By way of sending out a message to all their many users, Brightcove has
announced that it is soon going to be closing the
YouTube-style consumer video community,
which currently resides at the Brightcove.TV
domain.
As of December 17, 2007, users of the video service and
community
will no longer be able to upload videos, as the website will be
refocused to provide a central destination for the professional
distribution and promotion of the company’s network of media partners.
Brightcove has always seemed more focused on developing
methods of
distributing and monetizing videos, providing a platform for several
high-profile clients, so what exactly took this team so long to realize
that running a YouTube
competitor was not the way to go?
Pro Vs UGC
With the interactivity of the internet, two types of web video
have
emerged, professional video (similar to television content, though
often more brief) and user-generated video (created by amateurs).
It
has been clear that the king of user-generated video platforms is
YouTube ever since their purchase by Google for more than $1 billion,
but there has been no clear top-notch platform for the professional
side.
It should have been a clear indication to Brightcove early on
that
their focus should be on the market that they still have a shot at
capturing.
This seemed to be the case when the user-generated service
was relocated from the Brightcove.com
domain to Brightcove.TV, but still the company struggled to provide for
both sectors.
Dear Brightcove.tv Member
The following message was sent by Brightcove today to all
users of its service:
Dear Brightcove.TV member,
Beginning December 18, 2007, we plan to end support of
direct
consumer uploads to Brightcove.TV. As a result, you will not be able to
upload new videos to Brightcove.TV after December 17, 2007.But videos
you have already uploaded to Brightcove.TV will remain available on the
site and through your Brightcove.TV channel. Videos you have embedded
in other sites and blogs will also continue to play.If you have a Brightcove Platform or Network account, which
means
you use the Brightcove Console, then you will still have the option to
promote videos on Brightcove.TV.Brightcove.TV will continue to be a guide to great video
from
Brightcove media and business partners. The site will have new videos
added to it daily from these partners and these videos can be saved as
favorite videos in your channel.We appreciate your interest in Brightcove and apologize for
any disruption this change may cause you.Sincerely,
The Brightcove Team
An Inexperienced Team
Nothing truly revolutionary has been developed by Brightcove
to make it stand out among other services, other than the recently
launched Brightcove Show
internet TV platform, and perhaps this is why.
Whether the company has
a shot a succeeding now is still a question that is up in the
air.
Some
believe that the executives at Brightcove seem
inexperienced
for having received over $80 million in funding and still changing
focus after three years in business, but I just hope that this is the
last time.
Before long, users will be so confused that no one will want
to use the service if Brightcove cannot make a final, standing decision.
Expect the new, professional Brightcove.TV to offer the same
choice
of accounts (free, ad-supported network account or paid publisher
account) and much of the same content, as most of Brightcove’s existing
videos seemed to be provided by media partners.
Will Brightcove now finally be able to succeed or could this
be the last move for an indecisive crew?
Michael Garrett is a contributing author discussing the social networking world, his work can be found on Profy.com
