All too often today people will spend hours and hours developing content, but won’t spend more than 30 seconds on visual elements. A great way to add some visual oomph to your site is through online video.
Video clips can add a much-needed visual element to your Web site or blog, and best of all, it can be had for free. There are many different sites to pull online video from, most of which make it easy to embed your favorite clips.
There are a number of different factors that can make or break an online video site. First off, just like with normal Web sites, content is king. If a site doesn’t have the videos you want or need, they’re not worth your time. Accessibility makes a big difference, too. Not only should the site be easy to access, but it should be simple to share and embed the site’s content within your own work. Finally, the community should be top-notch. Rather than simple drive-by commenting of garbage and spam, a good community will provide feedback, tips and help to other users.
Using the criteria above, here are three of the best sites for finding and using online video:
YouTube
The hands down king of online video, YouTube makes it as easy as possible to find and use the exact video clip you’re looking for. Despite a sub-par community, what makes YouTube number one is the content – anything and everything. Thanks to a Google-powered search algorithm, your favorite clips are just a few keystrokes away. YouTube has also done a great job of integrating social media platforms into their pages, and sharing a video with your friends and colleagues is simple. They also provide the exact code you need to embed your video into any content you’re writing.
Metacafe
One of the oldest competitors to YouTube, Metacafe has continued to stay popular thanks to its community-centered approach. The main differences between Metacafe and other video sites is the community’s user-review panel and duplication elimination. It also hosts a unique VideoRank system that helps the site feature the most popular of user videos. Above all else, the community at Metacafe is a step above others.
Vimeo
Vimeo has made its name thanks to HD video, a category that is sure to grow as HD camcorders become more and more accessible. It also has speed in its favor, and in simple speed tests can upload and playback videos faster than most other sites. Vimeo is also a site on the rise, and its enthusiastic community is continually policing itself and providing a strong foundation for future growth.
Related posts:
About Mike
Much appreciated thanks