December 7th, 2006
Revver revamped
Online video site Revver has been significantly updated to give users better tools for sharing content, as well as undergoing a much needed redesign which makes it easier to find the newest and "best" videos on the site. Revver differentiates itself from other online video offerings (including the market leader YouTube) by sharing ad-revenue with those who upload their work, along with any users who help distribute Revver content elsewhere on the web.
Much of the revamp is about making Revver more viral. When viewing a video users are now given the option to submit it to any of the major social bookmarking sites such as Digg, Delicious etc, or to 'grab the code' for embedding into MySpace et al. However, my favorite new feature is the ability for users to create their own channel based on a collection of videos, and then build a customized widget to displays those videos on their blog or social network profile. Then anytime the channel is updated, the widget dynamically updates too.
Summary
The redesign not only looks great but the site is now much easier to use. The option to add a video to a number of social bookmarking sites is far from innovative but it's applied well, as is the 'grab the code' feature - though again, all standard stuff. It's the customizable and dynamically updating widget that takes it up a notch, completing a set of tools to give Revver the viral features it's long deserved.
If you are a company about to launch an exciting new social web service or product and would like me to take a look, get in touch.
Steve O'Hear is a London-based consultant, educator, and journalist, focussing on the Internet and all aspects of digital technology. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
