You’ve made the video, polished it with editing, added sound effects, music, and posted your title and other information. You are ready to share your creation with the world. The Internet has changed the face of music and in recent years has done the same for video sharing as well. You no longer have to look for a distributor, studio, or production company to get your videos seen by millions of people. What you need is to know the best Internet outlets for airing your videos.
While it may not seem that there are plenty of outlets for you to air your videos, with YouTube snagging most of the attention and press through recent years, they are not the only game in town. You do have options and choices and for any creative individual, there is nothing better than having those options available to you.
The top 10 video sharing sites
While there are more than 10, the following are the top 10 that currently offer video sharing services. There are some advantages and disadvantages to each, but they serve as the majority of video sharing sites that reach the largest base audience (and isn’t that what you really want? A base audience?)
- YouTube
- Vimeo
- Google Video Beta
- Grouper
- Eyespot Beta
- Revver
- Jumpcut
- Ourmedia
- vSocial
- VideoEgg
Yes, some of the names can raise and eyebrow or two, but that should have no bearing on what you use when it comes to airing your videos online. Let’s look at them a bit more closely, shall we?
YouTube
The appeal of YouTube is that it seems as though everyone in the world has heard and used YouTube in some form or another. There is no ability at the moment to edit videos on YouTube, but it does allow users to rate the video, share the video, and make comments to the person who posts the video.
The compressed sound through YouTube is not of top quality, so if your video relies heavily on the sound quality, then YouTube may not be the perfect site for your production.
Eyespot Beta
Eyespot Beta is easy to use when uploading as well as when you need to do some remixing. There are not many community features, which is fine if you don’t require them, however. You can tag and create forums and groups, however. There is the option to do some basic editing, especially trimming the beginning or end of the video clips. You can also add music and photos through Eyespot Beta
The file size limit of 25MB is too small for many longer videos. At the moment, Eyespot Beta is still learning the ropes, so to speak, so you may want to wait a little while until they get it all fleshed out.
Vimeo
Vimeo is a nice and clean video sharing platform that some call the ‘Flickr’ for video. There is no editing at the current time, but it is simple and easy to upload and share videos. Voting and commenting are allowed on Vimeo. There is a weekly storage limit for videos, however. Currently it is at 20MB.
Google Video Beta
Whenever you have an online feature by Google, it already has appeal. It is a clean layout, common with Google pages, though there is no ability to edit your video uploads. The other major drawback is that Google requires a video verification so that your video complies with their technical and legal policies. It could take several days for review.
Grouper
Grouper requires a file download, but you can do a lot with grouper, including editing and file sharing. The application, however, seems like an afterthought, so if you’re looking for a cheap way to edit your videos, Grouper may not be the one you need.
Revver
Want to make money with your videos? Revver could be the answer you’re looking for. Whenever someone watches your video and the embedded ad (a catch, we know), then you get 20% share of whatever the advertiser pays Revver for the ad placement. You can’t edit with Revver and the uploading process is a bit too complex for our tastes. You need to download software in order to upload your videos.
Jumpcut
The best aspect of Jumpcut is that you can edit, remix and even create videos online. The features that you have at your fingertips for Jumpcut give it the feel of an application, rather than a website. Jumpcut offers the best editing of the other top 10. You have access to a number of effects, but the more you pile on, the slower your video will play.
OurMedia
If you are an activist whose videos would appeal to a grass-roots movement, then OurMedia is the ideal place for your videos. There are no editing features, and the interface is slow and confusing, but it appeals to socially conscious audience members, which makes it ideal for this type of filmmaker.
vSocial
vSocial claims that is it the fastest and easiest way to upload, watch, and share you favorite video clips, but that isn’t the case. It comes with editing features with all the bells and whistles, but the quality of the finished product is less than ideal. You can embed to your own social media pages with vSocial, but the size of the video is condensed down to 320×240.
VideoEgg
VideoEgg is easy to use. You need to download and application in order to upload your videos, however. It offer basic trim editing and you can post to some basic sites, such as Blogger and eBay. The Flash 8 quality is decent, but nothing to write home about.
As you can see, these are the top 10 Internet outlets for airing your videos and each one offers something to the discerning, or not-so-discerning user.