Seesmic, yet another video-sharing site that encourages quick, conversational clips that can be recorded and replied to, is opening up for public use, with the waiting period for membership requests down to less than a day. It has also unveiled the names of some high-profile backers — even as it gets slammed by critics (here and here, for example).
Seesmic has been dubbed the “Twitter of video,” for the short snippets of video people post of themselves talking about whatever is on their mind. Others can just skim the videos, or reply to the messages they see, creating back-and-forth conversations.
The criticism is that video snippets aren’t as effective as text snippets. Unscripted recordings can be quite boring, and while short messages work with text (as Twitter has shown), videos aren’t as easily consumable. Other companies have tried, and failed, to do so-called “video mail” before. It’s a simple idea, and so if it were viable, it may have already existed.
However, there’s one problem with these criticisms: The service seems to be catching on with its initial base of users. Our own test of a short, silly recording elicited a half-dozen replies from around the world within an hour. The 1,500-plus alpha-test users pump out a steady stream of videos, which Seesmic edits to produce a daily show. (Although posting is limited to members, anyone can watch videos, by going here.)
With that in mind, we think it’s worth talking about how Seesmic could develop — and start to make money — when it opens fully.
One reason Seesmic may be successful is because it is offering clear guidance: Make it short and digestible. So people have an idea of what to record before they start. However, as more people pile on, the stream of new “conversations” will become daunting and confusing to newcomers. Seesmic is already addressing this by employing video editors to pick through the day’s videos and splice together the best parts. These “shows” can be catchy, if sometimes also odd and amateurish.
In the future, founder Loic le Meur told us, there will be tagged “trees” with different conversational branches. Seesmic would shuffle new videos into certain categories so that, for example, if you were into knitting, you could quickly find your way to videos of people talking about knitting, or actually knitting on camera.
Because users quickly accumulate a group of friends once they’re online, more features will go in to help channel your attention, like a daily, automatic “show” consisting of your closest friends’ video updates for the day. Popular videos by users that you don’t know will come to light separately through the daily Seesmic shows, or in the conversational branches.
New features Seesmic adds come solely from user requests, according to Le Meur.
To monetize, the site has several ideas, including a Flickr-like subscription model with additional features, sponsorships, and charging for mobile versions that send videos to your phone. However, like a number of other services (including Twitter), Seesmic is most interested in building a firm user base first.
The investor list is mostly comprised of high-profile angel investors. Among them are Ron Conway, VC Jeff Clavier, former AOL CEO Steve Case, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and TechCrunch maestro Mike Arrington (who has also given it plenty of coverage).
Despite the numerous video companies already launched, some investors continue to pine after video. Ron Conway, for example, has sprayed money at video companies, saying he still believes video represents a strong trend.
The remainder of the investor list: Jeff Pulver of Pulver.com, Martin Varsavsky of FON, Michael Parekh, Ariel Poler, Dan Gillmor, Steve Garfield, and Mark Pincus. The San Francisco company launched about four months ago.
Tags: co:seesmic, deal, People, people:Ron-Conway9 Comments
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jim mcdovet said:
come on this is a suck up post to the insiders in SV. Just say it this product sucks and has no hope.
Matt: your site sucks now. Bloggers can’t be objective and run a business.
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Chris Morrison said:
Jim: Matt didn’t write this post, I did.
Here’s the idea. Seesmic has been attacked, a lot. We provided the reasons. The videos are boring, etc.
But some of its initial users really like it. If Seesmic ends up being a success, not having ever written about it because it of (fill in the blank) criticism, or having slammed it as well, doesn’t make us objective. It would only make us short-sighted.
That’s why I’m trying to present two sides, above. Try re-reading without a subjective slant of your own. It might help.
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415 = Lame said:
I appreciate you presenting both sides but even with Twitter, the reality is that outside of a very small group of people who tend to orgasm over every new product that emerges, most people outside of the 415 and 650 really don’t care. This kind of stuff is just competing for the attention of the same 20,000 people who are:
a) Under 35
b) Not gainfully employed
c) Not actual entrepreneuers
d) Don’t spend money except on food, rent, and Apple productsThat’s not a particularly attractive market since Apple doesn’t need to market to them, they need their massively overpriced loft in The Castro, and they drink the same crappy soy milk latte everyday anyway.
What’s the market for people who have obvious buying habits and don’t spend money on anything else including the service you’re getting them to use?
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John said:
Chris,
I thought it was well written. Presented both sides of the story. Jim comment #1 makes a good point about this venture having alot of high profile people. I would add thought that for a company that has been in the open to do a press release seems weird.Covering it doesn’t do venturebeat any favors. If you guys were so connected why now just write about it. This funding was done months ago.
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Jeff said:
Have you ever watched Seesmic “conversations”. Very very very boring! It is the same set of 40-50 people generating boring video “conversations” .
Bloggers simply are hyping (and even spamming) Seesmic for their self promotions.
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Albert said:
Check out the new launched twitxr.com, it’s twitter+pictures+geolocation
We have a native iPhone client available on the official repositories from Installer.App (it’s under Network category)
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Chris Morrison said:
John: We’ve mentioned Seesmic before. I think having had it around for a while helps give some initial perspective. It’s easy to forget that this company is only four months old.
To some of the other comments: Seesmic is interesting to compare to Twitter because they both seem to appeal to a somewhat similar crowd. To be honest, that crowd doesn’t include me, or a lot of other people. That’s not the point, though, and to be honest again, having a personal, burning hatred for a particular site and spewing reactionary comments anytime its name is mentioned is worthless. The point is, the sites do seem to appeal to some people, perhaps even enough people to make for a real business. In my view, it’s not proven, and cannot yet be proven, whether there is a large enough userbase in the future.
If you’re against Seesmic, though, Twitter is becoming a bad example to use. The commenter “415=Lame” says, “Most people outside of the 415 and 650 really don’t care.” True, but there is a small but growing number that is using Twitter outside the Bay Area. Again, it’s not a proven business, by a stretch. But Twitter, at least, looks a lot less ridiculous now than when it launched. And the echo chamber works for everyone — if Joe Farmer in Illinois doesn’t hear one side of the Bay Area praising a new site, he also doesn’t hear the other side screaming bloody murder every time its name comes up, and doesn’t care. If there’s some use for it, he’ll use it, or listen to someone besides a blog (or blog commenter).
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Ivan Pope said:
Seesmic = strangely addictive
It’s early days, quirks to be ironed out, lessons to be learned. But the thing is addictive for no clear reason. Oh, and fun. More fun than Twitter. Which, btw, is used all around the world, not just in CA. Time will tell of course, as with all things. -
Nicolas said:
One more time, investors will lost money with Le Meur.. Funny .. Investors didn’t look @ Lemeur’s past ?
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