I'm pleased to welcome VidCompare as my first official blog sponsor. For those who read this blog from the website, you may have noticed the VidCompare widget in the right sidebar above the RSS feeds. VidCompare is a free interactive online comparison engine for business decision makers looking for an Online Video Platform (OVP) Provider. VidCompare was launched in September 2009 by Kris Drey and Alex Polonsky, to offer "unbiased, and vendor-neutral tools like user reviews, side-by-side comparisons, and detailed provider information." Both Drey and Polonsky had worked for CNET Networks and spent years building comparison engines for Download.com and Shopper.com. I interviewed Drey for the official launch of VidCompare about why he launched VidCompare, how the site will work and what’s the overall goal of VidCompare.According to Drey:
"The idea came to me to build VidCompare when I was thinking about creative lead gen options. Today, the majority of people looking for online video solutions do so via Google, which I think is a broken model. Entering a search term (usually "video hosting" or "video streaming") and getting an abundance of semi-related results accompanied by paid results usually leads to blind clicking, driving uneducated people to websites who typically bounce within 30 seconds turning only a page or so. Then it occurred to me, this space needs a comparison engine-like service to help educate buyers prior to sending them to providers sites."With over 80 online video platforms on the market tracked by VidCompare, (a number that's grown from 58 since VidCompare's launch), it can be confusing to decide what platform is the best choice for you, and launching an online video portal can be challenging when you don't know what you need to power your video. You may have existing assets and infrastructure, databases, tracking methods, proprietary builds, or you may be starting from scratch. Most companies don't have in-house creative or technical teams, and are faced with the question of build vs. buy vs. free online video solutions.
According to The Forrester Wave™: US Online Video Platforms, Q4 2009, an evaluation of six leading online video platform vendors,
"71% of the US online audience watches video on the Internet, and the number of streams consumed should more than double by 2013", so whether you're a large media publisher or a small retailer, every organization needs a video strategy and online video platforms power video for an organization."OVPs are becoming more focused on a wide array of capabilities from content management, encoding, advertising, syndication and monetization. But for the customer who may be new to online video it can be confusing to decide what components they need and what’s the added value that OVPs bring. As the market further expands and more choices become available, education will be key for online media consumers to make strategic buying decisions. VidCompare can help with the necessary tools to search, compare and make an educated purchase.
VidCompare offers a variety of resources from Free Whitepapers, a Free Newsletter, the VidCompare Blog which shares both video production tips and industry analysis, Online Video Glossary, Video Platform Press Releases, Online Video User Reviews and Consultation through a partnership with Eventure 360, a leading Internet technology consultancy, to provide customers additional guidance in comparing Online Video Platform (OVP) provider.
Read more about the features available VidCompare in my interview with founder Kris Drey or watch his recent interview with Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen on OnlineVideo.net. Also, see Drey's guest post on Reel SEO - Online Video Hosting - Advice for Online Video Hosting Platform Shoppers and a related post on this blog, Online Video Platform Summit: Defining Online Video Platforms.
For more information:
VidCompare.com
Info (at) vidcompare.com
1-877-535-1625
Twitter.com/VidCompare
Facebook.com/VidCompare
