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Video sharing site Grouper relaunched today with an "American Idol" model and a new name: Crackle. Here, we take a look at 10 sites that are trying to avoid the YouTube bandwagon and rely instead on your cravings for fame and fortune.
Crackle's dual-pronged process for choosing the artists that can reach fame ensures that everyone's interests are being considered, and limits the amount of abuse the community can unleash on the site's algorithmic system. With integration between Sony Pictures, its subsidiaries and its affiliates, those that gain recognition through promotion on Crackle stand to become very successful in both the traditional and online media realms. It will be this success, or lack thereof, that determines the usefulness of an online community for finding fitting talent. We have yet to see any other video-sharing sites besides YouTube produce so many household names, but Crackle may be a valid contender.
Bix is among the most obvious video voting websites, when it comes to layout and design. Two videos. One screen. Which one do you like best? The contests are used a lot for lip syncing videos, and most of them are pretty amusing. As a user you can enter a contest, create a contest, or vote for the singer you like the best.
Break.com will also get you more fortune than fame, as this video site offers ways to monetize your content if it's seen by enough people. The purpose is to get on the homepage; if your video fits with Break's algorithmic choices of clips worthy to be on the front page, you'll get paid. Its recent investment from Lionsgate films, meanwhile, means that there is now a relationship between the video-sharing site and a major Hollywood player. Lionsgate is of course looking to Break for the provision of fresh talent.
TubeBattle is more community-driven in its video rating system. This process relies on the community to find the best clips out there, which the rest of us can vote on. Similar to bix, contests can be created and voted upon. TubeBattle has a lot of set categories for videos, though, expanding beyond lip sync showdowns.
Ziddio probably has the most in common with the new Crackle. With its parent company Comcast, there's a direct connection between the cable provider and the purpose of launching a user-generated video site. The hope is to find new talent that will be good enough to feature on cable programming. This keeps a good amount of premium content on the site, which has several sharing and community features as well.
GoChongo isn't strictly a video site, but it's taken the approach of letting users create content for the purpose of the community voting the best clips to the forefront and promoting the most talented content creators. Without significant capital and a lack of a large, traditional media company backing the site, GoChongo may have more difficulty getting you a production deal with a Hollywood studio, but you can get cash for the top clips.
Rate My Dance Moves may not get you on television (not even one of those American Idol Knock-offs) but it's definitely an entertaining site. A hot-or-not for dance videos, amateur and otherwise, the site offers clips that can be rated on a scale of 1-10. Filter videos by which ones have been voted the best and the worst, recently added, or commented on.
DareJunkies' model is based on its ability to offer cash prizes for the best "Jackass-style" videos that are submitted. With some prizes reaching $5,000, the incentive to upload your video is strong. Keep in mind the name of the site, though. You'll have to act like a Jackass to get your content considered as contest material. And at the time of writing, the site is temporarily unavailable, in preparation of the bigger, better and faster site the team apparently has in store.
Votigo is another site that isn't strictly videos, but has a section dedicated to the creation and promotion of video contests. Users make their own video contests, such as "Sweetest '80s Music Videos" with a stream of videos that voters will view. As you watch the clips, you can vote to Leave It or Love It, and toggle through to the previous and next clips. Entire contests can also be embedded in other websites.
