All the video aggregator, portal, suggestion sites (whatever you want to call them) are pretty much quoting the data from Kelton Research, funded by WeShow.com, which says, "about 96 percent of Americans searching for videos online aren't able to find video on their first search. Another 60 percent of Americans say the sheer volume of online videos is overwhelming to them. A pretty high 46 percent don't bother watching online video because of there are too many results, while the research also showed that 45 percent wouldn't view videos unless their colleagues or friends recommended them."
Knowing this, a plethora of sites have and are emerging to try to address the problem. One of the most recent is Mesmo.tv, which focuses on input from other users to give visitors ideas on what videos are out there.
Mesmo.tv CEO Davin T. Miyoshi said, “I’d like to see a web-based player where I can find content recommendations — algorithmic, editorial, and from friends — as well as episodic content — all my favorite free web shows and the ones I pay for on iTunes too — in one place, sortable by date and by show.”
I would tend to think sites like this are responding to survey's of younger users, who have much more general than specific interests earlier in their lives.
When I search for online video, I pretty much know what I'm looking for, and within a fairly short time I am able to find out if there is any of it online or not. I personally can't relate to going to another site for someone else to tell me what I should like or not. But for general users that don't have specific interests, I could see some value in that.
I can see why so many companies are trying to enter this space, but I'm not sure how they're going to differentiate if they continue to focus on videos across the entire spectrum of the web.
Eventually there will probably be a few sites that attract the masses, similar to the few online news portals that have survived, which is probably what the battle will be over for creating some type of online video guide.
Like anything else, the best stuff will still be that which goes niche and focuses on very specific topics and interests. A combination of various types of content, including video, will be what works the best for the majority of online marketers going ahead.
Saying that, again, there will probably be a few large sites that will end up emerging after a protracted battle for the general, mass audience that isn't searching for topic-specific content. Just like the online news portals, there will be a few that will probably survive and thrive once things shake out.
Comment Preview