Thats Interesting

The review team at odinjobs.com showcases up and coming companies and their products. Who knows one of them may be the next Google.

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Guba, online movies, TVshows, Youtube and more!

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While YouTube is busy battling actual Turks and Business Turks, rival GUBA is making hay. The name Gigantic Usenet Binaries Archive is more complicated than their offerings. GUBA is an online platform much like YouTube, for users to watch, share and upload videos. Not just off beat videos, but full length features and popular TV shows as well, for GUBA runs a download service for just $2.29 per movie and $1.79 per show. GUBA is in fact, quite a firm favorite with movie freaks, given its huge collection of titles in every conceivable category from vintage cartoons to the latest winners.

A CNet review had this to say

“Take the homemade and user-driven sensibilities of a YouTube and add the feature-film pedigree of a Movielink, and you have Guba.com.”

And of course, you can personalize your accounts, get updates through RSS, pod-casts, PSP support and so on…

So what’s GUBA’s edge? Realizing that a computer screen is never going to replace the comfy sofa and a wall mounted giant flatscreen, the company has recently tied up with SanDisk on USBTV, a fantastic and relatively simple tool that will allow users to move content from their computers to their TVs, sealing its entry into homes and its ratings as a marketing tool. On the content side, GUBA has become more popular with independent video producers, who are using the site to host and distribute their content. Hopefully making a difference to the quality of videos on-site!

The commercial aspect is also where GUBA scores, with its affiliate program allowing people to earn through referrals from their blogs or sites. (Hey people, are you listening?) The site also runs paid ads in some cases.

GUBA is an older generation internet company, being founded as early as 1988. It’s quartered in Frisco and is very, very privately held.

GUBA says…

Guba, now that is an interesting name. Sounds like a Star Wars character. Where did it come from?

It started as an acronym for Gigantic Usenet Binaries Archive. As we’ve moved away from content sent through Usenet we’ve just let GUBA stand as another of those slightly odd but memorable 2.0-style company names.

How popular is Guba with independent film makers?

Our premium movie section skews toward major-studio releases such as “The Departed” and “Talladega Nights” but we have deals with a handful of smaller independent producers. Additionally, GUBA’s free user-uploaded area recently has become more popular with independent video producers, who are using the site to host and distribute their content. In February, we co-sponsored the San Francisco Independent Film Festival.

How is Guba superior to YouTube?

We both host user-generated videos, but we allow users to upload files up to 500 MB and we don’t impose a time limit on videos. We were among the first video companies to allow users to make money (we did it through an affiliate program based on how many views users generate) and we run a short ad against some videos to help companies monetize their content.

Users can watch movies & tv shows for very low prices. Tell us more on how that works. Can users download them etc.?

We offer rentals and full ownership. Most of the new movie releases are $2.99 to rent; TV shows are typically $1.79 (they’re only available for full purchase). There is content that’s as inexpensive as $.99 to rent. We’re able to offer titles from major studios because we use copyright protection software developed by Microsoft. Users must be using Windows Media Player and Windows O/S.

Where do you see the trend of watching entire movies & shows on the Internet in the next 3 years compared to TiVo & on-demand tv?

It seems like more and more media will be consumed online, especially as the content available becomes higher in quality. But people will continue to want to sit on their sofas and watch movies and TV shows on their big-screen TVs. That’s why we recently partnered with SanDisk on USBTV, which allows users to easily watch downloaded content on their TVs. There’s more on that here: http://www.blogguba.com/tj/archives/2007/01/post.html

How important are the uses of new technology devices such as ipods and PSP?

There’s always going to be another new gadget media companies must embrace in order to remain competitive. Right now it’s all about the iPod, so all of our free videos are available for download in an iPod-friendly format. Coupled with the download-to-PSP option, we think we’re giving users great flexibility in how they can enjoy the user-generated videos on our site.

How can businesses use Guba for marketing, sales, HR, or IT functions?

I’ve seen an increase in video-marketing campaigns in recent months. It’s clearly an important and appropriate medium for advertising/marketing/sales professions and some of the most talked-about online videos have been commercials. Companies that produce clever and occasional content will appeal to viewers and endear themselves to the editors at video companies; those that produce a never-ending stream of low-quality clips will find themselves as unwelcome and hated as the penis-enlargement spam emails that, once kind of funny, now are just lame.

Our spin on GUBA and online entertainment

Once there was a video sharing site. Then there was everybody and their uncle trying to get on to it. The dangers to GUBA and Co. are really two-fold. One is the fatigue value, cool today & gone tomorrow. The second is the usurping of the space by the very elements that every one wanted to keep out in the first place. YouTube today is inundated with corporate videos, training videos and whatnot, which is very self-defeating. So a step like getting independent movie makers to use the platform may just be one of those great steps in the right direction.

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Posted by Sally Richardsson       Posted at 08:35AM Mar 30, 2007 by Sally Richardsson   


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