Web video shakeout
Two or three years ago, you'd be hard-pressed to find a place to host your videos. Ourmedia was just about the only game in town. Now, according to this CNN article, there are 173 web sites vying for that privilege. CNN predicts a shakeout soon, as logically it seems impossible for that many competing services to make money.
So, basically, it's crazy to try to start a media hosting company with the idea of being profitable right now. But someone has to produce all that content to put on those sites...
I think what's neatest about these mass video storage sites and how easy they are to use combined with prices dropping on decent quality equipment is the accessibility to normal people. The possibilities are endless:
- Sports coaches could put highlights from local games online
- Community theater outfits could broadcast their plays
- Clubs could post their meetings online
- Restaurants could post guided tours of their menus, featuring head chefs
- And two gals with thrift store wigs and a bottle of gin are fully capable of competing with television for your attention. Witness True Gritz, produced on a budget of next-to-nothing, and getting the big boys' attention.
It will be interesting to see in the coming years how many people are willing to pay for localized, small scale media production services in the same way small businesses are already willing to pay for small scale web site development.