You know the story. The Israelites face off against the Philistines. For 40 days, Goliath, champion of the Philistines, challenges the Israelites to send out a warrior to decide the outcome of the battle in single combat.  But no Israelite has the balls to step out.

Goliath is HUGE. The Israelites are peeing themselves.

Lo, David, an Israelite boy, accepts the challenge.  Afraid, he is not. Goliath laughs a deep laugh. How could a boy do anything to defeat him? Well…

How a Boy Whips a 9 Foot Giant.

Youtube’s Rental Service Launch

These are the facts. Youtube is Goliath. It is a free video service. They have nearly 100,000,000 unique visitors per month. They recently entered the online video rental business offering 5 indie film rentals for $3.99 each.

They advertised on their homepage. They received a lot of eyeballs. They advertised at Sundance. They spent a lot of money.  And they received press, hype and coverage in major media outlets. A lot of people still read the New York Times. All this and they netted a whopping $10,709.16. That’s less than a .003% conversion rate.  FAIL.

But Goliath sees no such failure. And why should he? His armor is strong. He is mighty. Chris Dale, a Youtube Rep, was quoted saying this about the launch, “It definitely exceeded our expectations given all the barriers.” With all due respect Chris, you are Goliath. Those sound like really low expectations or a PILE of BS. Which one is it?

Compare and Contrast

This is a battle to build you the best open video platform. You deserve something incredible, not a load of BS. So here’s the breakdown.

Userbase

• Youtube has more than 455mm users. Youtube was sold to Google for 1.65 Billion. Youtube is a Giant.
• Vidli has a couple thousand beta testers. Vidli team members are working for free. Vidli is a Boy.

Product

• Youtube only offers a “buy now” rental. Youtube tells you how long you get to rent the video. The Youtube UI is old (2005/6 to be exact) -  from preview, to purchase to viewing.
• Vidli offers an open platform where videos can be rented (or purchased) based on customized licensing criteria. You have control of everything, including distribution.  We are obsessed with building a UI that is intuitive and fun for buying, renting or selling videos.

Youtube User- “The [Youtube] UI is poor. No trailer up before the movie to help you decide if you want to buy it. Then you pay $3.99 and you only get it for 48 hours. Stupid – I would expect a lot more flexibility. “Rental” feels like the wrong model in UI like this” (Source)

Dan Rayburn -  “Licensing premium content is only going to make Youtube lose even more money, not less” (Source)

Youtube Rentals vs Vidli Licensing

Price

• Youtube rentals are listed at $3.99 and $1.99. Youtube sets the price for you. You have no control.
• Vidli is an open pricing model where everything is wholesale. We don’t own any content. YOU set your own prices and customize your licenses. It could be pennies or boatloads depending on what you want to charge. You have control.

Karen – At $3.99 a piece to watch hunched over my computer? Gee, I wonder why it failed?? I’m aghast.

Market

• Youtube rentals are available in the U.S only. Sorry world. Youtube’s definition of “open video” must mean you need to live in the US.
• Vidli helps anyone buy, sell and rent videos. It’s that simple. Open video means everyone, everywhere.

Brand

• Youtube is a free video service to broadcast yourself. Let’ be real. Google wants Youtube to make more money, lots more money. Changing their model and brand is like watching an uncoordinated giant  do ballet or an ocean liner try to turn around midstream in a river. It doesn’t work.
• Vidli is a free service to help people buy, sell and rent videos. We are the official video licensor.  Our avatar is the world’s most lovable bird, the Blue-footed Booby. The Vidli brand aims to address the market and product in ways Youtube can’t.  We’re a speedboat in an ocean of opportunity.

Youtube User – I thought the purpose of youtube was to watch videos for free. (Source)

Youtube User – Youtube is seriously [sic] selling out (Source)

Our Launch Roadmap

1) Public Alpha  – Public is able to see front end of Vidli.com and beta videos, add videos to their shopping cart and request an invite.

2) Private Beta  – Select invitees get access to the site to upload videos and prep them for license.

3) Public Beta- Select invitees get granted access to complete their purchase, create players and watch videos.

4) Public Launch – Everyone gets access. The doors swing open and Vidli is rockin’ and rollin.’

Let’s Get Er’ Done Boobies

We want to help you by building the best possible open video licensing platform. Here’s where we stand.

Vidli just launched in Public Alpha. You can access the front-end of the website, but the Blue-footed Boobies are still working behind the curtain. When you sign up in Public Alpha, you’ll be emailed an invite over the coming weeks for the Private Beta Launch. We’re only letting people trickle in so we  can be sure to collect the best possible feedback. If it takes awhile to get your invite we apologize, we’re cranking away as fast as possible.

What’s Available Now

1) Sign Up for an Invite. We’ll be emailing invites as soon as they become available.

2) Throw us some Feedback. It all helps.  Like the design? Something need improved?  Totally new business  model? Let it rip.

3) Get More Info About Something.

• How do I get my videos on Vidli for launch?
• I’m a media person.
• Feature Requests. Twitter. Contact Us.

Wow, that was a lot. Thanks for reading. Suppose there’s only one thing left to say…

Boobies ♥ Slingshots.

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