Social Media: Video Players

Video on the web is not a new phenomenon, nor is the hype around the impact that video will have. But we are now starting to see how video can play a role in social media. As my colleagues Kirk and Patrick like to point out, social media is more than just Facebook and Twitter. Social media is information designed to be disseminated by interaction. With that in mind, web-based video players are starting to enter the social arena. Here are some players with social features that I have interacted with recently. This is not meant to be exhaustive but provides an overview of players I know about.

Video sharing sites have been around for a number of years now. The point of entities such as YouTube and Vimeo is to provide media creators with a broadcasting platform. It should not surprise anyone that these sharing sites have included easy embed and linking options. YouTube has been working for some time to keep their basic video technology relevant by unveiling HD quality, iPhone friendliness, and even 3D. More relevant to the current discussion is YouTube’s features of friend suggestions, commenting, channels and syndication. YouTube continues to understand the social aspects of self-publishing and adapts accordingly.

Recently however, more mainstream media companies have joined the social video party.

One of my favorite video sites today is South Park Studios. Actually, I have a funny relationship with the South Park crew. I really liked the show as a kid, but I feel a bit old for it now (even though I have a lot of friends who are still rabid fans.) What I really like about the South Park video site is the way they handle their media and the interaction between content and visitors. You can watch full episodes, which can be shared via social networking sites or via links to the episode’s player. Additionally, the site features lots of clips of episodes that can be embedded to your own site, such as this fairly safe for work (FSFW) segment that recaps the 2009 Western Conference Finals between the Blackhawks and the Red Wings.

Having recently started a sports related tumblelog (or micro-blog, if you prefer) I have been checking out ESPN’s online video content more frequently. I was surprised to see how feature rich the new player is. You can embed a video to your own site or grab links. The player also includes related videos (some of the relations can be a stretch, but our team knows how hard it is to build these recommendations automatically without have lots of content to choose from), email the video to a friend from the player itself or rate it. Here is a recap of the end of the Michigan vs. Notre Dame game from a couple of weeks ago:

ESPN360 provides access to tons of live events and replays (if your internet provider and the worldwide leader are in bed together). There are no sharing options currently, but the player window does include a chat feature if you are so inclined to ruin your spectating experience by flaming your opponent’s fans.

Hulu is YouTube for mainstream media. I was certainly skeptical when I first heard about the concept, but have been fairly surprised how far the site has come and how much content it contains. I read this morning that Comcast is interested in a stake in NBC/Universal, which owns a major chunk of Hulu. If that occurs I am sure Hulu will become more comcastic, at which point I will probably retract every nice thing I am about to say.

If you interact with the embedded Hulu player above, you see a plethora of sharing and embed options. But my favorite feature of this player is being able to select in and out points to share. This allows snarky individuals like myself to select exact sound bites to present out of context.

NBC.com’s video player allows numerous ways to drive your friends back to their own site, but no embed option. Interestingly, NBCSports.com video is powered by Hulu, so you can take advantage of it’s features for, um, Notre Dame home football? Okay, so I guess it’s not really that interesting.

I am sure there are plenty of other great social features built into video players today, so chime in with any I missed. I hope our Art Director, Patrick, will jump in soon with an article that discuss his process for designing the video players for ABANow.org or the forth coming Manning re-launch. I am sure Senior Developer Curtis has an interesting take on trying to execute Patrick’s visions as well. As for me, I am kind of excited about native browser support of open video in the latest iterations of FireFox, Google’s Chrome and Opera. Expect a post from me shortly about this.