Why indexing the long tail doomed video sites

Bambi Francisco Roizen · September 3, 2010 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/1117

Founder and CEO Roman Arzhintar on how video evolved from indexing to curating

A number of video search engines emerged in 2005-2006, only to find themselves struggling to survive, or consolidated away. You can refer to these video startups as part of the YouTube era of video. But one startup, SideReel, which raised $1.5 million in angel funding since it launched in 2007, continues to deliver impressinve growth on its own.

In this interview with Roman Arzhintar, founder and CEO of SideReel, talks about the evolution of the video search engines and why some failed and others survived, and where SideReel differed. Starting five years ago, a number of sites helping to organize or index video emerged - from Guba, Grouper, Veoh, MetaCafa, Daily Motion, ClipBlast, Pixsy, Blinkx and Truveo, just to name a few. 

Many of these search engines focused on indexing every video, said Roman. "They were focused on the long tail," he said. Remember when that the "long tail" was the word du jour?

So, essentially many services spent more time indexing and less time organizing, he explained. For SideReel, the focus was always on high-quality video and the curation of it. SideReel's focus at the start and today has been to give users the best place to find their favorite TV shows. It's only more recently that SideReel is indexing Web originals, including its own productions.

Watch the rest of my interview with Roman, as he explains SideReel's demographic and how he differs from competitor Clicker.

 
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Bambi Francisco Roizen

Founder and CEO of Vator, a media and research firm for entrepreneurs and investors; Managing Director of Vator Health Fund; Co-Founder of Invent Health; Author and award-winning journalist.

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SideReel, a division of Rovi

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Joined Vator on

SideReel makes it easy to track shows you've watched and want to watch, get new episodes as soon as they become available, and share your favorite shows with friends. Get over 24,000 shows, 530,000 episodes and the latest community news, reviews and gossip in one place. If it's online, it's on SideReel.

Clicker

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Joined Vator on

Clicker is the complete guide to Internet Television. From television shows, to movies, to web originals and music videos, Clicker makes it easy for you to find the right show, right now.