User generated 'how-to' videos

The number of online how-to's is increasing, and has proven to fill an existing need for those looking online for information, getting good search placement with the major search engines and offering great niche communities for advertisers. Similar to what we’re seeing with the user-generated online video market, those involved with how-to sites are experimenting with a lot of different business models and ways in which to pay content owners.

ExpertVillage operates by presenting “assignments” for experts, which are based on topics that are the most searched on over the web. Experts can create a how-to video and ExpertVillage purchase the rights from the video’s creators. This process will ensure premium content coming through the site, making it of better authority for viewers, though limiting its community capabilities to some extent.

Source credit: Mashable.com

Free Entertainment - Part 2

Following on from my earlier mention of live streaming sites such as alluc.org, here is a new and bettered version based on the same principle. Joox.net is in essence the same, providing links of movies and TV shows to name a few.

The reason that it's an improvement is that these are all based on on Stage 6's Divex - so there is hardly a wait for buffering, and all of the links provided are full screen, DVD quality, and are full files - as opposed to full films broken up into pieces.

As said before these sites are legal, as they only provide the link lists and do not hold any of the content uploaded. Depending on your view on copyright infringement - enjoy.

User Generated Advertising

User generated media has yet another angle for monetization, and it seems to be gaining momentum. Zooppa is a new social network created around the idea of user generated advert creation. The Ital-American start up explains the concept as "we give you a brand, you make an advert, you rate the best ones, and the winner gets paid"

Well known brands that have used this so far include Tom Tom, Havianas and Global Warming. Here is the complete list of winners so far

This is an unique advertising business model, for now that is. Businesses supply advertising briefs - what their product is, who they're targeting, any brand-specific design elements, etc. - and users create advertisements for the company, uploading them for Zooppa users to vote on.

This is an attractive model for people to create revenue from user generated content while the You Tube's of the world figure out their revenue sharing models. For brands it's a cost effective way of seeing what consumers think of the brand, and at at the same time giving immediate feedback on what adverts they relate to the most.

Simple. Cheap. Effective

Entertainment for free

We all know that it's pretty easy to download any movie or TV show, but why go through the mission of finding it, downloading it, and then wasting your hard drive space to keep it?

There are a new crop of websites popping up that are extremely clever and actually legal. Basically, they direct you to where you can watch streaming video's online. Depending on what site the original video has been placed on, you will either be able to watch it in parts (eg. feature film over 5 or so parts on you tube) or, on some sites you will be able to view a full length film on full screen view (eg. VEOH)

These sites are perfectly legal, as their disclaimers will tell you - they are not responsible for the content - they only point you to where it is. Being a new concept, the sites are not visually impressive by any means, but you will always be able to find something to watch. alluc.org is what i use at the moment, and when i find more i will post them here.

Quality is not always the best, but if you don't like it, get up off your couch and actually go pay to watch a movie for once!