Create 'channels' with Dave.tv
Another video start-up...
In my opinion, there's been a tad bit of a YouTube backlash recently, as evidenced by the number of video start-ups that have been stressing their commitment to professionally created content. In other words, no cat videos. (Isn't it funny how "cat videos" has become synonymous with "amateur YouTube content?") For example, there's MediaZone, which we wrote up earlier today. But here's another video start-up, Dave.tv, that's trying to help amateurs organize and present their video creations in a slicker way.
No, the CEO is not named Dave; rather, he goes by Rex Wong. "Dave" stands for "Distributed Audio Video Entertainment," and Dave.tv is a product of Dave Networks, which creates "your own YouTube or MySpace around your own brand," according to Wong, who presented the product at the AlwaysOn media conference in NYC yesterday. In order to describe Dave Networks' business model, Wong demonstrated a site that the company had created for the science-fiction TV show Stargate where not only could the creators share information and video clips, but users could upload their own fan-fiction videos and partake in social networking features. (Sci-fi fan videos are a big deal. Just ask CNET's Rich DeMuro.)
But, like MediaZone, Dave Networks is expanding beyond its corporate clientele to try to grab a slice of the user-generated video pie. This is where Dave.tv comes in. Billing itself as a "social broadcast network," it allows individuals to create their own channels and then easily work them into blogs or MySpace profiles. A Dave.tv channel is not as functional as a full-blown Dave Networks channel, nor is the interface the cleanest, but this is a new product so I'm hesitant to judge. The company looks like it's had some decent success with big-media clients--let's see if they can do the same with user-generated content. Because, after all, organization might just be YouTube's Achilles heel. For a standalone video, it's great. But putting everything you've created into one place? You might want to try some alternatives.