Zeus of the ‘NetReviews of the Coolest Sites on the Net

As more and more TV shows, movies, and original content become available online, it’s going to be increasing harder to find the programming you’re looking for.  Which is why I think in 2-3 years time (when the majority of LCD TVs become internet capable) Clicker.com is going to be huge.  They are positioning themselves to be the directory/search engine for all online video programming.  So as people start watching online programming on their internet capable TVs (possible even in 3D), they are going to want to be able to quickly find what it is that they want to watch (directory).  And if they’re not sure exactly the program but say want to watch something funny, they are going to want to be shown a list of relevant options (search engine).  This is the future need that Clicker is already addressing, today.

Judging from the management team (the CEO is former Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone) and its VC backing, this site has the potential to become a huge online brand and resource.  Personally I think online programming (movies, TV shows, user generated content, as well as original programming) is going expand and grow exponentially in the coming years.  But make no mistake; the reach of the internet into every aspect of our lives is an inevitable evolution that will bring about opportunity for an unprecedented shift in power, from the few to the many.  The game is changing from the old-school push model, to the 21st century pull model, where people engage in and watch whatever they want, whenever they want.  Clicker has aligned themselves to make that transition easier.  Evolution.  It’s a beautiful thing.

I know I’m a little behind on blogging about this site, but I thought I would still share it for those who might not have heard yet.  Launched last month on Dec. 8th Vevo.com is a website that’s dedicated entirely to music videos.  So instead of having to search through hundreds or even thousands of duplicate videos on YouTube, with Vevo there is only one result for each music video from that particular artist.

I definitely like the look of the website, and also the fact that there is only one result per video per artist.  The search filter features are nice as well, and make finding a particular video very easy.  All in all I think this site is going to carve out a pretty nice little niche for itself.  So after checking out this site the next time you want to watch a music video which site would you go to, YouTube or Vevo?

This site definitely fits the category of a cool website. Now it doesn’t hurt either that I’m a big trance/house/dance fan (which is what the two default videos and playlists are set to). However this site, called Ibizaah! (a fitting name) would still be cool even without those default settings just because of its simplicity. The sites creator Miguel Hernandez said he created the site because he “was annoyed at having to switch between windows when trying to keep the music going at a party.” Problem solved.

Ibizaah not only plays trance and house music but using the ‘Search Videos…’ will play any music video on YouTube. So say you wanted a Pop music mix you could have Beyonce and Shakira’s ‘Beautiful Liar’ on the left and Britney Spears ‘Toxic’ on the right playing simultaneously. How cool is that.

Did I forget to mention this site is free? Yeah it’s completely free to use. So next time you’re throwing a party at your pad, impress your friends and be your own deejay!

Full length documentary films have been around just as long as movies themselves have, but it wasn’t until more recently that they started to enjoy some of the same attention that mainstreams movies have enjoyed all along.  This of course changed with several documentaries such as Super Size Me, Bowling for Columbine, and An Inconvenient Truth.  For people out there who enjoy watching documentaries, Topdocumentaryfilms.com is a really cool site that lets you search for and watch over 695 documentaries.  The full length documentaries are embedded from various video sites (such as Google Video, YouTube, etc) and can be viewed on the site itself, or for better viewing, videos can be viewed on full screen mode as well.

If you know the name of the documentary you want to watch you can easily find it by typing it into the search bar in the upper right hand side.  You will then be taken to a results page where the first result will take you to the page where you can then view the full length video.  If you don’t have a particular documentary in mind you also have the option of choosing from any one of the over 20 different categories listed along the right hand side.  If you would like a more narrowed down list, just to the left of ‘Documentary Categories’ is ‘Most Commented Docs’.  This lists the documentaries on the site that have received the most comments from other users.

I really enjoy watching documentaries, so if you enjoy documentaries films as much as I do then you should definitely pay a visit to Topdocumentaryfilms.com.

If you love watching animals doing funny or silly things, or crazy tricks, this YouTube-esque site is the place to go.  Showing only pet videos, PetTube has something for all of the pet lovers of the world.  The site is pretty self-explanatory with the various categories running along the top.  Some of the Sub Categories include ‘Most Recent’, ‘Most Viewed’, and ‘Top Rated’.  This site is unique compared to the many other video sites out there on the web in that they host all of the videos themselves (just like YouTube).  So since people love their pets I thought this would be a nice niche site to share where you can not only watch funny videos but can let your own little scruffy indulge in his fifteen minutes too.

If you’ve ever wanted to create your own cool slideshow of say vacation, birthday, or Christmas party pictures, then Animoto.com is the site for you.  In fact, it’s the site for just about everyone with a digital camera and an Internet connection.  There’s a lot of hype surrounding Animoto these days, which can be daunting for any company but especially so for a web start up.  However this site lives up to it and then some.

For absolutely free, yes that’s right free (once you try it out you’ll be as amazed as I was that it’s free) users can create their own 30-second video, complete with music and everything.  After creating an account, users can then upload pictures (approximately 12-20 for a 30-second video), and can then re-arrange them in the order that they want.  After the order is selected, music for the video can either be upload or chosen from the library of songs on the site.  Next a title and description can be written for the video, and then finally Animoto takes over and does the rest.  A 30-second video takes about 2-3 minutes to be created, and once it’s finished just sit back and enjoy.

Videos can be emailed, downloaded, embedded, or uploaded to YouTube.  Because what would be the point of creating something as cool as your own video slideshow, if you couldn’t share it/show it off to your friends and family?  Well with Animoto you won’t have to worry, because now you can share your pictures in a very cool and unique way.  Bye Bye Boring Slideshow.  Hello Animoto.

With so many websites out there on the ‘net today sometimes it’s difficult to find cool websites that cover topics and fall into categories that you’re interested in (which is probably why your reading this blog!).  That’s where StumbleUpon can help out.  Users fill out a quick info page, selecting which categories they are interested in, i.e. music and movies, art and history, sports, etc., and then download a toolbar where they can then ‘Stumble’ through the internet.

Using the toolbar, users can randomly surf the internet by clicking on the Stumble icon.  Websites are chosen at random using the categories previously selected, (filled out in the initial info page) which are then pulled from the pool of sites given a thumbs up by fellow Stumble users (a thumbs up is given to websites that users think are interesting, and that other Stumblers would like).

From the toolbar users also have the ability to share a website with friends, read reviews of the website that were left by fellow Stumblers, along with other advanced options, including the ability to Stumble only certain categories like music or sports for example.  With so many cool features, StumbleUpon’s toolbar is one of the few that’s definitely worth downloading!

Imagine combining all of your photo albums, scrapbooks, home videos, and correspondence all in one easy to access spot.  Well imagine no longer.  Lifesnapz.com is a free to use site that lets its users chronicle the events of their lives, and share those events with the people closest to them.  Users of the site fall into one of three categories: Group Founder, Full Member, or Read-Only Member.  The difference between them being Group Founder’s and Full Member’s have full editing and invitation privileges, while Read-Only Members can only view events and add comments.

Members, who have the privileges to, can add photos which can be uploaded from photo sharing websites flickr.com or picasa.com, and videos which can be uploaded either from youtube.com or vimeo.com.  This site has many cool features, but the coolest is probably the timeline (see example below).  This feature is an excellent way of visually looking at events in chronological order, which makes finding specific events much easier.  There is also a zoom filter option which let’s group members search for events by a certain increment of time (i.e. 1 month, 6 months, 10 years, etc.), to be able to narrow down their searches even further.

With the ability to have a virtual history of your life’s events available to view and share with family, and friends, LifeSnapz.com has hit upon something unique that could someday propel them to become a very popular social website.

If you never thought it was possible, Hulu.com is out to prove you wrong. With hundreds of commercial free TV shows from networks such as NBC and Comedy Central, as well as hundreds of full length movies, Hulu is set to challenge YouTube’s reign as online video king.

A very modern looking and easy to use site, Hulu was launched in March 2008 as a joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp. That backing gives the site a competitive advantage over most other online video sites that have run into legal issues by displaying copyrighted material. Hulu shows uninterrupted ad-supported programs including such TV shows as Saturday Night Live, and Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.

There are also thousands of movie titles to choose from on Hulu, although only about 200 or so full length movies to date, which include such box office hits as: Men in Black, Jerry Maguire, and The Fifth Element, to more recent hits like, Underworld: Evolution and When a Stranger Calls. The only caveat being, before you can watch any movie, you have to first create an account (which takes all of about 5 seconds).

This free to use site is poised for rapid growth and is sure to be bookmarked by the thousands (although hulu.com is pretty easy to remember). Hulu is just one more option that brings us a step closer towards the inevitable decline of cable and satellite TV. With Hulu leading the way, the future of watching TV shows, movies, and video clips online looks much brighter.