BUSINESS BLOGS
BUSINESS BLOGS
category: business
04 Mar 2008

Almost exactly a year ago, Mojo Supreme and WatchMojo.com were looking at relaunching on a new platform.

After a lot of soul searching and due diligence, we opted to build the content management system using Typo3, a powerful open-source system. We then considered many options for the video player. We looked at Brightcove, Maven and other such closed options… but ultimately we were torn between Video Egg and Blip.tv’s players.

I won’t get into all of the reasons and criteria I went through, but for a few reasons - one of which was nothing other than my gut feeling - I decided to opt for Blip.tv.

It was one of those feelings that to this day I cannot fully explain. Maybe it was based on my interactions with the folks over at Blip.tv… who knows. Of course, within hours of choosing to work with Blip.tv, I knew it was a very wise decision. We’ve worked with them since August 19th, 2007, when we relaunched. Incidentally, at the time, our property (WatchMojo.com) was generating as many streams as our syndication network. Today, our network does 95%+ of our total streams, so yes, in some ways, the property is less important in that sense… but make no mistake about it: our property remains a showroom or storefront… so when people pass by and check us out, we need to put our best face forward.

I could easily say that going with Blip.tv remains one of our better judgment calls. Blip.tv serves videos for many great content producers, but I think that the way we’ve integrated them in both the back end and front end is very unique.

Since I made that call, Video Egg has tried many things and after $32M in funding have decided to drop the video hosting unit to focus on the ad network strategy. Good for them. This post isn’t a knock at Video Egg - I’ve interviewed their CEO, know a couple of their investors - and am sure that we’ll work with them in one capacity or another… what this post is about is a reminder of two things:

- When you build your company, you will face many crossroads, sometimes your gut is the best source to find the answer. Why? Because your gut will consider all of the variables anyway, but it will also allow you to see that some companies don’t really have their heart in a product, service, or segment… and if and when they realize that and get out of the market, you will have to find a replacement, fast.

Which takes us to point two for this blog post:

- If you are using Video Egg and got the following letter look at the glass as half-full. Check out blip.tv and tell then Ash from WatchMojo.com referred you to them (hmm… no, this isn’t an affiliate marketing schtick). This little episode just might prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Here’s the full letter, which I came across on SAI:

Hope this email finds you well.

Our business is changing, and I wanted to send you a personal note to let you know.

On May 31, 2008, we will be shutting down the VideoEgg Publisher and Player service. As such, we will be sending a termination notice to you early next week.

As you know, over the past twelve months, VideoEgg has become a leading video advertising network. We have decided to focus on video and rich media monetization technologies, and therefore are no longer investing in the video platform side of the business. We are trying to consolidate our relationships with profitable large partners and continue our focus on creating higher value ad solutions for brand advertisers.

Please be assured that, until May 31, 2008, all videos uploaded to our servers using the VideoEgg Publisher will be available for playback on your site.

Pursuant to our contract with you, we will provide you with access to your uploaded videos for the next 90 days. If you wish to work with us to allow you to access your videos, please email us at partners@videoegg.com, and we will assign an engineer to work with your team to provide you with access.

Check out WatchMojo.com to see more… or enjoy the following video for some nice eye candy:

And now check out Blip.tv.