Viddler is the latest contestant in the uber-competitive, thought this game was over, arguably bubble-stage video file sharing sector.
First what it does, then we’ll explain.
In a nutshell: Viddler does three things:
1) Sharing your story
Got a camera and some friends? Go have fun, and put the result on Viddler. Want some exposure for the movie you made at film school? Put it on Viddler—it gives you the opportunity to reach out to thousands of viewers online.
2) Making search results relevant
Since Viddler searches inside the content of videos, our users have a lot of flexibility when it comes to finding new material to watch. Search for any object, person, or place and the results will be staring you in the face with exactly what you wanted.
3) Bringing users together
Social networking is a big part of Viddler. Users can make friends and send messages to each other, but what really allows people to get their voice heard is timed commenting, which lets them discuss specific moments in a video, rather than just talking about the video as a whole.
#1 and #3 are basic functions of YouTube, Revver, Veoh, Guba, Blip, MetaCafe, etc. #2 is interesting but ripe for tag-spam, frankly. The problem is that even if it works, it seems like something that another company can easily duplicate, no?
The service is self-funded and looking for investors in a not-so-coy way: “We’re looking for outside investors.”
I would be very, very, very surprised if this company can get financing. I wish them well, because the idea of #2 is interesting, but again, when:
- the CEO of Guba comes out and admits the space is won by YouTube
- Revver’s senior management team is shown the door when the CEO is on vacation
- VCs have funded 200 clones
- #1 search player Google buys #1 video file sharing platform YouTube
- Top 5 service Metacafe can find buyers…
- UGC proves to miss with advertisers…
I just do not see much merit in such a service. It’s about 1 year too late in a segment (UGC video file sharing market) with an 18 month window, which is how long it took for Youtube to go from conception to exit. Of course, GooTube’s difficulties in monetizing content and fending off copyright issues shows the game is far from over, but the solution to overcoming the challenge in online video have more to do with monetization (to get advertisers - and not VCs - to finance the future growth of online video) than with “searching inside the video.”
I could be wrong, of course. Time will tell.
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