The Truth About Free Video Sharing Websites (Summer 2007)

by Pattie Stone, Principal, pattiedesign (multimedia designers)

Okay, I think it’s fair to say that Andy Warhol might have been right when he said, “In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” Ever hear of YouTube.com?

There’s nothing new about the attraction of funny video outtakes of ‘everyman’ in everyday life (think America’s Funniest Videos, currently going into its 18th season), or wanna-be famous performers (think American Idol), or even the spin of a political ad (think commercials). But that was TV – and you had to submit your video and/or audition and then they choose to air. Ah, a big difference compared to the boom of web video. Nowadays, with the advent of free video sharing websites, just about anyone can upload their video short to the web for the world to view…literally.

Web video is exciting, and besides being entertaining, it also can be used to promote yourself and/or your products. Produced correctly by a professional, it can be one of the most cost-effective and exciting marketing tools around.

But any video falling into the wrong hands can also spell disaster to you, your image and/or your company. What you thought you owned and couldn’t be altered…well you might be in for a surprise if you post your video(s) on a free video sharing website.

Free video sharing websites are popping up like weeds, but I’m going to focus on the current most popular to date. All video sharing websites listed here are free to use, while some have various levels of tier accounts that charge a fee.

Starting with the big daddy of them all, YouTube.com, did you know that while you retain the ownership rights to whatever you post to YouTube, by uploading, you grant YouTube the right to do whatever they want with your video. Also, any YouTube member can easily copy it, steal it, reproduce it, sell it, whatever, without any kind of permission or reparation. Say what?? That’s a real eye-opener huh?

Or get a load of Heavy.com – they own all the content you submit. So by all means do NOT upload anything to Heavy.com unless you are willing to completely give up all your rights to your material. Wait, the list goes on and here are a few more zingers to consider…

Brightcove – you retain all rights to your content, but they can do what they like with your submissions. Oh really!

Bolt – you keep the rights to your content, but Bolt reserves the right to do whatever they want to your audio, video, graphics or photos as long as they are uploaded to the site. Bolt retains the right to use any other kind of content you create (i.e. blogs) even after your take it off the site! Ouch!

Metacafe – you retain the rights to your work. However, Metacafe can do whatever they want to your submissions (reproduce, modify, etc) as long as they remain on the website. Other users may also use your work, provided that it’s for noncommercial and personal purposes. Excuse me?

Yahoo!Video – You retain ownership, but Yahoo! retains the right to change, reproduce, or make derivative works based on any of your content. Yahoo! has the right to use your video in ads, and will keep all the money from the ads. That’s another huge, Excuse Me?

Now here’s a few that are more ‘respectful’ of your content rights:

Vimeo – you retain the rights to your work. Vimeo also stipulates that you cannot use any of the material on the website except for your own personal viewing purposes.

Blip.tv – you retain all rights to your original content.

Google Video – you retain all rights to the content.

Revver – you retain all the copyrights to videos uploaded and once you remove a video from the site the company agrees to stop distributing it.

Bottom Line: So, before you upload your ‘masterpiece’ to a free video sharing site you need to know what your rights are. As a matter of fact, several of the sites listed above are embarking on truly innovative ways for the consumer to even make some money off of their uploaded videos and have more control over the usage of their material. Just make sure you read the fine print BEFORE you upload your video to any free video sharing website.