VideoJug, has just been launched, by Dan Thompson, David Tabizel and Danny Kelly, to host a range of video clips offering advice and demonstrations on topics such as how to clean windows or how to clean ketchup spills on a carpet.
The current crop of videos are short, sharp and well presented by the Videojug management. Of course VideoJug hope other people will also upload their own, how to, video content. Users are then invited to review the clips on the site and rate them. The service is due to launch this autumn, although the test site is currently up and running already. This mixture of professional content mixed with user content is very much the norm these days. YouTube, MySpace, MSN, Google and Yahoo Video all integrate TV, music & sports clips alongside user generated content and advertising.
As far as I can tell, VideoJug is not a wannabe YouTube offering a wide specturm of video content. Instead VideoJug is attempting to carve out its own niche by tapping into people’s particular expertise and advise. According to Dan Thompson “everybody is an expert on something. We want people to come to our site knowing they will get good quality information.” I guess the sort of advise being captured on VideoJug is similar to the things our mothers or friends might tell us.
What I cannot see right now is whether VideoJug plan to pay their contributors for their content? They may well do, but all too often content aggregation companies expect users to provide their content for free. Then in turn they plan to monetise its value via advertising but fail to share the generated revenues back with the original content creators.
Of course, VideoJug maybe the exception but reading through their terms and conditions it’s clear that any video submitted to VideoJug instantly becomes the copyright ownership of VideoJug. So I guess they plan to monetise the value of our content for themselves as well.
Where you are invited to submit any contribution to VideoJug (including any text, photographs, graphics, video or audio) you agree, by submitting your contribution, to grant VideoJug a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub-licensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, play, make available to the public, and exercise all copyright and publicity rights with respect to your contribution worldwide and/or to incorporate your contribution in other works in any media now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in your contribution, and in accordance with privacy restrictions set out in VideoJug ‘s Privacy Policy.
I guess if the flow of user generated content begins to wane they could always implement a payment mechanism at a later date.