If you've ever wanted to send a personalized e-video card to someone, Rattlebox is for you.
The site lets you browse a variety of videos based on categories such as Birthdays, Holidays, Thanks, Sorry, Feel Better, and Most Popular. When you find one you want to send, you enter your email address, your personalized message in selected spots throughout the short video, and the recipient's contact information.
It isn't very difficult, if you care to do it. But for those of us who share things through email, instant messaging, or word of mouth and use Facebook or more traditional methods for conveying our thoughts, it seems like a bit of a joke. Although, the company might gain more traction if they provided links to each video for us impatient users seeking entertainment. Right now the only way to view the videos is to go through the tedious process of entering your information in their database.
It's hard to believe the idea was started by television producers and angel funded. While the website is designed fairly well, the concept, in my opinion, shows a misunderstanding of how most people use the internet.
Further, the co-CEO Nancy Miller says that the business model will rely on advertising, and that profitability can be achieved if it gets around 2 million unique visitors per month. If this is so, I expect Rattlebox to be shuttered in the coming months. JibJab, the primary competitor, which also lets users watch funny videos, receives under 2 million visitors per month, in my estimate from Alexa rankings.
The stock footage the company uses to create these professional video clips does not appear to be better, overall, than that found on YouTube or other video services uploaded by users. YouTube has implemented an e-card feature for the holidays as well, but Miller says YouTube is inferior due to its inability to add a personalized message throughout the video.
Good luck to all and Happy Holidays...but you won't get a Rattlebox e-video card from me.
