Sprucing Up Google Video – The Unofficial Google Weblog – google.weblogsinc.com Theunofficialgoogleweblog is out with a post on some recent changes made to Google Video: “First, the home page is now sorted by two tabs, Popular asnd Random, each featuring eight videos. Second: each search results page now offers an option to play all the results in sequence. When chosen that feautre opens up a video playlist on the right side of the page. In that sidebar, a related option finds videos that are somehow … well, related to the one you’re watching.
Getting video on the internet is the first step. Helping people find compelling video is the second step. In addition to the human edited blogs that have been poping up highlighting good Google video, having a “popular” video option at the Google site is a good addition.
Ultimately though, much more still needs to be done — including a social networking and ranking of video service (think Digg for video) combined with a more professional blog like service with a decent sized editorial staff not only searching Google Video for content but other areas like Our Media, Open Media, the Internet Archive, and also ultimately the pay services including things like Akimbo and Brightcove.
With multiple internetworks serving up content, the sorting of this content will represent a great new business opportunity for the editors who get it right.
Both Apple, with the strength of their iTunes platform, and Microsoft, with their Media Center Online Spotlight, have the potential to become this service. Apple perhaps has the most to gain as their Media Center platform does not offer anything beyond limited TV downloads thus far.
Of course no one is providing a super compelling service like this now though and perhaps a more nimble Odeo type start up will be the first to market on something like this.