on what is quickly becoming the new mantra for web2.0: “create, upload, and share”.
The 3 services are:
I’ll be looking at:
- Ease of Use (obstacles, barriers, any software to install, limits on number of videos i can upload)
- Accessability (what if you don’t have Flash installed, or you’re not running Windowz)
- Distinguishing Features (something different, revenue sharing, partner programs)
Grouper:
1.
- Max file size for uploaded videos is 110 MB
- This has the best upload indicator (progress bar) i have seen so far. You can see the amount in MB that remains to be uploaded, this figure is also represented as a percentage remaining, you can see your current upload speed, and the time remaining. awesome.
2.
- I was able to upload my video using FireFox without Flash installed or having to download any extra software
3.
- Intergrated partnership program, no need to sign up a second time (although some additional info is required for this)
- Generate income from video ad impressions
- Ability (as a partner) to include an upload feature directly on your website (so visitors can add videos )
- Make Your Own Video With Groovie Editor software (download but extra email verification process required)
- Get the main Grouper 2.0 software which is a complete video sharing solution (download but extra email verification process required)
- Publish Any Grouper Video or Filmstrip to MySpace, Friendster and other Blogs
muveeMix:
1.
- Free account is limited to only 10 video uploads. But if you refer 5 friends to muveeMix you get upgraded to a “bumper” account which offers unlimited video uploads. It is unclear to me whether this upgrade would be for a single year or indefinitely
- Either way, there is also a 100 MB limit on all uploads
- The upload process seemed a little overly complex and certain features (like the ability to add sound) actually stumped me because my video already had sound and so i didn’t know what to do at this point. Furthermore, you cannot move forward from this point until you choose a sound file (ie: this is not an “optional” feature). Oddly enough, leaving out the title and credits is an option.
2.
- This service is entirely Flash based. i can’t even see the site without it. too bad. at least let me edit my profile and add a photo in the meantime. oh wait, there is no profile or place to add a photo.
3.
- Mix video, images, and sound into a movie all from within your web browser (unlike Grouper, no software to download and install)
- Ability to add styles to movies (i should probably be saying muvee)
- Publish you muvees to sites like: Multiply, MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Blogger, LiveJournal, Xanga, Typepad, Tagworld and many others.
VideoEgg:
1.
- The maximum video length has been set to 5 minutes
- You must install the VideoEgg Publisher which seems to be downloaded as a browser component through InternetExplorer but once this is done everything becomes as easy as drag-and-drop. Also, FireFox “just worked” after i installed through IE
- Unforetunately, under FireFox, every video i tried to upload appear upside-down in the preview window, and under IE6, every video was noticeably crappier quality in the preview window, not sure what is up with that..
2.
- Despite some minor bugs, this service offers a relatively Flash-free interface. I was able to upload my video, name it, and give it a description. You do however still need Flash 7 to view the actual videos.
3.
- Partnership program similar to Grouper except there’s some added confusion here due to the fact that i have to sign up seperately for this program (despite having already set up a normal account with username/password) - oh, and the form you need to fill out is 10 times as long, it’s like 5 forms in 1.
- Publish your videos directly to Blogger, TypePad, or eBay (auctions) - no community component or browsing of user’s videos on the actual VideoEgg site though
- Upload from your camcorder, webcam, or mobile device
- Edit the start/stop times of your videos before uploading them (potentially very useful)
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