YouTube is undoubtedly the most popular video library available on the Internet today. However, there are others who also offer the same kind of services. Let’s find out a few alternatives.
The website shareyourworld, which was founded in 1997, was the first Internet video hosting website. However, it closed down in 2001, due to budget and bandwidth issues.
On February 14, 2005, in California, United States, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim founded a video-sharing website named YouTube. Today, this website has become synonymous with video viewing and sharing on the Internet. It’s no wonder that this website is the third most visited site on the Internet (Alexa Rank Oct. 2013). Apart from YouTube, there are other websites that also have a large user-submitted video library. We will introduce you to 10 such websites in this Techspirited article.
One of the most popular websites to upload and showcase videos is Vimeo. You can rest assured of the privacy of these videos as Vimeo gives you the freedom to decide who views the videos. You can connect to people by following them, which means you can subscribe to their videos, and receive updates from them alongside sending messages to them. The Vimeo Video School will help you sharpen your video skills by taking their video tutorials.
Website: www.vimeo.com
From food and drink to technology and cars, Videojug has a huge video library with 60,000+ ‘how to’ videos and guides. They have experts on each topic who scrutinize every video for its credibility, and it is only after this check that the videos are published. If you liked any video and would like to use it in your blog, you can use their embed code for the same. You can save and share the videos by signing in on the website.
Website: www.videojug.com
If you want to watch movies online for free, then you must log on to Veoh. You can watch full episodes of your favorite television shows, even on your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. The content available for public viewing is either user or studio generated. They also offer a software application, Veoh Web Player, where full length videos can be viewed, even the ones that are not available on their website.
Website: www.veoh.com
This website specializes in the short videos, i.e., the ones which are less than 5 minutes in length. Movies, video games, sports, music, and television are the categories that you can choose from. This site only showcases original video content. Similar to YouTube, if you want to upload, rate, or comment on any particular video, you need to register.
Website: www.metacafe.com
This French video-sharing website was rated as the 31st most visited website in the world, as of November 2012. The website, like others on this list, allows its users to browse and upload videos, channels, and user-generated content. The video length is restricted to 60 minutes (except for the official ones), while its size is limited to 4GB. It has launched ‘DailyMotion Mass Uploader’ which allows you to simultaneously upload multiple videos.
Website: www.dailymotion.com
Blip is a site that allows you to surf user-submitted videos from categories like television series, movies, and videos. These are all scrutinized and placed into proper categories. If you are a young producer who wants his/her work to be uploaded on the website, you can submit your work online. After thorough checks, the video will be uploaded.
Website: www.blip.tv
This website is completely dedicated to educational videos. All the content that is generated by users is moderated by teachers before uploading it on the website. As of 2013, about 50,000+ school kids are users of this site, who upload about 1000 videos a day. Whenever a student wants to upload a video, a teacher from the same school has to first approve of it before uploading the same.
Website: www.schooltube.com
This is the place where you will find all the content (videos) generated by the teachers and for the teachers. The videos contain lesson plans, methods to go about a particular topic, or simply experiences shared by the teachers. There are many videos which actually contain educational lessons and even practicals! So, if you are the new to the teaching profession, get yourself registered on this website, and make the most of it.
Website: www.teachertube.com
ClipBlast continuously keep their library updated by regularly crawling the web. Their search engine parses the videos that are found on the Internet along with their documents and player configuration files. The technology that these people use is shared with portals, content providers, and individuals.
Website: www.clipblast.com
Yes, Flickr does allow you to upload videos and share them. You simply need to click on the ‘Explore’ tab. Although the length of the videos is restricted to 90 seconds, those interested in short videos will definitely appreciate the large video base. But there’s a catch to this. You can upload only two 90-second videos, if you are a basic user.
Website: www.flickr.com
Although it is difficult to say goodbye to the video giant YouTube, you can explore these alternatives to gain access to large video libraries. Some of them (websites) have amazing short videos, which you will have a tough time searching on YouTube.