Disclaimer: I am about to be very harsh and critical about 3 new video sharing services in South Africa. I fully support the websites mentioned below and wish them all the best.
The last few months have seen the rise of 3 new video sharing services in South Africa. Zoopy, MyVideo and TWAC. Zoopy claims to be the first in South Africa. This is backed up by their domain registration date, which is 05 Feb 2005, yet they only decided on a name in September 2006. However their first video dates back to only 23 days ago and yet they also claim to have gone live yesterday. MyVideo’s first video dates back 76 days ago and claimed to go live in January 2007. So lets settle this with quick math.. YouTube was first.
Zoopy
The Good Side:
-
Design and Layout
This impresses me the most about Zoopy. The colour scheme is really good and soft on the eyes. -
Lots of Videos
So far they have the most amount of videos available to viewers, with +- 260 videos. -
Photo Sharing
Now this is some clever innovation. Combining video sharing and photo sharing. This really going to be something to keep an eye on.
The Bad Side:
-
Photo Sharing, Not Really Sharing
They allow you to embed a video on another site yet they do not provide code to embed a photo on another site. All they provide is code for a link to photo page. Photo sharing is not sharing unless you can display the content somewhere else. -
Comments Are Not AJAX
This really needs to be looked into as well. I have commented many times on YouTube while watching a video but on Zoopy I was half way through the video when I commented and the page reloaded. Not cool, use AJAX for comments. -
Video Player Could Look Better
The video player really didn’t impress me. It looks like some old version of Windows Media Player.
Screenshots of Zoopy:
MyVideo
The Good Side:
-
Design and Layout
It’s not a bad layout or design, nothing spectacular about it, but it does the job. -
AJAX Comments
Yay! Comments are handled with AJAX.
The Bad Side:
-
Too Much YouTube
I can’t seem to find anything unique that this site offers that YouTube doesn’t.
Screenshots of MyVideo:
TWAC
The Good Side:
-
Design and Layout
I like the layout of this site. It breaks away from the YouTube feel. -
Encourages Local Content
TWAC has a strong focus on facilitating quality UGC. We have established 16 unique TWAC PLAC clubs at schools in Johannesburg and Cape Town with learner populations ranging between 800 and 1600 students. By the end of 2007, 64 schools will be part of the program. Read More.
The Bad Side:
-
Video Player Too Small
The video player is really too small. They should look at making it a bit bigger. -
Registration Mistake
I did not register on TWAC because they wanted my cellphone number, for what may I ask? -
Not Enough Content
They really need to find more ways to increase their user generated content section, it is far behind Zoopy and MyVideo.
Screenshots of TWAC:
I wish all three services the best of luck.
Tags: Social Media, video, web 2.0
Hi Tyler!
First off, congrats on a superb article. I think you approached this with level head – it’s unbiased, constructive and fair. Not to mention fast, considering you only dropped by today
Then, to answer some of the points you raised above:
1. Though it doesn’t really matter who was first at any of this, Zoopy has always been South Africa’s first ‘video AND photo sharing social network’. We still are, no one else this here.
2. We went through a bunch of names before decided on Zoopy. You know how it is trying to pick just one. But though the name was finalised later, we were working on the site, functionality and early beta testing during the last few months of last year on a ‘no name’ brand, on a ‘no name’ test server.
3. The videos and members on the site are definitely not indicative of the full history of our site. We’ve gone through hundreds more of both but these were deleted before moving from ‘closed beta’ to ‘live beta’. And ‘live beta’ is the date we referred to when saying we ‘went live’. The site was fully functional, but not public, until yesterday.
4. Your comments are valid and VERY welcome, especially the complimentary ones
The photo sharing urls will be changed to direct photo links (to be honest we’ve been consumed by tackling video technology and getting it just right) within the next day – and ajax comments will be integrated ASAP. As for our player, this went down well with testers and focus groups across all ages – it was simple, easy to understand and very popular with its full-screen functionality amongst the 18-30 age group. Try watching one of the trailers in full-screen mode …. it’s fun 
With all of that said, I assure you that this is just the beginning of the beginning. Zoopy V2 is already half way through production (we’re perfectionists!) and will include better use of space and some very exciting (we think) functionality to enhance the member experience all-round.
Please watch your inbox. And I’ll watch mine, if you have any more ideas or comments. You know where to reach me!
Thanks
Jason
Zoopy HQ
Great review on an increasingly competitive space Tyler:)
Very impressed by the post!! Great review. You beat me to this review. Although I doubt I would have been as unbiased as you as I know a few people involved in the sites!!
I am really surprised at how competitive this market has become all of a sardine!
Jason: Thank you for your comment and kind words. In reply the points in your comment.
1. Very fair and very true, you are S.A.’s first ‘video and photo sharing social network’. It’s great to see the two combined.
2. Nothing wrong with the name. I know what it’s like trying to find something catchy.
3. Fair enough. Glad to see there is still content though, nothing worse than a site with no or little content.
4. I am glad you took the time to consider my comments. Nothing better than seeing a site that listens to its users. That being said it is also very impressive to see you did all the market research within the different age groups.
I will be keeping an eye on Zoopy.. a very keen one.
Dave: You made my day!
Nic: It is so hard being unbiased. That is why I edited this post about 10 times to make sure it was. Yes, this market is becoming very competitive, it’s dog eat dog as the internet usage in South Africa is not as big in the USA or Europe and Asia.
All of a Sardine this is turning out to be much fun. Great reveiw Tyler.
Hi Tyler,
Thank you for the comments and constructive criticism. MyVideo is continually developing exciting new features and improvements. We’ll keep you posted
Rafiq: Thanks
Tristan: Thank you for commenting and I am sure we will all be watching. I will also be keeping a keen eye on MyVideo.
so how about some real life networking one of these days – i believe u owe me a virgin cocktail!
Carls, I’ll be at the 27 Dinner this month..
Update on fixes Tyler (and all):
- all photo URLs now include links directly to the photo, not the photo page
- all comments are now run in Ajax and submit and display immediately
Told you we like listening
Keep ‘em coming …
Published on IOL, nice one bruv!
Jason: Nice to see Zoopy live. I uploaded a photo (link) on Monday and left a comment, don’t know if you saw it. Basically it would be nice if the full-size photo could be viewed as well. Also you might want to improve the ‘s of individual photo pages for better SEO. Good luck
Sorry that was “…improve the page title’s of…”
Jason: I am very glad to see you made the changes and in records time too. Nice work!
coda: Thanks
hey Tyler
saw the review on IOL. great work. I didn’t even know two of the sites existed. if nothing else they’ll get some great exposure now.
PS the link to the MyVideo site points to a .com site.
I assume it’s meant to be .co.za
bigric: Thanks for your comment
oops, I fixed it. 
This is a great review Tyler. Very, very well done!
Let me be the flamer then: Why are we making clones? If I said it before I’ll say it again…
I’m going to bring out CapeTownVideo.co.za. Or maybe KloofStreetPics.za.net.
I’ll probably use this site to make the clone.
I’d like to know from the different companies, what are your exit strategies? Do you plan on being bought out? Do you want to go it alone? Couple with another firm? Get some of the venture capital floating around in SA?
Uno: Thanks a lot.
To comment on what you have said about cloning.
Yes I agree we are cloning some services offered out there, but let’s step back and look at it from another angle. South Africa has a small internet user base, only around 7 – 10% of our population is active on the internet. Having our own “YouTube”, “Google” or “MySpace” is to keep the content relevant to South Africans, hence South African search engines. South Africans produce little content on the web compared to the rest of the world, which means it gets lost quicker in the constant flow of changing content. So when we have something that allows only South Africans to publish their content we should really make use of it, “local is lekker” to be cliche, even if we are cloning something.
Hey Tyler
Great review. I agree with you for the most part. I like Zoopy, it looks like it could be a great local YouTube alternative. On the otherhand the paid content service on TWAC appeals to me. It gives local artists a great opportunity to earn some money from their work. It is a bit like Google Video.
I wonder if there is space to really innovate beyond the YouTube/Google Video model? Ultimately each of these services provides a fairly similar service to each of these sites.
coda: Thanks man – and welcome
I saw your pic and your comments and we’ve got them all on the list! Re photo uploading, we’re making some really quick fixes at the mo, but new photo management will roll out in next 3 weeks – watch this space!
Tyler: You’re FAMOUS
We should set up a road show and hit the Bloemfontein trail *lol*
Uno: Agree with Tyler’s response to your point about cloning. There’s great value in ring-fencing content that interests South Africans. Wrote a bit about this in yesterday’s blog.
Chili Paul: Thanks for visiting! Hope you’ll join and send us your thoughts
Jason: LOL!
great review
SAClips The real thing , a no nonsense video site with solely South African videos.